Boot Camp, EasyCare, Inc. Dealer Blog

Dealer of the Month - Action Rider Tack

Each month EasyCare will be featuring one of our dealers.  For January, we selected Action Rider Tack because of their multi-faceted marketing and their support of the EasyCare line. 

Action Rider Tack started in Candace Kahn's home in Jacksonville, Oregon as a "hobby business."  Kahn is an endurance and recreational trail rider with six horses.  She started the company simply because she wanted to support what she calls her "expensive habit."  Her goal was to make enough money to keep her horses and pay all of her riding expenses.  When EasyCare launched the Boas in 2005, she signed up as a new dealer, carrying only the Boas and a few other boots in the EasyCare line.

In 2005 she was everything from the person who took orders to the "head shipper ...and bottle washer."  Now, in 2007, Kahn employees four people, and has just moved into a 2400 square foot warehouse/office. Action Rider Tack now carries the full EasyCare line including hoof boots (and comfort pads), Stowaway Saddle Packs, EZ Ride Stirrups, Shear Comfort Covers, and more.   Action Rider Tack puts out a catalog two (2) times per year, and in addition has a full website with a shopping cart.  Although she started out being strictly a mail order business, she now has a retail store front, attends at least six trade shows a year, and frequents endurance rides as a vendor.  She also has a distributorship (Athletic Equine) which is a separate business in which she promotes and distributes  Freeform Saddles and the new AE Saddle Works saddles.   

So, what has happened to all that riding time she thought she was going to have?  Says Candy, “Whew, who would have known? It has been an exciting ride both on and off horses. I certainly don’t have as much time to ride as I would like, but I do try to make my riding a priority and plan to participate (as a rider) in at least four endurance rides per season. My immediate goal is to grow our business so that I can hire another person to take over some of the responsibilities thus freeing up some more of my time to RIDE! Hope to see you on the trails."

Congratulations, ART, for being our January, '08 dealer of the month!

Hoof Boots for Miniature Horses

    When we are at consumer trade shows, one frequently asked question is,  "When are you going to start making hoof boots for miniature horses?"  The answer is that our pony-size Easyboots and Epics already fit many of the larger mini's, but making smaller boot isn't on the agenda.  Why not?  The fastening systems on our boots are too big to accomodate a smaller boot and in order to make a boot that is small and rugged, we would probably have to go back to the design table. 

We have three styles of boot that fit really small hooves--the Easyboot, the Epic, and the Bare.  The best boot for your miniature horse customers, provided the hoof isn't too small, is the Epic.  We recommend the Epic because it stays put on those little hooves and is the most adjustable.  Depending on the size of the foot, your customer will probably need a "pony" size or maybe even a "000" (I know miniature horse people HATE the word pony, but that's the size of the boot). 

Click here for a size chart. 

While measuring the length and width of the hoof is important, there is another measurement that is needed.  Especially with the mini's, the other CRITICAL measurement is from the ground to the coronary band.  You should measure your horses foot after a fresh trim at the front and the side.  You should never use an easyboot, epic or bare if it touches the coronary band.  Below are the measurements your customer must exceed in order to have a properly fitting boot:

Pony: The measurement must be at least 1 1/4" on the sides of the hoof and 1 3/4" on the front (toe to coronary band.

000: The measurement must be at least 1 1/2" on the sides and 2" on the front.

You can pass these tips along to your customers:

1.  Please make sure you have an accurate measurement.  If you need help, visit the EasyCare website.

2.  Do not use the boot if it touches anywhere along the coronary band, or if you can move it around on the hoof.

3.  Some of our customers have experimented with inserting a hard material into the bottom of the boot if the hoof is too short, or they were able to cut down the boot slightly.  Be careful, if you cut the boot down, that there are no rough edges!  It is best not to use the boot if it doesn't fit properly.  We also have comfort pads that can go inside the boot. 

4.  If the boot is just slighty too large, inserting a comfort pad will take up some of the extra space.  Again, be cautious and remember that the pads eventually wear out, so you want a fairly good fit to begin with.

For more information about miniature horses, visit the American Miniature Horse Association!

Dr. Robert Bowker to be Hosted by Oregon School Of Natural Hoof Care

Dr. Robert Bowker, VMD, PHD

Professor of Anatomy College of Veterinary Medicine Michigan State

January 26-27, 2008

cost $250.00

Jacksonville, Oregon

Dr. Bowker's studies have revolutionized the understanding and developing anatomy of the hoof.  He is the most referred to expert on the cellular structures that make up the hoof.  His lectures are sought out by anyone wanting to better understand the makeup of the hoof, circulatory aspects, the laminae structures, how the hoof grows, heals and works. 

Contact information: Cheryl Henderson, 541-899-1535 www.abchoofcare.com

abchoofcare@msn.com 

Photo courtsey of Oregon School of Natural Hoof Care

4 Hour Work Week?

Wouldn't you like to work a shorter work week?  Garrett-- EasyCare's President has been reading The Four Hour Work Week by Timothy Ferriss.  I found this video on Bnet and thought it was pretty interesting.  Click here to check it out.  I would settle for a 4 hour work day!

Happy Holidays from the Staff at EasyCare!

The best of all gifts around any Christmas tree:

the presence of a happy family all wrapped up

in each other.

Burton Hillis

Sizing your EasySoaker!

EasyCare recommends sizing up when purchasing an EasySoaker.  Sizing up one to two sizes allows extra space for bandages and liquids to be used inside the boot.  In addition, a larger size makes application and removal quicker and easier.  The EasySoakers are available in six sizes, small to XXX large!

As with any hoof or leg related injury, consult your veterinarian or hoof care professional for diagnosis and treatment recommendations.

As with any hoof or leg related injury, consult your veterinarian or hoof care professional for diagnosis and treatment recommendations.

Do mules and donkeys need boots?

Hoof Care Practitioner Karen Reeves from Keno, Oregon answers the question, "Do mules and donkeys need boots"?  On her website Karen writes, "Yes sometimes. Although mules and donkeys have thicker soles and walls...and basically have a healthier hoof, as you head into the high country or if you are transitioning a difficult case you may find that they need boots. I have found that the Epic is working for myself and a few of my clients that are using them in the high country. Also another friend has found that the Bare is working well for her mule.  I've posted a few pictures of ideas to accomodate the longer hoof of the mule. Remember that you need to measure them from the tip of the toe to the back of their frog for their length.  

For a boot that "just about fits" in the length but not quite, you can add a little bit of length to a boot by removing the strap and installing the Easyboot Taper which allows them to go strapless.  

The boots that Rosa is wearing in the picture here are strapless and worked great on our "Ladie's Wilderness Pack Trip" into the Trenity Wilderness where the trails were covered with rock.

 

  This picture shows the fit of strapless with the "taper." 

Strapless will work if the fit is a good one. Don't even try this without the gaiter it won't work. You may notice that the Gaiter is too tight sometimes on a mule. You will see rubbing on the gaiter. One way to accomodate that wonderfully FULL digital cushion area on the mule is to buy one size larger gaiter than the boot. You will have to use a hole punch on the gaiter to make it fit the smaller boot screw holes, but with a little bit of fiddling around you can make it work.

See the comparison of the small original gaiter (boot on the left side) vs. the larger gaiter with more room in that area on the right.  

Below is an example of a boot with the strap that is making the boot too short. This is when you need to go strapless using the taper."

 

Thank you Karen for this great information.  To learn more about mules visit Karen's website. 

Hey, Speaking of mules check out Polly and Bernie's latest adventure!

Forecasting your EasyCare sales for 2008!

I ran across this article on retail forecasting on the SAS website.  The article "Demand Forecasting in Retail" by Michael Gilliland.   Explains although there are challenges when it comes to forecasting, that ultimately the objective of any retail business is to have the right product, at the right time and in large enough quantities. 

Remember forecasting your sales helps EasyCare forecast our sales, in the long run it helps everyone keep items that are in demand, in stock.  Click here to read the entire article.

Three of the Top Ten AERC Riders Use EasyCare Hoof Boots

The year-end mileage results are in for the American Endurance Ride Conference.  Three of the top ten riders used EasyCare hoof boots over their horse's bare feet (Easyboots, Epics, and Bares ) for the entire ride season.  They are:

Karen Chaton and Granite Chief +/ (Arabian) 1370 miles

Dave Rave and Lightening Strike (Arabian) 1120 miles

Terri Tinkman and Oliver Twist (Tennessee Walker) with 1120 miles (pictured)

The results can be found here. 

Not only is this exciting because it is the first year that three barefoot and booted horses have made top ten, but there is a Tennessee Walker in the mix!  In addition, the riders in our hoof boot contest completed over 19,000 sanctioned miles in boots in 2007alone. 

After attending many consumer shows and talking to our dealers we know that there are still numerous people out there, in spite of our best efforts, that aren't convinced you can ride in hoof boots. Here is your ammunition!  And yes, they work on gaited horses. 

Congratulations Karen, Dave and Terri!

EasyCare To Attend the WESA Show

One of the most well-attended dealer trade shows in the country is the January event put on by the Western and English Sales Association in Denver, Colorado.  This is our yearly kick-off show and we see tack shop owners from all over the world, international distributors, domestic dealers and old friends.  This year, the following people from EasyCare will be attending: President, Garrett Ford; Marketing Director, Karen Chaton;  Sales Director, Brian Mueller ; International Dealer Rep, Chris Freeman; Retail Dealer Rep, Cathie Hook; Hoof Care Practitioner Rep, Debbie Schwiebert.

The show will run January 11-15, 2008. It is held at the Denver Merchandise Mart (I-25 and 58th Ave) and we will be in booth EB901.  As you come in the main entrance, we are in the room that is to your right (East). For many years we were in the rooms with the glass fronts ("F" aisle), and I hope not too many of you missed us last year, thinking that we weren't attending.  We still attend, we just outgrew our room and had to move!

WESA is a wholesale show for dealers and manufacturers only.  Pre-registration is required if you would like to attend.  We will be offering a show special, good only for those who attend the show, plus we will be talking about our new pricing structure and a dealer rebate program.  Come by and see us!

EasyCare Comfort Pads Testimonial

The comfort pads you sent for me to try on my ringbone horse "Beene" are working wonderfully!! He is sound on all surfaces. Ed and I will certainly tell our "BenTheyre" trail riding readership that we like the pads. The article due next (for Jan 08) is going to talk about our observations on the trend to natural hoof care... utilizing the innovations in hoof protection with increasing trend of travel trail riding hoof care needs. I purchased a "hoofjack", tools, and 3 sets of Bares to test for "real use" for the article. Our farm site is www.bentheyre.com. Readers really like to go to our site if we have some little extra info for them to find when they visit. We are thinking maybe a listing of the items we liked best...

Thanks again for the pads!

Vanessa Waters

New Information on Laminitis Pain

Laminitis Pain might originate from a different source according to Stacey Oke, DVM MSc.  This article just in from the Horse.com .  EasyCare has lots of options in hoof boots and Comfort Pads for horses in pain or in need of some extra support.  Keeping a laminitic horse comfortable and walking, along with expert hoof and veterinary care is paramount for recovery.  Seeing is believing; check out this clip sent to us by Hoof Care Practitioner, Sally Hugg of Oroville, California of a foundered clients horse before and after with EasyCare's Epics and Comfort Pads.

Easyboots, Epics, Bares, Grips, Old Mac's, G2's and Boa Horse Boots in use - photo albums available!

We have two photo albums that dealers are welcome to use.  You may use the entire albums as a slideshow, or use individual photos.  These albums were put together to show the great variety of things that can be done with EasyCare hoof boots. EasyCare boots have been used in so many ways - to help horses with hoof ailments, horses compete in endurance, policework, rodeo, barrel racing, hunter/jumper, parades, trail riding, driving and in many other equestrian activities. 

The first album is "EasyCare Hoof Boots In Use". Click on the link to view the album.  If you would like to download a zipped file of the album, click here .

The second album is "Easyboots In Action - Endurance Riding". Click on the link to view the album.  If you would like to download a zipped file of the album, click here .

We have a LOT of new and great photos from the last year that need to be added to these albums.  When we get them updated, we'll let you know.  In the meantime, if you have a photo that you would like included please email it to Karen.  Thanks!

Remember that the EasyCare website also has a media page for dealers.  If you need images or charts and layouts of any of our products, you can find them here. 

EasyCare December Newsletter

EasyCare, Inc. Newsletter Dealer Newsletter December 2007 in this issue :: Thank you Easyboots! :: The benefits of using EasyCare Comfort Pads with EasyCare Hoof Boots :: EasyCare Hoof Boot Contest :: Horse Quotations :: EasyCare Educational Videos :: What's new at EasyCare? All of us at EasyCare would like to wish you and yours a happy and safe holiday season! May your home be filled with warmth and happiness during the holidays and all throughout the year. Please note that EasyCare will be closed for a holiday break beginning on December 24th and will open again on January 7, 2008. We'd like to improve our educational materials in 2008 and would love to hear from you. What would you like to see? What could we provide that would help make using hoof boots easier? You may submit your comments to us through our contact us form, via email or by calling 1-800-447-8836. If you or one of your customers are experiencing problems with your boots, please use this form. We'll do everything we can to help you!

The benefits of using EasyCare Comfort Pads with EasyCare Hoof Boots   Visit our Boot Camp Dealer blog to learn more.   It's great to hear from dealers and end users when they have found ways to use our products in ways that can help their horses. Click the link below to read a comment from a rider who is in the EasyCare Hoof Boot Contest who has had a great experience with comfort pads. learn more... EasyCare Hoof Boot Contest   2007 Top Ten Winners!   Congratulations to the winners in our 2007 EasyCare Hoof Boot Contest! For the complete results, click here. These riders did a great job and worked really hard to achieve their successes and we're really proud of them. Nearly eighty riders completed more than 18,000 miles! If you'd like to give the contest a try in 2008 (the ride season started December 1st) you can get more information and download the forms here. Good luck! Horse Quotations Horses change lives. They give our young people confidence and self esteem. They provide peace and tranquility to troubled souls- they give us hope! ~Toni Robinson There are times when you can trust a horse, times when you can't, and times when you have to. ~Anonymous

Thank you Easyboots! Seeing her in no pain was worth all of the effort! I found great interest in reading the stories of barefoot horses and navicular syndrome on the EasyCare website and decided a few months ago to give Kitty one last chance to heal naturally. It has only been three months but Kitty has almost fully recovered. She stands squarely, does not point and will allow all of her legs to be held and trimmed. learn more... EasyCare Educational Videos   See how to make adjustments and repairs to your boots!   Check out our educational videos and learn how to make adjustments and repair your boots. We have a wide selection of videos, so be sure to check them out. If you have a boot that needs repairing, you may want to see if you can do it yourself. You can find our videos on our website or on youtube.com. Do a search on youtube for the name of your boot, or for EasyCare. learn more.... What's new at EasyCare?   Find out first by visiting your EasyCare dealer blog! Check out the Boot Camp Dealer Blog for the latest news on our new and updated products. You can subscribe via RSS feed, by email, or simply bookmark the page in your browser. Make sure you check out our other blogs as well. From the Horse's Mouth. Behind the scene development of hoof boots and the latest EasyCare happenings. EasyCare Customer Help Desk Q & A With the Vet Ask Dr. Teskey a question about natural hoofcare! Karen's EasyCare & Endurance Musings

We are still accepting applications for Team Easyboot. To learn more about this exciting new program, visit our website or click here. We will begin the selection process in December. If you have any questions about our products feel free to call our friendly staff at 1-800-447-8836, e-mail: questions@easycareinc.com or visit our website at www.easycareinc. com You may find some of the following links useful: EasyCare Events EasyCare Catalog Hoofcare Practitioner Lookup EasyCare Dealer Lookup EasyCare RSS Feeds Thank you for taking the time to read our newsletter! Please let us know if you have any ideas or suggestions on how to make it better. Be safe on the trail, Brian Mueller EasyCare, Inc. email: admin@easycareinc.com phone: 800-447-8836 web: http://www.easycareinc.com

New POP Displays for EasyCare

We are working on some new point of purchase displays for our dealers.  Here is a preview! 

Team Easyboot Applicants

We have now officially received 107 Team Easboot applications!  Here is a funny story that goes with that, from today.  This morning my assistant Tara told me that we had received 99 applications so far - they are all being kept updated in a spreadsheet so that next week we'll be able to go through them in an orderly fashion and start making selections. Well, that was great I thought - 99 is a LOT!  So I click on my email program and check to see what new has come in.

I go through my in box and I see that there is another new application - I click on it and it turns out to be an application from Pete Ramey. I thought to myself, wow, that's great - that means we have received 100 entries now, yeah!  I think it really is an honor for EasyCare that Pete cares enough about hoof boots to want to help us by providing feedback to us so that we can improve our products too. 

EasyCare's Holiday Schedule

EasyCare will be closed from December 22nd through January 6th, 2008 for the Holiday Season!  Please be sure to place your orders accordingly.  For any customers interested in ordering gifts for the holiday from EasyCare, the last day to place an order to ship ground service and still get there by Dec 24th is.... December 11th.  If you order after December 11th and still need delivery by the holiday, air shipment options are available. 

Have a safe and happy Holiday Season!!

EasyCare Reps Back From Pete Ramey Clinic

EasyCare Dealer Reps Cathie Hook and Debbie Schwiebert attended Pete Ramey's clinic in Valley Center, CA, November 10 & 11.  The event was hosted by Joe and Kathleen Camp.  Joe is the creator of Benji and The Soul of the Horse.  He also has an awesome Paddock Paradise!  There was a tremendous turnout as this was Pete's last clinic before taking a few years off from the road. It was great to see so many trimmers and veterinarians there soaking it all up!  Debbie and Cathie were there showcasing EasyCare's products and answering questions.  Don't fret if you haven't been able to catch one of Pete's clinics because now you can have him right in your own living room with his new DVD series Under the Horse.  This is an excellent resource for professionals as well as horse owners doing their own trims.

Here are some pictures from the event.