From The Horse's Mouth

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween!

Boots, Boots, Boots!

I think Easyboots are breeding in my tack room.  Every time I go into my tack room I have more and more boots sitting around.  New boot designs to test, boot designs that have been tested but need more miles, boot designs that have failed but can't be thrown away and competitor hoof boots (received through the Competitive Hoof Boot Upgrade Program) that I continue to test.

Based on this ever increasing hoof boot population, I think I'm going to name a new boot design the Easyboot Rabbit.

The photo below is after 30 minutes of clean up and organization.  It doesn't show the boxes of boots that have been archived.

John Deere Gator

I love when I purchase an item that makes me more efficient.  I purchased this John Deere Gator almost 10 years ago.  At the time of the purchase I was very hesitant and didn't know if it would be worth the expense.  It has been worth every penny and I would recommend it to any horse person.  I use it for the following.

1.  Daily feeding.
2.  Manure clean up and transport.
3.  Hauling fencing materials.
4.  Transportation around the property.
5.  I use it to clean out the horse trailer after extended trips.
6.  I have a small generator that I load in the back that helps bring power to any part of the property.

It's broken down once in 10 years, requires a fill up of diesel roughly every 40 days and can go just about anywhere. 

COMPETITIVE HOOF BOOT UPGRADE PROGRAM

The Competitive Hoof Boot Upgrade Program continues to be a big success.  This program allows consumers to turn in boots made by other manufactures for credit toward EasyCare hoof boots.  The trade in boots can be used, beat up and worn out.

I enjoy looking over what we have received back under this program.  Most of the boots are worn out or have failed in some way but many of the boots we have received lately are brand new.  I'm not sure why someone would turn in a brand new boot but I'm more than happy to swap them for an EasyCare hoof boot.  Here is a look at the upgrade program box from this month.

Documented EasyCare Boot Mileage

EasyCare has just added a cool new feature to the website.  Take a look at the lower left corner of the home page and check out the Documented EasyCare Boot Mileage ticker.  EasyCare is going to start tracking documented mileage ridden in EasyCare hoof boots.

EasyCare hoof boots have been consistently used for long distance treks around the globe, endurance events, the $10,000 Hoof Boot Contest and testimonials from customers.  With some research we came up with a very conservative number of 875,000 miles as a starting point.  I personally believe the starting number should have been much closer to 1,000,000 miles but many of these miles are undocumented and based on several assumptions.  Now that we are keeping track 100,000+ miles should be added annually.

Pete Ramey/Bowker/EasyCare Clinic

EasyCare is thrilled to host one of the biggest and most informative natural hoof care clinics ever! The clinic will be held in Tucson, Arizona from Saturday, January 20 to Wednesday, January 24.  Here is what you can expect from the 5 day clinic.

1. Spend two days learning about natural hoof care, trimming techniques and barefoot theory from Pete Ramey.
2. Study the latest and greatest in hoof boots with EasyCare.  We will go over each EasyCare hoof boot and offer hands on techniques for immediate success.
3. Spend the last two days with Dr. Robert Bowker, VMD, Phd.  Dr. Bowker heads the Michigan State University Equine Foot Laboratory.  "Google" Dr. Robert Bowker and you won't be able to pass up this opportunity.
4. EasyCare will supply a bag packed with all kinds of goodies for everyone that attends.

This clinic is filling fast.  If you have any interest you should sign up quickly.

Clinic details can be downloaded here.

New Cast Buckle

The new Easyboot Cast Buckle is complete and in the testing stages.  The new cast design has flowing radius edges and is much more gentle on the Easyboot cable.  The new cast design will be a major improvement to the current buckle system.

In addition to the cast buckle we have another buckle up our sleeves for 2007.  The patent process for the new system has been filed and the new system will be available soon.  This new patent pending fastening system really takes the EasyCare hoof boot designs to a whole new level!

Get a Grip

EasyCare's new boot has a name.  Take a look at the press release.

EasyCare, Inc. is telling customers to Get a Grip!

Tucson, AZ – October 26, 2006– an Easyboot Grip that is!  EasyCare recently held a contest to come up with a name for their new hoof boot design. More than 900 name suggestions were submitted. The winner of the Name the Boot Contest is Helen Elsner who will receive a $100 gift certificate from EasyCare and a set of four Easyboot Grip boots.

The new Easyboot Grip hoof boot will have a more aggressive tread and is suited for use in wet conditions where a more aggressive tread pattern may be warranted including rain, mud, snow and wet grass.

The boot received a thorough test recently at the Grand Canyon XP ride where the footing became slick and unpredictable very quickly.  On the first day of this five day multi-day ride it poured rain so hard that horses, riders, and the ground beneath them became completely saturated.  Extreme conditions continued when later in the week it began to snow and temperatures dropped well below freezing.  Endurance riders using the boots reported a solid ride and said their horses strode out confidently with the Easyboot Grips in the mud, snow, puddles, and wet grass.

The new boot is expected to be available at the beginning of 2007.  EasyCare cautions that the Easyboot Grip was designed for use in wet conditions and is more likely to wear faster if used in dry or hard surface conditions.  While this boot will provide better traction in wet conditions than some other types of hoof protection, it will not keep horses from slipping in some situations and riders should use extreme caution when riding on those kinds of surfaces.

EasyCare, Inc. has been a leader in the hoof boot industry for years, beginning with the invention of the Easyboot back in the early 70’s. Since then, the need for boots has grown tremendously as more and more horse owners see the healthy advantages of pulling shoes and switching to natural hoof care.  EasyCare is excited about being part of this growing trend. For more information about hoof boots or natural hoof care please call EasyCare, Inc. at 1-800-447-8836, e-mail or visit or our website.

EasyCare is Platinum Sponsor of AERC

To celebrate the Platinum Sponsorship of the AERC by EasyCare, Inc.  We thought we would do a fun contest.  This will give all of you AERC members out there the chance to win a Top Ten Award without even having to saddle up or trailer your horse to a ride!  All you have to do is get the October (or November) issue of Endurance News and find our two ads.  In those two ads are the answers to the following questions (see below).  Find the answer to those questions and email them to Karen.  The contest starts October 24, 2006 and will end on November 10th.  This will give everybody a chance to get their issues of Endurance News.  Be sure to include your name and AERC # in the email as we will use a list of names to draw from a hat (or more likely, a boot) to pick the winners.  Prizes will include ten of the items from our ad -- Easyboots, Epics, Stowaway packs, bale bags, EZ ride stirrups, sponges, etc..  If you win a boot we'll let you choose which model and size, same for the Stowaway packs or stirrups.  As soon as the contest ends and the winners are chosen we'll notify them and post the results and what they won on our Contests and Promotions page. 

October/November EasyCare Endurance News Ad Questions:   

1.  What is the color of the Stowaway cantle pack that is on the horse?
2.  How many types of EasyCare hoof boots are displayed in the ad?
3.  What is the horse thinking about in the "Have Fun. Be Comfortable. Stay Safe!" ad? 
4.  What color is the horse in the $10,000 Hoof Boot Contest ad?
5.  How many horses can riders compete on in the 2007 Hoof Boot Contest? 

Have fun and good luck! 

New Comfort Pad System

The Comfort Pad System is done and the patent work is complete.   I believe we will have the system packaged and ready for sale in roughly 45 days. The Comfort Pad System comes with three different pad styles molded in three different densities. The system allows for many padding combinations and gives practitioners and horse owners many treatment options.   

1.  The Sole Pad comes in three different densities. They provide the ability to apply three different comfort levels to the sole area.

2.  The Frog Support Pad comes in three different densities. They allow three different comfort levels and each Frog Support Pad can be used with any of the Sole Pads. This gives the horse owner the opportunity to apply different pressure to the sole and frog areas.

3.  The Frog Pressure Pad comes in three different densities. They allow three different comfort levels and each Frog Pressure Pad can be used with any of the Sole Pads. This gives the horse owner the opportunity to apply frog pressure and three different comfort levels to the sole independently.

Marketing

I read this marketing quote and it really hit home.  I can't wait to get some of our new programs implemented for 2007.

"If it makes you nervous, it’s probably a good idea. If you’re sure you’re right, you probably aren’t".

Grand Canyon XP

The Grand Canyon XP is over.  I'm sure all the horse and rider teams can't wait to get out of the mud and muck and home to a hot shower.

Dave Rabe completed the entire 250 miles (50 miles per day) on the same horse.  What an accomplishment in those type of conditions.  Dave is one heck of a horseman!  He used Easyboot Epics and the new Easyboot Epic Mudder all week.  He was impressed with the traction of the Mudder in the nasty conditions and said it prevented his horse from slipping.

Despite the blizzard conditions he rode in shorts every day. 

Durango Photo Shoot

Here is one of the better photos from the Durango photo shoot.

First Place Horse on day 4

Jean Maguire and her horse finished in first place on the fourth day of the Grand Canyon XP.  The horse was fitted with red Easyboots for the unusual snow conditions, finishing happy and sound.  Easyboots give wonderful traction in snow conditions and prevent the snowball problems caused by iron shoes.  Click here to view the video.

Grand Canyon XP

Can you imagine riding 250 miles in pouring rain, hail and snow? The first three days of the Grand Canyon XP have been in these types of conditions.  Imagine saddling your horse in these conditions and starting out on a 50 mile, 8 hour endurance event. 

Boot Sucking Mud Hole

Here is Karen riding through a boot sucking mud puddle.  Click here to view the video.  The Easyboot Epics stayed in place for Karen and Chief all day during these nasty conditions.

Easyboot Mudders at the muddy XP Event

Karen Chaton and several other riders are using EasyCare hoof boots at the Grand Canyon XP 5 day Endurance Event.  We have been using these 5 day events to test new designs (buckles, fastening systems, gaiters and tread patterns).  I believe that a hoof boot design that allows a horse and rider to cover 250 miles of rough trails will work very well for most other equine disciplines.  Many of the other hoof boot manufactures don't recommend their boots be used for endurance riding (That should raise a big red flag for buyers).

The weather at the event has been nasty to say the least.  Riders and horses have been riding 50 miles per day in constant rain, hail and snow.  Conditions are bad, trails are slick and many of the riders are opting not to ride.  The riders and horses that have finished the first two days in these conditions are some of the toughest horse and rider teams in the sport.  Most sane people don't ride in these conditions.

Karen and Dave Rabe are both using the new boots with the aggressive tread patterns.  Karen has reported that the tread is working very well with very little slipping.  It wasn't our intention to use the new tread at the event but the conditions have been so bad Karen and Dave thought the boots would really help.

Here is a short movie of Karen and Chief working their way down a slippery, muddy section of trail.  Click here to view the short clip on YouTube.

Karen sent a couple of photos of her taking the boots off Chief after 50 miles of mud and muck.  I was totally blown away with how well the boots worked.  The feet are still clean.  The pasterns are clean.  What an incredible test in these conditions.  Check out these photos below.

 

Easyboot Mudder?

I had the opportunity to use the Easyboot Mudder (or whatever the name ends up being) this weekend up in the muddy mountains of Colorado.  The boot has been a big hit and we have had over 800 names submitted for the EasyCare Name the Boot Contest. 

We had 4 days of steady rain and snow which allowed me to use the boot in very sloppy conditions.  The boot performed very well and I could see a big difference in traction and performance.  I cleaned up the boots today to check out the wear of the new tread pattern.  Although the aggressive tread is going to wear much faster than our traditional tread patterns, I was very happy with the wear after two days of riding.  If the boot is used in wet and muddy conditions as intended, consumers will be very happy with the wear.

The boot below was used for two days of the photo shoot.  We didn't do big miles but probably covered 10 miles over the two days.

Dogs

My wife Lisa and I had to put down two dogs in the last year.  Cody joined us the same day I started EasyCare in 1993 and came to work everyday for the first several years.  Zona was a wedding present to my wife in 1995.  Cody and Zona were wonderful and Lisa and I were devastated to see them grow old and pass on.

Last year we decided to rescue a dog from the pound.  Lisa and I went to the local animal shelter and walked around.  After walking the aisles I told Lisa "that is the one."  Roxy was the only dog in the whole place that wasn't barking.  We made a great decision as Roxy is wonderful with the horses, house trained, obedient, athletic, loving and fun.  She is a wonderful dog and has made the EasyCare catalog several times as she loves to fetch Old Mac's and Easyboot Epics

Photo Shoot

I just got back from our annual photo shoot and we got a bunch of great images.  We got a totally different look this year with steady rain and snow.  The rain and snow images added to our past images should make for a great 2007 catalog.

First Tracks

The Boot with No Name (enter the name the boot contest) made first tracks in the early Rocky Mountain snow on Tuesday.  The traction provided by the new boots was a noticeable improvement in the muddy, sloppy conditions.

Quote of the day

"I don't believe people are looking for the meaning of life as much as they are looking for the experience of being alive."

Joseph Campbell

EasyCare Bargain Bin

EasyCare has recently introduced a Bargain Bin area on our website.  The Bargain Bin area will be used to sell old inventory at a very reduced price.  Although these items are all marked at 50% off, they are brand new and have never been used.  These boots either have a small defect or have been replaced with a newer model. 

Before you purchase your next hoof boot you may want to check out the availability in the Bargain bin.

Name That Boot

EasyCare will be releasing a new aggressive traction boot in 2007.  The boot is designed for soft muddy and soft grass surfaces. 

Help us name the new boot.  Click here to help us name the new boot.

Football Season and Easyboots

Many parts of the country are getting the first morning chill, leaves are changing, fall is coming and college football is in full swing.  I really enjoy college football and all the enthusiasm and hype that surrounds the sport.  I personally played college football at the University of Colorado as a 250 lb tight end (my horses didn't like me at the time).

Several of the horses used as college mascots use Easyboots for their performances.  The Easyboots help protect the grass field or turf and also help the horses with traction in the stadium environment of going from asphalt to concrete to grass.

Here is a photo of the USC Trojans mascot wearing Easyboots during a performance.

EasyCare Purchases Prius

As more and more information becomes available about global warming, it is imperative that companies and individuals make choices that will help reverse the trend.  I believe it is important to support the companies and products that are early adopters of these new green technologies that are making an impact on our future. 

EasyCare has recently purchased a Toyota Prius to help support hybrid technology.  Although I have received some snide remarks from friends it's amazing the number of people I can see talking about the Prius at traffic lights, pointing, telling  co-passengers about the vehicle.  I have to say that I'm not really a small car person but I love the Prius.  The features and technology built into this little car are incredible.  Bluetooth, Navigation, Touch screen, XM Radio are just a few of the cool things.  On top of that I have been averaging 51.2 miles per gallon.

If you are ready for a new car I would suggest you look into and support the companies making hybrid or flex fuel vehicles.