*Major* User Error
We went up to compete in the Man Against Horse Endurance Race this weekend. If there is one ride that boots should be on every horse, this is it. And there were scores of booted horses competing.
Man Against Horse is one of only
a few races I am aware of in which the equine and human races are held
consecutively. Interestingly, there is no Ride And Tie component. The first Man
Against Horse race took place in 1983 and was conceived by
It is an unforgiving trail.
Ron Barrett, a local runner and
endurance rider, became ride manager in 1988 and moved the ride from its
original location at
Our preparation for the event
went seamlessly – we arrived at base camp in good time on Friday and helped
Kelli Bourgeois and her horse, Gunner, get set up in Glue-Ons
on the fronts and Gloves
in the back. Kelli pulled the shoes on her horse this summer and is really pleased
with the changes in Gunner’s feet. This was Gunner’s first competition in boots
after his traditional
Rusty prepares Gunner’s feet for Glue-Ons.
A light rasping on the hoof wall will provide the glue some tooth to
adhere to.
Gunner is good to go. The boots worked perfectly.
I got this note from Kelly on Monday:
“Just wanted to thank you again for the boots and for gluing them on.
Gunner did great and I'm really quite happy!!
His legs look great and I took him for a short walk yesterday and he was
happy and chipper - next 50 mile ride, I'll just plan on glue-ons all around -
I really felt safe and confident knowing those boots weren't going anywhere
while climbing over all of the rocks. Greg & I took them off yesterday and
it wasn't too bad. Used the big screwdriver and they came off nicely. All of
the glue inside the boots came right out and I'm pretty sure they could be reused
one more time. One boot ended up with a TINY little hole from the screwdriver,
but I think if the whole boot was glued on, it shouldn't really hurt the
integrity of it.”
Kelli crosses the finish line with Gunner and her riding buddy, Greg
Rose on Hot Lips.
Rusty and I had a catastrophic wardrobe malfunction: victims of our own equipment experiment gone awry. In the week prior, Rusty has tested using silicone mixed with a little water applied to the sole of Rocky’s feet. He then put on Gloves over top and rode in a variety of terrains at a variety of speeds. The silicone set up nicely that weekend: it stayed in place and Rusty simply put on the Gloves when he rode, and removed them when he was finished.
There is really no need for additional protection under the Gloves, but we were intrigued by the idea of adding some additional cushion for an infamously rocky competition.
Once we were installed at Base Camp, we mixed the silicone with a little water and applied it to the base of the front feet using a spatula. We covered the foot base of the foot in saran wrap to keep the silicone from attaching itself to anything, and left the horses overnight in an old discarded set of Glue-On shells to let the silicone set up.
Applying silicone to the sole with a spatula.
The sole is covered with saran wrap and an old boot is used to keep the
hoof protected while the silicone sets up.
When we pulled the saran wrap off the feet to apply the Gloves the next morning, the silicone had not set up. With only a few minutes before the start of the race, we decided to just put on the Gloves anyway and set off.
Setting off at the start of the race. Photo by Ashley
Wingert
It is a beautiful sight to see runners and riders leaving in the early morning light. The long line of competitors stretched out across the open country like a like a string of worker ants leaving the nest. Those first few miles are very exciting while the order evolves and the riders and horses find their places. Runners yield to horses and horses yield to runners with a satisfying display of mutual respect.
Redford and me in the early part of the day.
Spot the trail!
My first Glove oozed off at about four miles as soon as we hit the first rock. To my horror, I discovered the silicone was smeared all around the sole, hoof and heel bulb and had taken on the properties of Vaseline. I wiped the boots and hooves as best I could, but everything was now well lubricated – shiny and smooth and slick. The boots would work their way off countless times all the way to the first vet check at 16 miles. I managed to borrow some denatured alcohol from a friend and attempted to restore the feet and boots to their natural state, but alas, it was too late. The ride is one big 50 mile loop, so there was no opportunity to get back to the trailer and change our strategy.
The perfect ride for boots.
We would inch our way to the 38 mile mark, but time was most definitely against us and after 10.5 hours on the trail, Rusty and I got pulled for being Over Time. There was just no way we could finish the last 12 miles in 90 minutes with an average speed of 3.8 mph.
We would climb up to over 7,000 feet. The views were stunning.
It was a good lesson to learn: the Gloves work just fine without any additional sole packing. It turned out to be a day full of humor and an opportunity for me to practice my Zen Master side.
Starting back down the mountain.
Keep up the boot legging (but don’t lubricate the inside of the boots)!
Kevin
Hi Kevin,
What made you decide to try silicone? Have you not found Goober Glue to work well for this?
Posted by: Judy | October 09, 2009 at 08:02 AM
Judy,
Goober Glue works very well and I would not stray from it again. It really was just an experiment to see if I could add extra cushion to the sole of the foot under the Glove for a rocky ride.
Posted by: Kevin Myers | October 09, 2009 at 09:01 PM