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Re: [RC] Equi - Pak, Easy Boots - Don HustonHello Liz,My 3 horses are barefoot and I have used all the Equithane products to glue on various boots but never EasyBoots. The soft Pak will not keep a boot on by itself. The firm Build does better but on the second day of multi-50's the glue started failing partly because of my boot design (too flexible). The Adhere is best but sets very hard so you do not want it between the bottom of the boot and the sole, only around the edges. The SuperFast sets the hardest and gets brittle and it cracked inside my flexible boots. I like the design of the Bares and have 2 sets that I am using without glue until I get the best fit possible. The gators rubbed the pasterns on my horses during 2 hr training rides so I have removed the gators, tightened the bungee's up to where I need a mallet to pound them on. The last two 2hr rides trotting thru everything but water including steep rocky hills and only lost one front boot one time when he pulled it off in a rocky area. I think these boots are going to work for my horses the best ever. Based on many experiments with Equithane this is the procedure that has worked the best for me in the past. 1. Get a good snug fit with a dry boot. I need a screwdriver to pry the boots off the heel. 2. The boots only pull off at the heel so put a blob of Build or Adhere in the back corners of the boot and pound it on. 3. On my homemade boots I found this next step necessary to keep them on but it might not be needed on the Bares. I pre-drilled 2 holes in the bottom of the boot near the back on each side of the frog slightly smaller than the glue nozzle and covered with duct tape. After gluing on all the boots I would start over with the first boot, pull the tape off the holes but leave it hanging from the toe. Squirt Pak or Build in one hole until it comes out the other but be careful and look around, it might be running out elsewhere. :'( Press the tape back over the holes and hold the foot up for a minute if you can. Take a break and let the horse eat a little, it kept my horses from getting fidgety. This is not an easy or cheap process and it's messy. Get a big box of the strongest throw away gloves. Do not skimp on the nozzles. You will need 1 for every boot minimum, step 3 adds 1 more. When you quit squeezing the gun handle for 5 seconds the glue in the nozzle sets up immediately so just set the gun down leaving the used nozzle on as a cap until you are ready for more glue then put on a new nozzle. Plan ahead so you do not run out of glue before finishing a particular part. If you squirt glue in one heel of a boot and run out you cannot change cartridges fast enough to put glue in the other heel and get the boot on before the first blob of glue is hard. I have used Build to glue on my homemade boots and left them on for a week here at home and still needed a screwdriver to get them off. The frogs were a little stinky but after a day in the air they were fine, no thrush or fungus. I might try the new PakCS (prevents thrush) under the sole and frog if these Bares stay on as good as I think they will. Probably not the simple answer you had hoped for but for the last 5 years I have been working on and experimenting with everything to try and get a boot fastened securely to a bare hoof with nothing above the coronet band to rub the horse raw during endurance. I have high hopes for these bares. Don Huston At 10:37 AM 5/18/2007 Friday, you wrote: I was just curious if any one has tried using Equi - Pak on a Barefoot Horse? How about Equi - Pak on a barefoot horse under easy boots? How about Equithane Adhere to help hold on an easy boot? Don Huston at cox dot net SanDiego, Calif =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
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