I LOVE using my EZ boots on my horse for 50 milers!!! They work great, and I
think I have it down pretty good. When I vetted in on this ride I had not
yet put the EZ boots/foam on my horse and the vet says to me "I didn't
recognize your horse without his EZ boots on". Not only do the boots
protect him from the rocks but they give him excellent traction when other
horses are slipping and sliding around we just cruise thru the terrain
beautifully! We go thru mud, sand, rocks, gravel and my horse never trips
or stumbles, and I feel much more comfortable trotting on any firm ground or
downhill trails with his EZ boots on. I have noticed that when I use the EZ
boots he has absolutely no filling of any type in his legs in the following
days after the ride. Of course I am careful to walk him afterwards. In
this last ride (we rode really hard!), I didn't even use ice boots on him
and his legs stayed tight. I have learned a few tricks: DO NOT use pam or
any type of other stuff on the hoof to make the foam not stick. It doesn't
work!! It seems to stop the chemical reaction from occuring. I used up an
entire set of two bottles of foam learning this lesson the hard way. :(.
Also, if I wrap the heels three or four times around with vetwrap before
putting the boots and foam on it keeps the heels from getting soft or tender
when I remove them. Once the boots are on I take scissors and trim the
vetwrap close to the boot all the way around. It looks like he has on
little socks. I wonder if I were to use a real sock and pull it up over his
entire hoof if that would work?
I've got removal time down to under a half an hour for two boots too :).
The only thing I haven't figured out is an easy way to get the dried foam
out of the EZ boot afterwards.
Happy Trails!
Karen
in Gardnerville
& Dream Weaver (who wears a size 2!)