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[RC] Renegade Glue-Ons - KchatonI've been getting lots of questions from people about how the Renegade glue-ons worked for Chief at the last couple of rides. So here is a report....I glued two red size 1 Renegade glue-ons on Chief's front hooves a couple of days before the Bar H ride that was January 31, 2009. I also glued two boots on the hinds that were a different slightly stretchier material. That was kind of an experiment and I learned a lot from it. Mainly that if the boot is stretchy at all just because it fits on the foot, it doesn't mean that it really "fits". Chief completed the second 50 mile day at Bar H in the boots. The two on the fronts stayed on (and in fact, are still on right now). One of the hinds came off which was kind of expected knowing what I know now about prep and sizing. Chief moved great in them! Then this last week we re-glued two hinds (I had gone ahead and taken the other one off between the two rides). The two fronts were still on and in fact had done quite a bit of trail marking in the mud, wet sand and snow and were still staying put. Then I completed day 1 and day 3 of EMS on Chief (he reached 8,000 miles yesterday!!!) and all four boots stayed on and are still stuck on pretty good. Here is a video of Chief coming in to the last water, less than a mile from the finish. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVJCctsjU2I Things I like about the boots: 1) They stay on extremely well in all conditions when applied properly. We rode in heat, cold, snow, mud, water, wet sand and put a lot of miles on the boot between competition in three different 50's plus marking trail plus the horse being turned out in them during a three week period. 2) The horse moves great in them. They are really light even with the glue so it's like riding a totally barefoot horse. Things I don't like about them: 1) It is a lot of work to prep the hooves. 2) It is going to be work to remove them (I haven't done this yet, but maybe will get to that today). 3) The boots and glue are fairly expensive per mile compared to other hoof protection 4) I don't like what I have to do to prep the hoof, I like barefoot for a reason - and prefer to keep the hooves natural. I don't think this is natural or will be beneficial for any horse if boots are applied like this frequently. I only did this as a test to learn now to do it as I will probably continue to glue the boots on for mutlidays on the same horse or one day 100's. Steve Bradley got a great shot of Chief trotting in the boots, and I included it here with a writeup about Chief reaching the 8,000 milestone. I'm really proud of him - never had a horse reach this high a milestone before and just goes to show that a horse can be kept barefoot long term and be successful in endurance. Chief has had zero lameness pulls in his career (knocking on wood). He is now moving better than ever before too!!! So to be honest about the glue-ones - they are great for those who are more serious about racing, or that want to complete multidays on the same horse. Otherwise, it's a lot of work and expense that isn't necessary. I like the Renegade strap-ons a lot better as they are so easy to get on and off. I am not having any rubbing problems on either horse and have now completed several rides in them . The best part is that I don't need to use vetwrap, duct tape or anything else. I don't have to protect my horses hooves from the boots. The boots just protect the horses hooves (I love the simplicity). If you get the cables adjusted right and some other minor modifications that I learned about this weekend I just don't see that most riders would be willing to go through as much work as is required to glue boots on. It was great at this ride to see how many riders there are trying the barefoot thing! Numbers had started to really drop as riders were trying and failing at it and not having a lot of success. I'm was glad to see a lot of happy riders and horses out there at the EMS ride competing successfully using Renegades :) If I make it to the 100 at the end of this month at 20 Mule Team I am going to use the glue-ons there. They will definitely stay on and for those who are interested let me know and I can get you some photos and tips that might help you out if you are planning to do the same. Karen http://enduranceridestuff.com/blog/
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