Transition Tuesday

Getting Ready For Tevis:

Trying Out The Latest Boot Design

The pine forest near Prescott is cooler than the sweltering heat of the Sonoran Desert and offers enviable trail testing opportunities for the boot experimentation we have enjoyed for the last couple of months.

Our plans changed this weekend for a variety of reasons and we did not make it to the wonderful Fort Stanton Pioneer ride in New Mexico. It turned out I had to work on Friday and Monday, so we went back up the hill to Prescott for some more hill work. I just counted the number of trips we have made up to the horse camp: we have been to that area seven times in the last nine weeks. Now that the temperature in the Phoenix area has hit 115 degrees, the temptation to get out of Dodge is even stronger.

The wisdom of the Oak: this was the view from the horse trailer this weekend.

 All of this training in the mountains has made us three very fit horses – so much so that I decided last week to enter Far in Tevis. A sound, fit horse is a terrible thing to waste, and he has impressed me so much over the last couple of months that I think this is a good year to take on one of endurance riding’s ultimate challenges. A big part of my decision is based on the level of confidence I have in the Glue-Ons: they provide dependable, lightweight protection and make me feel more comfortable about pointing my horse down that coveted trail. Far has been going nicely without boots on training rides around my place in northeast Scottsdale, but I will be enjoying the definitive hoof protection of Easyboot Glue-Ons for the Tevis on Saturday, August 1.

There are exciting things going on with the design of the Easyboot Gloves and Glue-Ons. I got to try out some of the new technology this weekend with the latest incarnation of the Gloves. EasyCare seems to be devoting a great deal of time and resources to get the technology just right and I really like these latest boots.

The new prototype gaiter material is softer and lighter in weight and seems more flexible than the previous model. The gaiter position comes up slightly higher around the pastern and the double Velcro fastening straps on the front are longer and softer. If your horse is prone to rubs on the side of the pastern area, this new design may be just what you need. Far has four white feet, and the skin just above his heels can get a little pink on a hot Arizona day in boots. I rode 25 mountainous miles on Saturday in the new boots and his heels were not pink at all, even in the 90 degree heat. (The new gaiter is still in the R&D stage but should be out later this year)

Comparing changes to the gaiter: the new design is on the right. The angle of the gaiter is different and the material is softer, lighter and more flexible.

The rear of the new gaiter (left) is contoured to better fit the shape of the horse.

The other design improvement is less obvious to the eye, but much more evident to the touch and out on the trail. The toe section of the shells used in the Gloves and Glue-Ons is much thicker than the previous model. You would not know it by looking at the boots and there is no change to the breakover. But they will better withstand a horse that tends to be rough on the front of the back boots.

We used the new style boot on Rocky this weekend and rode him 40 miles with them. He has been hard on the front of his hind boots over the last couple of months – but this new design showed no sign whatsoever of any punching out of the toe area. We looked for unforgiving terrain to experiment with these boots. There was no wear in the toe area, even in these conditions. That translates into a longer life for the boots.  (Easyboot Gloves and Glue-Ons with the thicker toe area will be available to dealers and the public in roughly a month)

Rocky on a rocky trail: perfect for testing the new boots.

The toes are in good shape after all those miles.

These things are tough.

I’m enjoying watching the horses’ feet change. In the photo below, you can see Rocky’s heel is finally coming back up and the false sole continues to wear down revealing a more desirable concave shape.

Rocky at nine weeks.

Check out the change in angle on Rocky’s front feet. It is absolutely fascinating to see the angle change and his foot begins to grow underneath him rather than out in front of him.

Rocky’s heels were horribly contracted on his hind feet. You can see in this photo how the heel is opening back out. There are no more signs of bruising the way he did when he was in shoes.

Of course, there are some things you just cannot control that seem to happen only once you send in your entry for Tevis. Far managed to get caught up in the highline on Saturday night. By the time I raced out of bed to see what all the commotion was about, he was standing back up, dripping from head to toe with the water from the 20 gallon water bucket. He managed to get some pretty significant rope burns around two of his pasterns and around his right butt cheek and got some contusions on his wither and front left fetlock. The swelling was bad enough on Sunday morning that I decided to let him rest and hosed down the wounds with cold water. On Monday morning, most of the swelling was down: now I just have to keep the wounds moist so they don’t dry and crack. I think he will be fine – he was to begin his pre-race rest period today anyway.

Far’s rope burn around the inside of his upper right leg: most of the swelling is now down.

I’ll see you at Tevis. Keep up the boot legging!

Kevin

Comments

[AareneX]

Fascinating to watch your progress and experimentation! I just bought a "Glove" as a spare-tire shoe for my mare, and really like it. I'll probably buy three more to use over the 6 months of barefoot winter.

[Dianna]

Kevin,

Will you also have Redford at Tevis? I have his 4 yr brother & would love to see Launi's older brother.

[Kevin Myers]

Hi Dianna,

I was not planning on bringing Red to Tevis because it will be another horse to take care of. I'm hoping Red will make it to Tevis next year! I'd love to see photos of Red's brother! Do you ride him in endurance? In boots?

[Dianna]

Hi Kevin,

Launi just turned 4 & I'm hoping to have him under saddle this summer. In a couple of years you'll see Launi on the trail, & yes he'll be barefoot/boots. There are pics of him on my site http://dreamcatcherarabians.homestead.com
I haven't measured him in quite some time but he was 15.3 the last time. I'm short so refuse to measure & acknowledge that he might have grown. Good luck at Tevis this year.