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I've been listening to Karen (and others) rave about easyboots for the last
several months...In the meantime I made the decision to go back to steel
from Equithotics - they just weren't right for me on the terrain here in the
SE (read: slick mud) even tho I loved them around pavement. I thought I
would just suffer thru the steel on the road and get over it, as it were :-))
Well, I'm not one to suffer or just get over it :-) so finally ordered some
extra e-boots to make 2 front each for Tony and Embers to put over the steel
shoes for rocky rides and around pavement. Now I've used them once or twice
before for a pulled shoe but I've never done what it takes to make them
really fit and knew I'd better set aside some time to do so.
So, armed with instructions from Karen's web page, the endurance archives,
the sheet from the e-boots, and my own pea brain I settle in Sunday morning
to give this a go - thinking I'd better get used to putting them on so that
they stay on, etc before I actually get to a ride, right?
Living thru something vicariously and actually *doing* it are two very
different things as we all know. Never did this become more real to me than
Sunday morning.
I cut backs of eboots down (waayyy down - don't be squeamish with those
scissors!), get them on after only a small struggle that makes me wish
horses could understand simple commands like "okay, step down now into the
boot", snap cable, Embers takes a few steps and eboot promptly twists about
40 degrees to the right. Hmmm, thinks I, that must mean it's not tight
enough....No problem, *just* move heel strap according to _simple_
directions and all is well. Well that turned into a hunt for a phillips-head
screw driver, a good spot to park myself while I did it and some way _not_
to lose the little screws and washers, chasing those around a time or two
(note: putting them in your lap doesn't work nor does putting them on a dirt
barn aisle), and cutting some of the heel strap end off before I could move
it to the next hole.
Whew! got it cut and holes lined up - screw first one in....What? Second one
won't line up after you've already tightened down first one? Eboot gets a
few new names at this point and I consider basket weaving as a perfectly
viable hobby :-)
Okay, undo first screw, redo so both are started a little, tighten each a
little and go to town with that screwdriver. I feel like I am now ONE with
these eboots - I know everything about them and they know me - we've got
quite a relationship going on.
So, we are 30 minutes into this ordeal and I have -one- side of -one- eboot
adjusted correctly - gonna be a long morning :-)
Okay, fast forward (after cutting my thumb pretty good -of course-.....use
scissors not the knife on a leatherman's tool for this project boys and
girls) thru this ordeal with other boot - tho much shorter this time -see I
CAN learn from my mistakes. Put them on Embers (oh no, I haven't even
touched Tony's boots yet) - boy, that heel strap sure is tight but he
doesn't look crippled - maybe they are supposed to be that tight to stay on
I think and decide if he starts to look crippled we'll just do an emergency
eboot-dectomy and try again next ride after they take me out of the
straight-jacket <g>
Bring Tony in and decide his are going on as is, best that I can, or we'll
never get on (at 10:30 it's 94 degrees and rising steadily)- put his on and
they fit a little better tho should be tighter - decide to save those heel
straps for another day and pack a flat blade screwdriver to take them off if
we need to and regroup before the next ride.....
Only blip while riding was that I could hear one of Tony's and could see
some play in it when he trotted so got off and decided that just twisting
the cable would tighten it enough to keep it on. That seems to be a no-no
(are you out there Karen?) as one of the many wires that makes up the cable
was broken from the twist. Can the cables be replaced?
End result of all this??
They worked great!!! Traction was fantastic on pavement, horses didn't even
know they were on gravel, rocks, detected nothing from their way of going
that even indicated they knew they had them on, went thru some mud (pretty
wet so not terribly sticky but still ankle deep) and came out with all fours
looking good. Dunno yet about traction in mud compared to steel or
equithotics. Rode about 2 hours - so not a true test yet but a good trial
run. Next stop is a real conditioning ride this weekend....stay tuned
Verdict on them at this point is_ very positive_ - I like their versatility
- I can use them on a given ride or terrain or not and I like that they
come off so soft soles are not an issue like with pads.
And I got them off in less than 5 minutes - yes all 4 of them. YES!!!!
When I can get them *on* that quickly then I'll really be something :-))
Next installment - learning to use them with the foam
Tina and the e-booted gang in AL
hickst@nichols.com
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