Transition Tuesday Week 3

This is the third post of a weekly series called "Transition Tuesday".  Transition Tuesday is written by Kevin Myers and documents the transition from iron shoes to barefoot hoof care and hoof boot use.  Rocky and Far are both seasoned endurance horses and have been in iron shoes for several seasons.  Transition Tuesday's weekly blog posts will document the process and learning curve involved in the transition to natural hoof care.  Feet will change shape, boot fit will improve as feet change and the learning curve will decrease.  The good, the awesome, the not so good, and what happens along the way.  Enjoy!

Lessons To Learn

There are some lessons in life that need to be learned more than once. I was reminded of a valuable one this weekend. I’ve summarized it in this week’s post and added two new lessons from my third week of training with Easyboot products. I’m planning not to need to learn any of them again.

I have noticed Far’s gait is changing: the first time I rode him in the Gloves, his gait was choppy – more so than his usual choppy self. This time, he was really surging from behind, using less loft and more travel with each stride. He has adjusted quickly to the sensation of the gaiters and his stride is becoming smoother than it was when he was shod. Fascinating.

Lesson 1 (Again): Use Athletic Tape on the Hinds

We trailered back up to Prescott on Sunday morning to our third consecutive weekend of challenging mountain training. We drove back to the trailhead at Seven Mile Gulch in Prescott National Forest. We managed to climb more than 6,000 feet over 17 miles of varied mountainous trail.

This was Far’s second long training ride in Easyboot Gloves and I decided to stay with the half size smaller boots on all fours the same way I had done a week ago for the Glue-Ons. This meant he wore 0s on the front and 00.5s on the hinds. The boots are a resounding success.

Putting the boots on when we tacked up at the trailhead. I really like how easy the boots are to put on. These boots have the Power Straps added – I use a different color on different sized boots. I don’t think I need the Power Straps on the fronts.

And we’re off!

The hinds were so snug that I decided athletic tape would not be necessary. They stayed on just fine until we crossed water and set up a steep hill on the other side – the left hind popped off. Addition of trusty athletic tape kept the hind boots on for the rest of the ride – even with crossing through water again. I’m also pleased to report they were much harder to remove at the end of the day than the fronts (which did not have athletic tape).

Putting athletic tape around the hoof – three times around is all it takes. The hoof was still a little wet when I applied the tape, but the tape did not move an inch once applied.

This is on our way back down from the look-out. 

From the ground, it is surprising how quiet the Gloves are on the hard road, whereas the shod horses were making quite a clang with each step. The reduction in concussion has to be better for them.

Lesson 2: Fits Like A Glove

I really like the way the gloves go on, stay on and leave little sign of having been there once they are removed. We rode through sand, mud, water, rock, shale and hard-packed dirt road.  At the end of the ride, I poured water into the boot so Far’s feet could have a nice soaking for the two hour trailer ride back down to Scottsdale.

The gaiter is pulled back to pour water into the boot for a good soaking.

Almost nothing gets under the boot, no matter what you ride through.

Look Far, no rubbing! This after 17 miles and two hours of soaking for the trailer ride home.

See how the boot was clean inside; the imprint on the athletic tape shows the foot was fit snugly into the boot.

I like how the boots are holding up to the mileage. The Gloves have now been used for 30 miles on rough trails with lots of changes in elevation.

Far’s front boots with 30 miles of wear.

Far’s hind boots with 30 miles of wear. Aesthetically, I should have done a better job of keeping the athletic tape below the hairline, but there was still no rubbing.

Lesson 3: Keep Some Sole

One of the two horses we are transitioning to barefoot got sore after the last trim. Rocky had been enjoying daily soaked feet, and the effect was the crumbling away of the false soul. Then the trimmer came and took away more sole and he became uncomfortable.

Rocky before four days of Gloves. The orange tint to the foot is from using Jim Ricken’s Foot Formula # 1 to harden the sole.

He got to stay home last weekend, and was still sore by mid-week: enough that we decided to ease his discomfort on Thursday with an interesting and encouraging experiment. We applied Easyboot Glue-Ons with athletic tape around the hoof wall and then we injected Equi Pak CS into the base of the boot to give him some additional cushioning on his tender sole. I really like the Glue-Ons because the shell stays on without teeth or a heel strap.

Amazingly, the boots stayed put for four days without so much as a twist – until we removed them on Sunday evening. Our four horses live out in a one acre dry lot (this is southern Arizona, after all) and the herd dynamics make for some interesting theatrics at certain times of the day. The most interesting time is just after sunrise – the four kooks are usually galloping around as if being chased by a bear. A long flat-head screwdriver is my new best friend.

Removing the gloves after four days: they wanted to stay on.

Rocky after four days of Gloves. The Equi Pak CS remains quite soft and provides additional comfort.

It is interesting to see the flaking sole continue to come away from the foot. The concave shape is beginning to appear.

The break did Rocky a lot of good: he is moving out freely again and there is almost no sign of discomfort. His feet were quite flat with shoes whereas now we are beginning to see a nice concave shape forming.

It was a good weekend – I’m planning on removing the shoes from my other horse now!

Keep up the boot legging!

Kevin

 

Comments

[Deborah C. Nicholas]

What is athletic tape? Where do you get it?

[Kevin Myers]

Hi Deborah,

You can pick it up at most pharmacies. I'm using the Mueller Black 1 1/2 inch tape. You can see the product here: http://www.firstaidkitsource.com/product_info.php/p/athletic-trainers-tape-mueller-m-tape-black-1-1/products_id/1166

Best of luck!

Kevin

[Angela]

Very interesting blog - thanks Kevin. I've just taken the shoes off my advanced endurance horse - two days and counting. My Easyboot Gloves were delivered today so will be testing them out tomorrow for the first time. Great tip about the athletic tape, will definitely try that one. Got my first post metal shoes competitive ride in two weeks time so will hopefully iron out any problems before then but it's great to see someone has transitioned to boots successfully and so quickly. Looking forward to reading further updates.