EasyCare Customer Help Desk

Barefoot and Booted in Sonoita, Arizona

A ride in Gardner Canyon near Sonoita, Arizona on Saturday proved to be a beautiful day ! All horses are barefoot and some were sporting their Bare boots. The draft horse Daniel, was totally barefoot and did just beautiful ! Here are some pictures to share with anyone desiring to go barefoot.....it really works great for the horse and rider. Happy Riding !!!!

                                                                       

Meet the EasyCare Team- Kay

HOWDY.  My name is Kay and I became an EasyCare team member almost one year ago.  My anniversary will be May 9 and I cannot believe how fast the time has flown.  With a rewarding company and team players, no day is left to boredom and quitting time comes quick.  I also previously worked for an airline and had the fortune of working with our current Director of Sales "Brian Mueller" during our airline stint.  Prior to that I was in the Army, stationed in Arizona at Fort Huachuca.

One of my personal goals during the day is to make sure the candy dish stays full.  Everyone needs that chocolate break every now and then.  Sometimes also comes in handy when I need to bribe the gentleman in the warehouse for a favor.

I process all of the web orders, answer phones, process faxes and help in the warehouse when needed. We all wear more than one hat around here and that makes for great co-workers.

I have two children along with two dogs, two cats, two birds (see a pattern here?)  In my one category, I have one husband and one guinea pig.   My one big wish is for me to be able to get another horse.  Being raised on a farm in Pennsylvania and having the privilege of having horses is what I miss the most.   

Meet the EasyCare Team- Gail

Hi, my name is Gail.  I have been a part of the EasyCare family since June 2000.  I handle all of the companies filing duties and other various needs. I make sure that the filing system is organized and then periodically have to re-organize to accommodate our growth. I also take care of all of our mail, and shipments. I also keep our office stocked with supplies so everyone has what they need. Next time you order an EasyCare catalog, I’ll be the one sending it to you.

We celebrate each employee's birthday with a card and a treat and I take care of making sure the right greeting card and treat is selected for our employee's special day!!  I don't own any horses, but I do have two cats at home and am the official "dog sitter" for my brother's dog Sam when he and his wife go out of town.  I really enjoy working for EasyCare... we have the best group of people here that make each day special.

Meet the EasyCare Team- Marcie

Hi,  my name is Marcie. Shari is the new kid on the block so I must be the old saddlebag! I came to EasyCare seven years ago and have had the best time of my life! Prior to EasyCare I worked for an airline, between that and my horse I ran pretty hard!  I'm a Tucson native, so I can show you many beautiful places to ride!  Keeping up with two grandchildren, ball games, horseback riding and golfing keeps us very busy.  Here at EasyCare you will find me at the front desk, taking care of walk-in customers, taking orders via phone and or e-mails and helping customers with questions they have about hoof care or any of our product line. I am also in charge of the warranty and repair department.  If you live nearby come into our store, it would be great to meet you!

Tell Us Your Story and Receive a Free Grip Shirt!

We often get emails from happy customers sharing a story about what EasyCare boots have done for their horse.  Do you have a story you would like to share with us?  We're going to give away "Get a Grip" t-shirts (sizes while supplies last) to the next 25 testimonials that we receive.  Photos must be included with your testimonial.  Please be sure to include your email address so that we may contact you.  Click here to submit your story.  We'd love to hear from you!  Want to hear what other people have to say?  Check out our testimonials to page to read up on other success stories.

Meet the EasyCare Team - Shari

Hi, my name is Shari.  I moved to Tucson from the Kansas City area with my dog Muggles a little over 5 months ago and I love it here!  I am the new kid on the block at EasyCare, having been here a month now.  I work in the Customer Service department at EasyCare taking care of customer phone calls, answering questions submitted over our website, entering orders and in general trying to keep all of our wonderful customers happy.

I am new to the horse world and the people I work with at EasyCare are the best at helping me learn and the EasyCare customers I have talked with so far are awesome too.  I am looking forward to a long and happy career with EasyCare.

Boa Caps

Are you having trouble keeping your Boa caps on?

Here is a great tip...

When you are putting the caps on, hold the cap so the word Boa reads up and down, which is vertical (North and South), push the cap on and turn to the right, you will hear or feel some clicks, continue turning the cap until the word Boa can now be read straight across which is horizontal (West - East), this means it is on tight.

Now you will have a cap that stays on! Click here to the see video.

NATURAL HOOF CARE DVD

You need to add this DVD to your equine video collection!!!  This is the Clinton Anderson show #127 from RFD TV.  It features Pete Ramey explaining and showing you some natural hoof care procedures.  Pete explains how the practice of Natural Hoof Care has taught horse owners and farriers alike.  With more technical information, including corrective trimming, this is the natural hoof care DVD you won't want to be without!  He shows the natural trim on two of Clinton's newest herd members.

You also get to see Clinton in action with Easyboot Epic boots on his horse in the arena performing a few moves.

Purchase one now at our EasyCare website and you will want to watch it again and again.  Hurry... these DVD's are in stock and ready to ship out to you mate!!!  They certainly will make a great gift for one of your barefoot riding buddies, if you are needing a gift idea.  Happy Riding !!!

Comfort Pads Many Uses

Comfort Pads are still new enough that new uses are being discovered daily to help benefit the horse world.  They are being used to help horses suffering from different types of hoof conditions.  The pads can be cut to fit any boot and when placed inside will allow the horse owner to use the boot and pad combination as a therapy boot.  Not only are the pads beneficial to endurance horses but to any horse that is ridden.  The pads can be used to improve the fit of the boots, while also providing cushioning, additional protection and frog support to the hoof.  Comfort pads are an excellent way to successfully transition a horse from shod to barefoot.  Thank You EasyCare!

Easy Ups are Really Easy!

Below is a new testimonial sent in regarding our new Easy Up Buckle:

I just tried the Easy Up buckles for the first time yesterday.  I think that I love them!!  I took the bungees off my Bares and replaced them with the Easy Ups.  They were easy to flip up and close after putting the boot on - so easy that I thought that there was no way they would STAY closed.  I rode about an hour at a walk, trot and canter and waded through a lot of water and mud and the buckle stayed closed.  When I went to take them off, they were so caked in mud that I couldn't even see the buckle, really, but I put a hoof pick in the slot and popped the buckle right open.  I like how the Easy Ups seem to help hold the front of the Easyboot up against the hoof MUCH nicer than the bungee did.

Kristi

Epic and Bare boots out on the Trail

Bold Again (Bo) is 13 and a 1/2 Arab 1/2 Standard bred. I got him last winter from a local horse rescue group.

He had been turned in as a bucker by his former owner who had tried to do dressage with him. After doing lots of ground work with him I started trail riding him last summer. I could tell that he was a lot happier out on the trail than he was in the arena. He still gets tense when we do arena work.

Color Country was his first endurance ride. We did the LD and he did really well. He can get racy when he's out front so we rode with Janet Tipton and her mustang Ladybug and took it slow. This was also his first ride of any kind with all four boots (we'd previously ridden in fronts only) and that went really well too.

Thanks again to Karen and Dave for making that possible.

     Melanie

Horse Grooming Tips!

Horses groomed regularly have healthier and more attractive coats.  Many horse management handbooks recommend grooming a horse daily, though for the average modern horse owner , this is not always possible.  However, a horse should always be groomed before being ridden to avoid chafing and rubbing of dirt and other material, which can cause sores on the animal and also grind dirt into.  Grooming also allows the horse handler to check for injuries and is a good way to gain the trust of the animal.

Proper basic grooming of a horse is a multi-step process involving several simple tools:

1. Curry: The horse is first rubbed or "curried" all over with a "curry" or "currycomb", usually a round tool with short teeth made of plastic or stiff rubber, used to loosen dirt, hair, and other detritus, plus stimulate the skin to produce natural oils.  The curry comb is usually used in a circular motion to work loose embedded material.  Curries are generally too harsh to be used on the legs or head, though varieties made of softer rubber are available. There are metal currycombs, but they are designed for use on show cattle, not horses, and are generally too harsh.  For mud and winter hair, a shedding blade is preferable to a metal curry.
2. Dandy brush: A stiff-bristled, "dandy" brush is used to remove the dirt, hair and other material stirred up by the curry.  Brushes are used in the direction of the horse's hair coat growth, usually in short strokes from front to back, except at the flanks, where the hair grows in a different pattern.  The best quality dandy brushes are made of stiff natural bristles such as rice stems, though they wear out quickly.  Plastic-bristled dandy brushes are more common. Dandy brushes can usually be used on the legs, but many horses object to a stiff brush being used on the head.
3. Body brush: A soft-bristled "body" brush removes finer particles and dust, adds a shine to the coat and is soothing to the horse.  A body brush can be used on the head, being careful to avoid the horse's eyes.  Some natural body brushes are made of boar bristles, like human hairbrushes, others are made of soft synthetic fibers.
4. Grooming rag or towel: A terrycloth towel or other type of cloth can be used to give a final polish to a horse's coat and is also used after riding to help remove sweat.
5. Mane brush or comb: Horses with short, pulled manes have their manes combed with a wide-toothed plastic or metal comb.  Horse tails and long manes are brushed with either a dandy brush or a suitable human hairbrush.  Some show horses with particularly long manes and tails require special care above and beyond basic grooming.
6. Hoof pick: All four feet of the horse need to be cleaned out.  Daily hoof care is a must.
7. In special weather conditions, a metal shedding blade with short, dull teeth is used to remove loose winter hair.  A shedding blade is also useful for removing caked-on mud.  However, grooming tools with metal teeth can split and dull the horse's hair coat and may irritate the skin, so must be used with appropriate care.  Likewise, metal grooming tools used on sheep and show cattle may also be too harsh to use on a horse.
8. In the summer, fly spray is often applied to the horse after grooming.  If botflies are active, a small pumice stone or dull knife may be carefully used to scrape off any bot eggs that are stuck on the horse.  (Bot eggs are yellow and roughly the size of a grain of sand, they are clearly visible on dark hair, harder to spot on white hair.)
9. Sometimes, though not always, horses are clipped with scissors or, preferably, electric clippers.  The most common areas are a short "bridle path" just behind the ears, where a few inches of mane is removed to help the bridle lay more neatly; and the fetlocks, where extra hair can collect undesired amounts of mud and dirt.  For horse show and exhibition purposes, additional clipping may be done, especially on the ears and underside of the jaw; other areas clipped and style of clip vary with the breed, show discipline, cultural traditions, and show rules.
10. Take care of your horse's grooming needs and he/she will feel better, look better and it will be some really great bonding time together for both of you.   Happy Riding!!!!

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED

This is a great Easyboot Bare testimonial we would like to share. Here at EasyCare we receive so many, but this one was awesome.

I love the best of the old and the new, archaic and modern, the best of quality our earth has to offer. Harmony pulled 15 rolling hills today in the Easyboot Bares, as seen in the attached picture. The Lil' Darlin' trotted 90% of the distance. I believe the rubber is tougher now, and the wear is even. She tracked straight after a long rest in the Appalachian High Rocky Mts. resulting in a growth and remodeling of her bare hooves. Coming out to the modern road she needs the best barrier between her hooves and the pavement. I've found this to be the Bares, after years of testing equine boots . They especially work advantageously in her pacing, in that she can maximally extend her rears to her front heels. If she does kick her bulbs the smooth and narrow toed Bares go unharmed! The pictures represent my world. I feel my goals have been accomplished, the ones that I have been pursuing for years, combining bare hooves and stable road boots. Sincerely, I am grateful to all of you at EasyCare and congratulate you on the design and cost effectiveness in this latest boot. Not to mention the fact that horses now have a running boot comparable to human marathoners. I coin them"Adidas for Equine." I believe we will see a decline in the incidents of impact trauma and the resulting navicular arthritic disease in the future in equine wearing good boots. This is well documented in humans where they can express symptoms. I believe horses will follow suit. I am proud to be a representative for Easy Care Bares.

True Confessions!

Just a reminder, that EasyCare loves to hear testimonials from our customers on our products.  If you love our products and have a story to tell, submit it (along with pictures if you have them) for a chance to win a free pair of Easyboot Epics.  The best story each month will win a free pair of Epics.  To submit your testimonial or pictures, just go to our website www.easycareinc.com and look under Education.  Hope to hear from you soon!

Easysoaker Boot Promo

EasySoaker Promotion

We are starting a new promo with the EasySoaker boot.  Here is a link with more information, and here is the press release on it.  The dome pads are still being tested and we've received mostly positive feedback so far.  Some people have had trouble with the sizing since the pads have only been made in one size.  Once you trim them down so far, you lose the dome shape.  Others haven't been sure how to trim - I do it so that I keep the most concave part of the pad in the concave section of the horses hoof. 

We are starting a new promo with the EasySoaker boot.  Here is a link with more information, and here is the press release on it.  The dome pads are still being tested and we've received mostly positive feedback so far.  Some people have had trouble with the sizing since the pads have only been made in one size.  Once you trim them down so far, you lose the dome shape.  Others haven't been sure how to trim - I do it so that I keep the most concave part of the pad in the concave section of the horses hoof. 

Boots on the Go !

Here are some pictures of Tracy Browne, at the recent "Square Nail Limited Distance Ride" in Reno, Nevada on April 7th.  She was riding her mustang horse, Feather. She used EasyCare Epic boots on the front hooves and used EasyCare Bare boots with the new EasyUp Buckle system on the rear hooves. She also used the 6mm Comfort pads in each boot to add to the success of riding barefoot with boots !  The EasyUp Buckle system can be used on several styles of  EasyCare boots. Go to www.easycareinc.com  for more product information. 

     

Our EasyCare Website Visits

Can you believe how many times our website has been viewed just in this year alone?  In March, we had more than 60K visitors and the numbers keep climbing.   Click on the picture to view the graph in a larger screen.

You're contributions would help us make this more educational for everyone.  Submit your comments on what you would like to see or E-mail Karen on any information you have and would like to share.

Changes or suggestions to the website are also very much welcomed. 

APRIL PROMOTION

Buy 4 of the same style hoofboots from our EasyCare line, Easysoaker, Easyboot, Epic or Grips and receive a free EasyCare Gear Bag , color choice Navy only. You will also  receive a discount on all four boots . Bargain Bin items are excluded from this sale and they must be placed via our website only. Don't miss this great April sale!

Horse and Rider Defined

A horse already knows how to be a horse;  the rider has to learn how to become a rider.

A horse without a rider is still a horse; a rider without a horse, is no longer a rider!

Anonymous

Easyboots International

   

Gabriele Charles and Etoile

Photo by: Gabrielle Boiselle         www.editionboiselle.de

This beautiful photograph was sent to us by one of our international users of Easyboots.

Do you have international questions? Contact us here and we will be very happy to help you.

 

The New EasyUp Buckle System

EasyUp Buckle System

EasyCare's new EasyUp Buckle system is sure to be the ultimate fastening system for the Easyboot, Epic, Bare and Grip boots. The system is great for rough, rocky terrain, where the buckle in the down position may get bumped and pop open.....the EasyUp Buckle is your solution! This system also offers numerous cable adjustments to give you a really great fitting boot.

Click on these links for helpful tips and information.......

Cable Settings

Replace or Install Buckle (.pdf)

Replacing Buckle Photos

EasyUps in Mud

You can also have this fastening system added to your Custom Boot selection if you so choose to create boots just for your particular boot needs.

Happy Riding...