It rained all night after day one! My mom and I discussed the conditions and decided that if it was still raining in the morning we would take the day off. We didn't want to get a horse hurt in the boggy fields. In addition we both weren't very excited about riding in the rain all day.
We woke to an overcast sky but no rain. I saddled Spyder and fit him with a couple different versions of Easyboot Gloves that are in the testing stages. Different gaiters, some with power straps, one without a power strap, etc. It was the day to test some stuff out so I used four different Glove versions we have in testing. My mom saddled Cyclone for day two who was still wearing the Easyboot Glue-Ons.
At the start line my mom started getting off Cyclone and looked white as a sheet. The altitude really bothered her the day before and was really making her sick now. She lost her breakfast and really felt faint. We decided that she better not start and get some rest now. Spending the day at over 8,500 feet wouldn't be smart when you're already not feeling well.
Off I went on Spyder in the Easyboot Gloves. In addition to testing the Gloves in the wet, muddy conditions it was a great opportunity to get Spyder over his water fear. In fact Spyder didn't really have any choice. The first creeks were jumped, crashed through and denied. Then, after the first wet and muddy field he didn't know where to step, everything was wet and soggy. He gave up on the water issue and started going through the creeks like a gentleman.
I was impressed with the results from the Easyboot Glue-On on day one but even more impressed with the Easyboot Glove on day two. The Gloves went through mud and water all day and never, never had a problem. No buckles, no hardware, the Gloves are awesome. If the boots are fit super snug per instructions there is just no opportunity for mud and grit to get into the Gloves. In addition there is nothing to grab when the horse in going through mud.
These boots really amazed me over the weekend. With a couple last little tweaks that we have in the works I think we are getting very close. I believe Spyder and I finished 5th on the day. Successful day. Both Spyder and the Gloves got a real water, mud test.
Photos of the Easyboot Gloves at vet checks and after the event.
Using the Gloves at the Cache Creek 50 two weekends ago, it wasn't the schleppy mud that caused problems (lots of very deep mucky creek crossings), it was any torquing of the boots *after* going through the wet mud. It seems that if the boots get muddy water in them, the tight bond against the hoofwall is compromised and they are more likely to pop off from tripping or twisting.
That said, except for one incident getting tangled in wire when my horse had a melt-down and lost all four boots, the Gloves did really well and I only had one front one pop off towards the end of the ride.
He was wearing Renegades on the back, and the velcro toe strap on them really didn't deal well with the muddy wet conditions, so I finished the ride using a slightly too big Glove on the back, carried as an emergency spare.
Best of all, the lil' neoprene pastern wraps meant that I didn't get a single rub throughout the 11.5 hours/50 miles (without them, he'd rub bloody in 5 miles). Yay.
As far as back boots - success! I finally rasped off enough toe to manage to smoosh my horse into the next size smaller Glove last night - it's tight, but should loosen with use. I plan on taking him on my test hill (creek crossing, half a mile of trotting and then a 250' rocky climb straight up in 0.2 of a mile) later this afternoon to see how they fair... so far, I've not managed to get any type of strap-on boots to stay on going up this hill.
And next weekend, I hope to try Glue-ons. :) Having fun with the whole process.
Posted by: Lucy Chaplin Trumbull | May 26, 2009 at 10:02 AM