Karen's EasyCare & Endurance Musings

How to Install an Easyboot Gaiter on an Easyboot

On the EasyCare website in the Education dropdown menu there is a new section called "Repairs".  We have the first how-to up on installing an Easyboot Gaiter on an existing Easyboot.  You'll be able to view step by step instructions with photos to show how to do this.  Everything you need to know in order to turn a regular Easyboot into an Epic is right there. 

If you'd like to see a tutorial on something in particular, let me know.  We will be working to include many more topics that will help end users do their own repairs to their boots.  I'm also going to be working on improving the quality of the educational videos that are on the site.  I'm still researching what type of video camera to get that would work the best for this.  Suggestions welcome!  I need something that will take great quality video AND audio, and doesn't have a huge pricetag. 

Ride Across the Americas - An Epic Journey with Easyboots!

We just received a letter from Vladimir Fissenko about the movie that is in the works and will be released in several film festivals in the US.  He also included a DVD for us to see.  The movie is about their expedition.  He finishes the letter with this note:  "Thanks to Easyboots our expedition was so much easier and relaxing.  Best regards, Vladimir"

For more information on long distance horseback riding treks, check out the Long Riders Guild.

Louis Bruhnke & Vladimir Fissenko            

In January of 1988, Louis (American) and Vladimir (Russian) began their voyage on horseback starting from the Tierra del Fuego and finishing 29,000 km farther in mid-September of 1993 on the edges of the Artic Ocean in Alaska (Prudhoe Bay).

At least one Criollo made the trip with them. It is interesting to note that during the trip, they used Easyboots rather than traditional horseshoes. They had excellent results with the Easyboots, and thus avoided dependance on local horseshoers.         

Vladimir is, to our knowledge, the only long-distance rider to come out of Russia.

Where in the World IS Bernie Harberts and Mule Polly?

Bernie and Mule Polly are traveling from Mexico to Canada.  Click here to read Bernie's website for more information on where they are and their most recent adventures!  www.riverearth.com

Look below to view a video of Bernie and Polly visiting a drive-in theatre!  Bernie uses Easyboots on Polly - you can find information on his website with photos showing how he modifies them to work on mule feet.  It looks like they are having a lot of fun, and isn't Polly beautiful?  Be sure to check out Bernie's new book "Too Proud to Ride a Cow".

Crazy high mileage endurance riders

I thought that what Dave wrote was nice about his experience using EasyCare boots - he is a genuinely nice person and means what he says so I knew that he wasn't just saying blah blah blah because I asked him to.  Though, I did give him a hard time about the part where he pointed out that he had four horses that had over 5,000 miles each - and he'd used Easyboots on all of them.  I s'pose it is okay that somebody besides myself has ridden more miles in Easyboots.  Once you add in both of our training and conditioning or pleasure miles, plus competition miles between us we have most definitely ridden over 100,000 miles using the boots on our horses - that is a LOT of miles no matter how you look at it!

So why did I give him a hard time about that?  Well... going back a couple of years (almost), when my horse Chief reached the 5,000 mileage mark I checked the AERC 5000+ mile equine results online to see how many other riders had (at that point) three horses with 5,000 or more miles.  Looked like only Les Carr and Trilby Peterson had.  Now little 'ol me.  ;)  Well, I knew that was going to be short lived since Dave was also closing in on that same milestone - and had not one, but two horses fast approaching that milestone.  Of course, I couldn't resist pointing out to him "hey Dave, there is something that I beat you at!".

It wasn't soon after that he had a third horse reach the 5,000 mileage point, and since then - a fourth horse (some listed in the results now have different owners, but it is accurate that he has four).  Now all I've got on him is that I've got (the same) three horses over 6,000 miles (two are over 7,000).  In the words of MC Hammer... "U Can't Touch This"--Dave!!!  I know it'll only be a matter of time before he does,  give him a goal or reason to do something and stand back!  lol 

So even tho we may compete against each other, it is a friendly competition.  It doesn't hurt that  I work for EasyCare and can't officially beat Dave in the hoof boot contest.   Still tho, it's fun to point out that a girl did ride more miles on him on two horses in the contest this year.  I do have to say that in all of the years I've been competing in endurance some of the most encouraging and supportive people have been those that I have competed against the most - without some of them, I wouldn't have been able to accomplish some of the things I have, or even tried in some cases.  I guess it goes without saying - if you have to get beat by somebody, it may as well be one of your friends, right?  Makes it less painful that way, and more fun - depending upon which end of it you are on.  Endurance riders as a group are some of the nicest people.

Besides winning, [the most fun thing is] getting out there and mixing it up with friends; it's the competition. ~Al Unser, Jr.~

The New Easyboot Name is......

The winner of the contest to name the new boot -- Pete Ramey!  Pete was the only person to suggest the name Easyboot Edge.

It took a lot of time to narrow the names down.  We had nearly 1600 names submitted, in which over 1200 were unique (not duplicated).  We narrowed them down, then voted, narrowed down and voted some more.  Discussed which ones we liked or didn't like, and why.  Then FINALLY late this afternoon we came up with the name of the new boot.  Easyboot Edge!!! 

We will be doing more testing of the new boot and only when we are satisfied that it passes all of our tests will it be released to the public.  I am already confident that this boot will be better than any other boot on the market.  It's going to be a really nice boot! 

Applications are still being accepted for Team Easyboot, for those that are interested in helping out with the testing process. 

The next Easyboot

We're still working on a name for the next new boot.  It has been narrowed down to two names, and we hope to have a final name tomorrow!

If everything goes well we'll be launching the new boot sometime around the first quarter of 2008.   

The new boot is not going to be a copy of any other boot.  It's going to be something much, much better.   :) 

Grand Canyon w/ Easyfoam and Easyboots

The 5 day, 250 mile Grand Canyon XP ride starts on Wednesday.  I decided to go ahead and Easyfoam Chief's hoofboots on today.  I don't know yet how many days I'll ride him but hope to ride him at least three days.  I foamed Easyboots on his fronts, and Bares without gaiters on his hinds.  I followed the newly updated instructions and everything seemed to make sense.  It is sure nice being able to glue Chief's boots on for the entire week and not have to worry about them.  I'll probalby use Epics or Bares on Tigger, as he'll likely only do one or two days here.  You can see in the photo with the horses that there is still a lot of color here.  It's going to be a really gorgeous ride this year especially on the Rainbow Rim trail -- we are on the north rim of the Grand Canyon, Arizona.  I have internet access here, but no phone or cell service.  I use spinvox (it's great!) to have my voice messages converted to text and then it is emailed to me so I can still get all of my voice messages while I am here.  Nifty!

A little history on Easyboots

A really nice person sent this to me today.  This is a really well preserved decades old Easyboot!  Isn't it beautiful?  (in an Easyboot sort of way)  Easyboots have a long history.  They were originally developed by Dr. Neel Glass, a nuclear physicist -- to help a horse with navicular, more than 37 years ago!  Dr. Glass and his wife Lucille BOTH ended up riding more than 5000 AERC miles each on BARE-BOOTED horses (that basically means the horse had Easyboots on over unshod hooves).  How cool is that? 

Read:  IS SHOEING A NECESSARY EVIL?

By: Neel W. Glass, Ph.D.

Easyboot and Easyboot Epics Tips

Here are several of my blog posts organized on Useful Tips for Easyboots and Easyboot Epics.  A lot of the tips are interchangeable between the two boots.  The difference between an Easyboot and an Epic is the Easyboot Gaiter.

Some of these things will also be useful for other boots such as the Bares and Grips.  I'll try to separate them by subject as well as possible and the link will go to each separate blog post by its title.  If you need help with a particular issue, just shoot me an email or submit a comment. 

Easyboots

Easyboot 101

Easyboot 101 For Endurance Riders (part 1)

Easyboot 101 For Endurance Riders (part 2, Easyfoam)

Advanced Easyboot Tips

Helpful Easyboot Tips

Tips for Reducing Heel Rubbing

Cable Adjustments on Easyboots

Five Easyboot, Epic and Grip Cable Adjustments

Opening Easyboot and Easyboot Epic Buckles

Changing a Cable on an Easyboot

Crimping a Replacement Cable

Duct Tape and Hoof Boots Tip

Easyboot Epics

Training Gaiters

Solving Gaiter Rubbing

Removing Permanent Cleat Covers

Do I Need a Heelstrap in My Epics?

Top Ten Tips for Removing your Easyboot Epic or Bare Heelstrap

Using Plumbers Putty

Tips for Using Epics

Using Plumbers Putty

Plumbers Putty and Hoofboots

Measuring Tips

Easyboot, Epic, Bare Hoof Boot Measuring Form

Maintenance Tips

Have you got a screw loose?

Videos

EasyCare Educational Videos - Easyboot Epics

How to Put and Easyboot Epic on a Horse w/ Pete Ramey

Karen's Videos

New Video on Wrapping to Prevent Gaiter Rubs

Driving with Easyboots and Epics

Donna Hornsby Driving Pharoah, her 18 year old Arabian gelding through downtown Springtown Texas. This was his first time to wear Easyboots, and he never took a wrong step as they covered lots of pavement, gravel, and even a cement bike path where they did not leave any marks like a shod horse would have during their 2 hour drive.  Donna owns Carriage Driving World, a magazine dedicated to the Carriage driver.

Photo by Jonni Jewell

Carry an Easyboot or Get a Sense of Humor!

 

Easyboots for upcoming ride

I have a few Easyboots ready for Bryce.  I always like to use boots that have been broken in on an endurance ride.  I don't like to use anything new actually, during an actual competition.  These are some of the boots I'll be using for the upcoming 5 day ride.  I'll probably use Easyfoam to put them on and leave them for the week.  I will probably foam Bares (minus the gaiters) on Chief's hind feet.  He travels so close behind and does better with Bares back there. 

Ted and Peggy Recommend Easyboots - New video Contest Entry

There is still time to submit a video entry for the EasyCare Summer Video Contest.  It ends on August 31st.  Lots of great prizes are going to be given out to ten lucky winners.  Visit the EasyCare Video Blog to view the submissions so far. 

Cool photos of Traveler, the USC Mascot

This is Traveler, the USC Mascot - who performs using Easyboots.  He also uses Epics, and Old Mac's G2.  I wonder what my horses would think of having a job like that?  They would probably really like the attention.  Not sure about the lights at night though. 

Here are some more photos of Traveler. 

Riveted on Easyboot Buckles, how to get FREE Easyboot parts

I tried several different tools today to see if I could find something besides a drill or a dremmel tool that would allow me to separate a riveted on Easyboot buckle from the boot.  I tried a few different kinds of cutting tools as well as hoof care nippers, and pull-offs.  Nothing seemed to do the trick reliably enough.  If anybody has any suggestions for something that will work that isn't an electric tool let me know.  I may see if I can find a drill bit to work on my cordless electric screwdriver - that may be all I need so that I can help others repair their older boots when I am rides.  Ideas, anyone? 

The newer EasyCare boots all have easily changed out parts - all you need for those is a screwdriver.  During the month of August you can get up to four Easyboot parts for FREE!  Click here for more details.  For those that have older boots with riveted on buckles and want to change them out, or change the cable - you can but will probably need to drill the rivets out, remove the buckle and then replace it and the cable with the new parts.  Specials like this don't (and won't) come along often, so don't pass up this opportunity to stock up on extra parts. 

Need Easyboot Parts - Cables, Buckles, Heelstraps?

During the month of August, EasyCare will be offering a two for one special on Easyboot parts. Limit of four free items of equal or lesser value per customer (one free for each item purchased). Website orders only.  Simply place your order online (Aug 1-31st) for each part you need and your order total will be adjusted so that you will be charged the correct amount. 

Parts included are for the Easyboot and include standard buckles, cables, and heelstraps.

Parts included are: SB-CABLE/05, SB-CABLE, SB-CONLY/05, SB-CONLY, SB-STRAP, SB-STRAP/05, SB-CLEATCOV, SB-BUCKLEPIN and SB-SCREWSET

This is a great deal if you have an Easyboot, or even an Epic that needs a new part.  The cast buckles are now made out of an even stronger metal so are not likely to break.  Check out this video. 

Easyboots at the Tevis

Lots of riders used Easyboots at the Tevis this year (and every year).  A lot of horses lost shoes so used them until the next check so they could get a shoe nailed on by one of the farriers.  In some cases, riders just left the boots on and completed that way.  At least one rider did the ride only using Easyboots (no shoes underneath).  If you are doing a ride like Tevis you should definitely carry a spare Easyboot or two and have an extra in your crewbag.  Results from the ride are now online.  95 riders out of 183 completed for a 52% completion rate this year!  Photos and video are still being added, so be sure and check this page for updates.       

Dave beats easyboot buckle with hammer. Result: Buckle 1, Dave 0.

Dave Rabe submitted this video for the EasyCare Video Contest.  He took a boot that had done a 155 mile endurance ride and beat the buckle with a hammer, trying to break the buckle.  If you'd like to submit a video for the contest (you could win some cool prizes) click here, there is more than a month left! Here is the result of Dave's battle with the boot buckle....

Photo of Easyboots with 1,000 miles on them!

This is a photo of one of Bernie's mules on his last long distance trek--click here to read the Long Rider's page on Bernie.  To learn more about Bernie's (and now mule Polly) adventures click here!    Read about how he modifies his Easyboots to work on his mules.  

Easyboot Easyfoam Ramblings

I keep intending on posting a photo pictorial showing the other three steps on using Easyfoam.  So far I've only gotten step 1 together.  I wanted to get it right before I started trying to explain to others what to do.  I've done a few experiments at multidays this year using the foam in my gaiterless boots (i.e.,--regular Easyboot or a Bare with the gaiter removed), and I think that based upon the results from Fort Schellbourne that I've probably got it dialed in pretty good now. 

Using Easyfoam, Part 1 of 4

This is the first of four parts detailing how to use Easyfoam.  I've put this stuff together into small plastic containers that I found at the dollar store and then those containers all fit into one larger plastic bin. 

Here is a list of each area that I'm going to cover: 

1. Preparing your Easyfoam kit (what items you need to get together)
2. Preparing your boots for Easy foaming
3. Preparing the horses hooves and Easy foaming boots on
4. Removing foamed on boots

I pulled out all of the items that I keep together.  Many of these items are things that you'll already have.  Here is a list:

1. Easyfoam kit (top left in photo)
2. Plastic cups.  I like a clear plastic cup, and they don't need to be very large - 8 oz. or a little smaller will do
3. Gentle iodine spray.  I've used this for years to make sure the crevices of their frogs are completely disinfected before applying  a foamed on boot.
4. Lately I've been using hoof-heal on a regular basis and I think it works well but does not dry as fast as the iodine. 
5. Baby wipes
6. Wire brush (you really need to get the hooves clean!)
7. Utility knife
8. Plastic spoons
9. Latex gloves
10. Vaseline
11. Hoof pick
12. Scissors
13. Channel locks
14. Duct tape
15. Screwdrivers in assorted sizes
16. Plastic bag for waste collection (not shown) 

If you get all of these items together you'll have everything you need to get your boots ready and for foaming them on.  You may not need all of these things.  It's still a good idea to have everything together in one convenient place. 

Horses, Boots, Equissentials, riding

Had a nice ride today on Zenos.  I started out riding him in some competitors hoof boots.  To make a long story short, let's just say that Z was not impressed.  They didn't hold up very long and I ended up putting regular old Easyboots on him, which stayed on even when we galloped on the trail.  They fit him well.  I'm sure the other boots have their place, but they aren't going to hold up to the kind of use I would put them through. 

I just got a pair of riding tights from Equissentials.  They are awesome!  Below are some photos of them, with me riding Zenos in the arena.  Very comfortable, and I love how they zip on the side to go over the top of my boots.  I also really like the leather seat. 

Custom Easyboots Available

Click here to read more about the new Custom Easyboots.  It's pretty cool that you can order your horses hoof boots any way you want them!

Do I need a heelstrap in my Epics?

I've been getting asked that a lot.  The answer depends on how the boot fits your horses hoof.  This applies to any of the Easy
Care boots that have a gaiter - Epic, Bare or Grip. My horses have hooves that fill up the boots very well so they are all fine to go 'strapless'.  You need to either use tapers, or leave in the metal gripper teeth or side plate in on each side of the boot to keep it stabilized. 

This is what the tapers look like. 

Starting in 2007 all Epics and Bares will come with the new lower profile comfort strap.  This should work for more horses.

If you do cut the heelstrap out or replace with tapers, it's still useful to apply duct tape to each side of the remaining taper part.  This helps the boots to slide on and off easier and also eliminates the chance of rubs.  This is probably not going to be a concern for a casual trail rider but if your horses spend a lot of hours and miles in the boots like mine do it never hurts to be extra careful!

If you do need to keep the heelstrap in to keep the boot fitting well on your horse and are concerned about the strap causing rubbing that is an easy fix - simply apply three layers of duct tape over the strap to smooth things out. 

Updated EasyUp Buckle Instructions

We just recently updated the EasyUp Buckle installation instructions.  You can find them on the EasyCare website under Education-->Downloads-->Instructions, or by clicking here. 

Five Easyboot, Epic and Grip Cable Adjustment Tips

Here are some tips on getting your cables and buckles adjusted.  Ideally when you buckle your buckle down you want to have the cable feeding up through the center tongs - see #a.  Here is what you may need to do: 

1)  Remove the cable from the grooves as in #b.  This will allow you to pull the boot farther apart on each side.  This is useful for putting the boot on and for removing it. 
2)  Once you have the boot on, feed the cable back through the grooves.  You may wish to pull the cable over the buckle before doing that so that you don't run short of slack.  Please use a hoofpick or other tool to do this rather than your fingers!
3)  If it seems tight, use your hoofpick or a screwdriver as a lever to get the cable over the end of the buckle. 
4)  If it is still too tight to get the cable over the buckle with the cable fed through the center grooves as shown in figure #b simply remove the cable from one or both of the grooves and use the boot with the buckle tightened that way. 
5)  Most likely by the second time you use the boot it will have stretched out enough that the cable will go over the buckle end without any trouble. 

The boots for your horse are often like boots for you - they take some breaking in time.  Once they are broken in, then you'll be all set and using them will become easier with each use. 

Really Awesome Deal on Easyboots!

Now is a great time to stock up on hoof boots if you need any.  New inventory has arrived and the new incoming boots are updated and improved.  In order to keep from shipping last years product to dealers, the remaining inventory has been placed into the Bargain Bin.  Currently, there are Boas, Easyboots, Epics and Soakers. 

Don't miss this chance for a really great bargain.  If your horse uses boots this is a great opportunity to get your next set or have a couple of spares.  There is nothing wrong with these boots, in fact if parts wear out or break you can replace them with the newest parts quite easily.  At these special prices, once word gets out they will not last long so don't spend too much time thinking about it!

If you get your order in soon enough you might also be able to get one of the free Get A Grip t-shirts.  Just be sure to add the size you want into your shopping cart prior to checking out.