Barefoot Trimming

Spring has sprung in southern Arizona and love is in the air. My three year love affair with the Easyboot Glove is over – there’s a new boot in my life, the Easyboot Glove Back Country. Some may criticize me for leaving my old boot for a younger model, but I couldn't help but fall head over heels for the Glove Back Country. Last weekend I had my first ride with these boots in picturesque Catalina State Park...it was magical.

Poppies blooming in front of the Santa Catalina Mountains.

The moment I saw the Glove Back Country I was impressed with the superior quality of the components: the proven tread design of the Glove, the soft comfort cup gaiter, and the breathable upper (made of the most durable materials available). The Back Country is the result of combining two of our best boots, the Easyboot Glove and the Easyboot Trail. In 2011, the Glove was awarded Horse Journal's Product of the Year, and the Trail was a Horse Journal Best Buy - with inspiration like that how can you go wrong?

The Easyboot Glove Back County (center) combines successful
features of the Easyboot Glove (left) and the Easyboot Trail (right).

The Glove Back Country is a medium to high mileage riding boot (25-50 miles per week) which makes it ideal for the majority of riders. Although the sizing chart is the same as the Easyboot Glove, the fit does not need to be as snug. Customers who were unable to use the Glove due to length of trim cycle or lack of hand strength will be able to use the Back Country by selecting a half size larger. If you do not have previous experience with the Glove, we recommend getting a Fit Kit to ensure you select the proper size. Feel free to contact us with any questions or concerns regarding fit; call 1-800-447-8836 and one of our customer service representatives will be happy to help you.

Glove Back Country ready for application.

The Glove Back Country is easy to apply with virtually no hand strength required. To prepare the boot for application, first open the upper and fold it forward, temporarily securing the upper in this position with the Velcro (see photo above). Next, fold down the gaiter so that it is flush with the shell of the boot. Facing the rear of your horse, pick up the hoof and put it into the boot toe first. Pull the gaiter over the heel bulbs and put the hoof down. To secure the upper, unfold from the front and pull the flap with the Back Country logo snug across the back. Pull the second flap over the first and finish by securing the Velcro piece with the Back Country logo.

Glove Back Country after putting the hoof down (left) and securing (right).

My first ride in the Glove Back Country was a huge success! Since the size 1 Glove is very snug on Cal, I decided to size up to a 1.5 for the Back Country. I took Cal out on a six mile route with varied terrain. The trails in Catalina State Park are the perfect boot testing grounds taking us through some deep sand and in and out of steep rocky washes. I didn't go through water on my first ride but plan to soon. The ride was comprised of equal parts walking and trotting with some cantering thrown in on the nice stretches. The boots performed flawlessly: they were secure and there were no rubs. I can't wait to ride in these boots again and have no doubt that they will be our most popular boots in 2012.

For more information on the individual components of the the Glove Back Country, visit easybooglovebackcountry.com. To see the boot page and find out how and where to purchase the boot, go to our website.

Alayna Wiley

Customer Service

As one of the customer service representatives, I am happy to help get your horse into the right boots. I have plenty of hands on experience since my horses have been barefoot and booted since 2003.

Once and for all let's make a concerted effort to debunk a popular myth that thoroughbreds have shelly walls, thin soles, pencil thin frogs and for these reasons they need shoes. "The hell!" I say. Even with wrong hoof care from birth to rescue/career change, the vast majority of OTTBs can be rehabbed to soundness. And gorgeous feet!

Cayuga

When I met him he was 12 years old, shod most of his life. He trained on the track but did not race. Cayuga was living at Tory Hill, a gorgeous farm with a herd of about 10 barefoot geldings, mostly OTTBs, with full turnout on huge and hilly pastures.

Too much hoof capsule. Crappy Walls or Horn.

'Beer Can' feet. The heels are almost as long as the toe. This tells me that the coffin bone is  pointing down at a steep angle. The tip of the coffin bone is no doubt disintegrating from mechanical stress. Unfortunately, the farrier can only trim so much and then puts the shoe back on a long, misshapen foot to maintain it.  Rehab demands pulling the shoes.

The foot is sweeping forward, in front of the horse.

In a general sense, the green line indicates where the hoof will end after rehab. The Red points out (1) upward pressure of the shoe and (2) a long under run heel

Cayuga's Straight Forward Rehabilitation:

1. As I applied the mustang roll, mechanical pressure on the lamina was removed and the steep, well connected wall at the top half inch of the capsule grew right in.
2. As this happens the hoof will get back under the horse. The entire foot will transform as the capsule becomes smaller and the heels shorten.
3. Transformation is organic. A lot of things are happening at once.
4. I never force any angle or any particular length because above the hoof is a unique body with unique movement.

Below, in 7 months, the hoof capsule looked more compact.  Soles and walls thicken. Heels open up as the frog and internal structures improve. The more movement and the healthier the diet, the better the foot.

7 months later a nicer foot, still on the mend.

Still a long capsule and long heels (as they appear from the outside) but over time it all corrects. Most importantly Cayuga was sound, ridden in padded Epic boots throughout.

Smartie

This fancy OTTB had been in shoes a long term. Sadly we didn't make it to a full rehab before the owner put him back in shoes. He has some things to show us.

This unraveling hoof wall with cracks around the nail holes is not being held together by the shoe.

Force comes down the leg, hits the shoe and runs back up the hoof and leg maintaining the cracks. To treat the unraveling wall, I would definitely use White Lightening to insure there is no bacteria maintaining the problem. Otherwise, it will grow out in about 3 months.

Solar View: Under run heels and long toe

From the hairline in the back of the foot to the heel where Smartie lands, you see about 2" of heel length running under the horse. Many people misinterpret this saying their horses won't grow heels. Smartie, and many horses, grow heels that run forward.

If the frog is healthy and can take a pounding from the current ground conditions, I'll bring the heels back, and down, half inch at a trim. By the end of rehab the heels will in the back of the foot, next to the back of the frog. Above the frog, internally, the digital cushion and lateral cartilages begin to re-develop and give Smartie the structure he needs.

Above, the toe wall appears to be about 3" in front of the end or apex of the frog. Much too long. If you wait about a week after pulling shoes, the horse will develop a toe callus and you can rasp the toe, 10:00 - 2:00, back to but not through, the toe callus. The callus looks like a long bump.

Personally I like to pull the shoes, round things up and leave the horse alone for a month. Pulling shoes is traumatic enough for one day.

Smartie feels 100% in Padded Epics.

My Thoughts on Boots: Because Smartie has a long toe, he would not fit into The Trail or Generation 2. The top portion of the boots would rub his pastern. Boots that fit above the hairline are a good choice for the rounder foot that allows the leg to center in the boot.

Bugsy

If it looks like a Duck Foot, is it?

Just because long toes, complete disconnection of hoof wall to coffin bone and under run heels are seen on almost every Racehorse does not mean it's normal! Can you imagine racing in these 'duck feet'? Poor Bugsy was right off the track, shoes a dangling!

Above, if you ran your fingers from the hairline down the wall, you will find where the wall is well connected to the coffin bone. In Bugsy's case there was a hint of connection!

Under run heels and a long toe, confirm what we saw from the top. Nice frog though.

Here comes the foot he wants, growing in from the top.

Don't let the steep angle scare you. It will level off as the foot grows.

Voila! The foot is now under the horse.

Over time, with lots of movement in a herd, the heel as it appears from the outside will shorter to about half this length. Bugsy still has a lot of rehabbing to do.

Love "Sunny" Days

5 years old. Just arrived from the rescue via New Holland Auction.

Typical racehorse feet: Paper thin shelly walls. Laminitic rings from top to bottom.

Another straight forward rehab.

The black line indicates where ideal wall to coffin bone connection ends. It will take a few capsule growths (7 months per capsule for Sunny) to get things in order. During the spring he will lose a little connection on the bottom. And as viewed from the sole, he will loose a half inch of concavity. However, he does not go lame. Hacking out, he is happiest, in the spring, in his Gloves.

Dinner Time at Tory Hill Farm, home to 7 barefoot Off the Track Thoroughbreds.

A Word on Long Term Rehab of Racehorses

As long as the horse has most of his coffin bone and the lamina aren't necrotic, hoof rehabilitation of former racehorses is usually straight forward.

I gave Sunny off one year from ridden work. This allows all the micro tears and chips to heal or sort themselves out and drugs to clear. I re-started him as a colt in training. From learning ground manners, haltering, leading, ponying off another horse, desensitizing and plenty of in-hand work, former racehorses need a complete reboot if you want an exceptional friend.

I tweaked Sunny's diet according to the teachings of Dr. Eleanor Kellon.

As for his body, I made an incorrect assumption that Sunny could fix himself in an active herd on 35 acres. Now I would have jumped on modalities available to me like chiropractic adjustments, accupuncture, Equine Touch, Ortho Bionomy, sports massage, myofacia release. Learn from the professionals if you can.

Currently, unless I am stuck, I do all my own body work. Much more cost effective! There is a wealth of information on the Internet, in books and on DVDs. A horse can't walk around on bad feet for years, ridden incorrectly at the track and not need serious attention to mind and body!

The wonderful thing about thoroughbreds is that they are sensitive, smart and athletic. Most I have met really crave a relationship with good, kind people.

Happy Trails and Give your ponies a big hug for me!

Dawn of 4 Sweet Feet

An Introduction to Trimming for the Owner:  The 'Maintenance Trim' on Sunny, my OTTB  

(1 of 3 ten minute free videos)

Amanda Beno Marsh has a master’s degree in wildlife biology and wildlife and range resource management. She has had horses and worked with horses since she was very young. She has lived in California, Arizona and Utah and has spent much of her time surfing and rock climbing as well as riding horses. She loves thrills and adventure.

Amanda is now based in the Prescott, Arizona area, but works throughout the state of Arizona and in southern California. She attributes her success to always wanting more information and to further her education. She has a science background, which helps, but lists her foremost experience as the help she has received from Dr. Tomas Teskey, DVM.

Amanda has been trimming for approximately three years. She first started out as a farrier’s apprentice.  "After following him around for several months I decided that the natural approach to hoof care was more my style. I am a science minded person, and I researched the science. I saw results early on and the more I practiced and the more I learned the more I decided that natural hoof care was my “calling”.

Mountain Top stocks the Easyboot Epic, Glove, Edge, Trail, Old Mac's G2 and Comfort Pads. The Old Mac's G2 is her best seller and she generally pairs pads with the boots. 

Amanda trimming at a clinic in Wickenburg, AZ.

Without boots, Amanda says her job would be much harder and horse owners wouldn’t be able to see and feel their horses succeed as quickly as they do. "I always listen to my clients and pay attention to what they want," says Amanda. "I explain everything I do to horse owners and I keep them in the loop. I call to check in about horses on my rounds because I truly want to know how they are doing. I care a lot and that really shows."

Amanda hosted several free clinics and workshops in order to get her name out into the local community, but she says word of mouth has been the most important way for her business to grow.

She and her husband use EasyCare hoof boots on all of their riding horses. They ride barefoot as much as possible, but when the conditions call for hoof protection, they like to use the Easyboot Trail.

When asked about her most rewarding experience as a hoof care practitioner, Amanda tells the story of removing the shoes from the working ranch horses on the Date Creek Ranch in Wickenburg, Arizona.  "Kimberley Knight and her husband Stephan worked hard during the transition process," says Amanda. "And because they have done everything right, their horses are well on their way to a successful transition."  A major key to their success has been using the Old Mac's G2s and Comfort Pads when they are working cattle in the rocks. The horses are turned out on several hundred acre pastures. "Kimberley is so fond of her horses, she loves them and wants what’s best for them. She seeks knowledge and doesn’t just rely on me for information. Working with her has raised the bar for me. I feel like anything is possible with natural hoof care."

Amanda's favorite event is the annual Equifest in Prescott each year. Last year she was invited to speak and present a demonstration on natural hoof care. Several thousand people attend the free event every year, and Amanda will be presenting at the event again in September, 2012.

To learn more about Mountain Top, go to barefootnaturalhooftrimming.com.

MileMakers in Larkspur, Colorado would like to announce some great Education Clinics in 2012.

Please contact us at www.MileMakers.com for further details, or visit us on Facebook

On April 14, 2012 we kick off the year with:

Natural Hoof Care and Hoof Booting Workshop with Rusty Toth

Education on Natural Hoof Care and Trimming!

Bring a horse for a trim, and boot fitting!

Everyone Is Welcome, with or without a horse!

Rusty Toth is a graduate of the Oregon School of Natural Hoof Care.  He has also understudied with Duncan McLaughlin from the Australian Natural Hoof Care School.  Rusty is a professional trimmer whose clientele is comprised mostly of endurance, barrel racing, and cutting horses.  Rusty’s personal equine passion is Endurance.  He has completed numerous 100 mile events barefoot/booted and believes in the success from this protocol as the most beneficial for both the soundness and health of our equine's performance and pleasure alike.

Please RSVP    With number of horses and people attending. We will send you the address and directions at that time.  10 AM until  3 PM   Light lunch provided.

Boot Fitting and Education is Free

Trims are $45.00

Large Inventory of Easycare Hoof Boot Products Available for Sale!

Our next Spring event is May 12-13, 2012 with:

Paul Williamson (41) started riding at age 10 and quickly rose up through the ranks as one of the best thoroughbred riders today. He lives and works in Japan with the Japanese Racing Association.

Paul’s non-aggressive approach and ability to “get the job done “makes him one of the YouTube’s most popular trainers with more than 3,200 subscribers. www.youtube.com/endospink click the link to visit his channel and see him working with horses.

Paul picked up on a natural occurrence that happens in all horses, and turned it into one of the most valuable tools a horseperson can have in their toolbox.  He calls it The TAP and has incorporated this tool into his colt starting system. This training tool can be matched by no-one in regards to starting time (under 20mins).

Participants may bring young horses to be started or horses with dangerous behavior problems.

Topics to Be Covered

• Paul’s signature TAP demonstrated live. Not to be missed!

• Learn tips and tricks of ground driving.

• See at least 5 horses started in one day, using different techniques.

• Learn the dos & don’ts of side-reins.

• All colt starting & training questions answered.

• Learn easier, safer & kinder ways to handle your horse.

• Stop wondering if you have what it takes to start your own horse, find out!

TICKETS

1-Day Audit           $45

2-Day Audit          $60

Bring your horse   $100 per horse 1- day session, stalls available!

Rounding out the Summer in July, MileMakers presents:

Now booking private lessons with Stacy Westfall.  This is an opportunity to ride one-on-one with Stacy.  You do not have to have a reining horse or western style horse to take a private lesson!  Stacy instructs all disciplines. There will not be a formal clinic format, no auditors/audience.  

This is by appointment only!  July 21-26, 2012

Please inquire for details on days, times and fees.

There are certain words that you just DON'T say around certain groups of people. We don't say "steak" in front of a group of vegans, don't say "Ford" at a Dodge dealership and you don't drop the F-bomb in front of a bunch of "natural barefoot hoof care providers." By F-bomb, I mean the word "farrier." What did you think I meant??? Sheesh I am a lady.

Oh my Gosh is that a FARRIER touching your horse?!?!?! Yup, a tall farrier. 

I generally am not a purist when it comes to the barefoot thing. While I fully believe in the benefits and advantages in a properly trimmed barefoot horse, I am around enough of a variety of owners, horses and disciplines to understand that maintaining a bare foot horse isn't ideal for some situations. Unfortunately, forcing the matter in a less-than-ideal situation is a recipe for disaster and sure isn't good for the positive image of natural hoof care, nor is it in the horse's best interest. As I think most will agree, 100% commitment is necessary for success. When people get all high and mighty about it, I tend to roll my eyes. So when I hear someone touting that they are a "natural hoof care provider," it makes me roll my eyes a little. NOT because I disrespect those who have dedicated their lives to truly learning and bettering the lives of the horses we love, but because of all the rest who have seen it as a way to make a quick buck off of sweet, well-meaning horse owners all over. 

Short little back and long, long legs. Chant tends to forge if he's not trimmed with a short enough break-over. Sometimes the owner does have good information that should be taken into consideration when trimming horses. But we'll get to that. 

Last fall, I took my young gelding, Chant (or, ironically, F-Bomb as we *lovingly* call him) to a friend in a neighboring state for some remedial education. If you recall, I received a big, beautiful white horse in trade, who would be coming to me to transition to competing in Easyboots and receiving a bit of fine tuning. I was expecting Nero to be a great blogging subject throughout his "transition," but was a bit miffed when we pulled his shoes, touched up his otherwise beautifully trimmed and balanced hooves and haven't looked back. So much for blog fodder! Anyway, I had planned to drive over to ride and trim Chant every six weeks or so, but of course life got in the way and before we knew it he was overdue.

Life as he knew it was about to change. 

Now we all know how incredibly cool and laid-back I am about things. I didn't freak out about having someone else trim my horse, no way! (Um, right. I was totally freaking out). Having been the only trimmer of my horses for the past five years, I felt stuck and helpless 300 miles away. I resorted to the internet and quickly realized that there isn't much of a database for trimmers, nor is there any standardized certifications to at least give an idea of a trimmer's education. It wasn't easy to sift through all the pretty pictures and the right phrases, but there wasn't much to chose from either. I made a decision based on a few emails and an appointment was set for Chant. 

Little Chantley is cursed, er, blessed, with a very short back and very long legs. As result, he forges terribly if his break-over isn't just right and I made sure to state this several times- "Please back up his toes!!" No matter, not much was addressed in the trim. I was sent several pictures afterward that literally made me cry. All the sudden my horse looked weak in the pastern and looked as though he had long toe/low heel syndrome in all four feet! I was devastated because this is the horse who has very low maintanence trimming requirements and has been the easiest of any horse I've ever had to maintain. What went wrong? How could this trim fail to address the issues I asked about and leave him looking worse than before? I don't hold anything against the trimmer, I know it's a tough profession and difficult way to make a living, but the trim left much to be desired and I began to better understand where the common lack of respect for the term "barefoot trimmer" came from among other equine professionals. If this is what you get, no wonder veterinarians are leary of working with these individuals to fix and improve normal, not to mention pathological hooves. Of course this is only one trim on one horse by one person, but is this more the norm than the exception? 

Front feet after the trim.

The heels were taken down, and the toes were squared, which doesn't make any sense to me. His coronary band was pushed up and the toe pillars were not backed up. His right front makes me wanna cry- long toe, anyone? 

Not quite the look I was going for. 

The hinds were also bad. Heels taken down, toes not addressed. Definitely a different style than I am used to. 

Luckily for us, my friend's farrier was due two weeks later. I spoke with him over the phone and told him a little of what was going on. Not only was he hilarious, he was honest and upfront. He said he would take a look and get Chant fixed up and would call me after he was done. Wouldn't you know the FARRIER gave my horse an incredible trim and I have absolutely no qualms about continuing to have him trim while the horse is there. I even wish he was closer so he could save my aching little back and trim all my horses! 

(His) Right front after the F*&^%$R trimmed it.

Finally the toe is addressed. One can argue he used his rasp higher up than ideal, but it is exactly what I would have done and got Chant's feet back to where they needed to be. 

Beautiful bevel and nice short toes.

Should it matter who trims the horse, as long as it's a good trim? I don't think so. Should the hoof care provider listen to the person who *knows* the horse, and make adjustments to their trim accordingly? Absolutely. A friend of mine is passionate about education and feels that vets, trimmers and farriers all have something to offer, and that pooling the resources will lead to better performance on all fronts. Keep an open mind and see things for what they are. My point in all this is don't let verbiage and titles rule your decisions. Talking the talk doesn't mean anything if the results don't leave your horse walking the walk. 

Chant enjoys a 15-mile loop from Oregon's Prineville ride with trainer Darlene Anderson. He did the loop barefoot with ease two weeks after his trim. I'll go ride him next weekend and get his boot situation lined out. Maybe even touch up his trim if he needs it :) 

Trim on!

~ Amanda

Last week I received the following question: “Do you have a boot that is one size fits all?”

After suppressing my urge to giggle, I answered that unfortunately we do not. Horses come in so many shapes and sizes that I can’t think of a single piece of tack that is one size fits all - that would be too easy. Whether it is your saddle, your bit, or your boots, fit is crucial to keeping you and your horse happy. When I receive interest from potential boot users, the first question I ask is if they have the horse’s hoof measurements available. Although I love hearing about a horse’s age, breed, color, height, and weight, those attributes do not help me determine the ideal boot style or size.

EasyCare offers a wide variety of boot styles and sizes. From left to right:
Easyboot Glove #00, Easyboot Trail #4, Easyboot Epic #6.

“Will these boots stay on?”
Yes, but only if the fit is correct. Fit is the number one criterion for determining the best boot for your horse. The different boot styles will have different sole shapes - this is why hoof measurements are the starting point. Since horses often have variations in hoof size, each hoof that will be booted needs to be measured. Measurements should be taken after a fresh trim. If they are taken later in the trim cycle, it is likely the boots ordered will be too large which increases the chances of boot loss and boot rubs. Regardless of the boot you are interested in, metric measurements are preferable because they are more precise. If you are considering the Easyboot Glove, you have to use metric since the size charts are in millimeters only.  Measuring in inches and converting to millimeters will render the measurement process inaccurate. For the Glove we also recommend getting a Fit Kit to save you the hassle and wasted time of buying and returning multiple boots.

Identifying the heel buttresses (green) is necessary to get an accurate length measurement.

“How do I measure?”
The EasyCare website has a wonderful Education tab and this question is one of the topics discussed. Many people have no problem measuring the widest part of the hoof but the length measurement (toe to heel buttress line) is a bit trickier. Quite often, people measure past the heel buttress line and include the heel bulbs. To determine where the heel buttress line is you must first determine where the heel buttresses are (in the photo above they are outlined in green). When you pick up your horse’s foot, follow the collateral grooves along the sides of the frog which make a “V” (outlined in orange). At the top of the “V” look on either side and notice that the hoof wall curves inward towards the bar. These points are the heel buttresses, the last weight bearing part of the hoof. When you have located them, draw an imaginary line across the back of the foot (dashed red line) and measure from that line to the toe. Once you have your measurements, the EasyCare customer service team will be happy to help you select the ideal boot style and size.

Alayna Wiley

Customer Service

As one of the customer service representatives, I am happy to help get your horse into the right boots. I have plenty of hands on experience since my horses have been barefoot and booted since 2003.

He stands like this...

And like this...



And this.



But sometimes looks like this, and he's beautiful. 

• Get busy and go four or so weeks without looking closely at Topper
• Catch a glimpse of The Dish on one foot and long toe on the other and freak out
• Talk my crazy self down and go nuts rasping and checking, rasping and checking
• Vow to never go longer than two weeks without addressing the flare/long toe and diligently work   at it for the next couple months
• Get cocky due to "beating the dish" and back off

The Elusive Boot Fit

At last it was time to fit Roo's Gloves. Out came his boot bucket and the rubber mallet.

Roo's boot bucket, containing all his boots

When I first converted Roo to barefoot nearly three years ago, he wore an #0.5 on one front foot (the low heel side), an #0 on the other (the high heel side), and #00.5s on the back. More recently, after languishing in the paddock doing nothing for the last couple of years, his feet were now closer to both being #0.5 in the front, and #0s in back.

Before going further, I held the bottom of an #0.5 boot against the underside of his foot. I position the back of the boot level with his heels and then peer all around. By doing this "eyeball fit", you can see if there is any flaring that's likely to cause problems, if the toes are too long to get the hoof snugly into the front of the boot, and generally if you're even close to having the boot fit.

Side-to-side fit looks pretty good - very snug.

But looking further forward, I can see I'm going to have to work to get this boot on. It could be that if I re-evaluate his trim, I may find that his toe could be shorter.

In Roo's case I could tell that it was "sorta" going to work, but it was going to be tight - and even tighter given that this pair of #0.5 Gloves had Powerstraps attached to them.

Because I wanted my friend to get the idea of how to put the boots on, and because I knew this one was going to be a real struggle, I opted to put on a #1 Glove first, just to ease her into the whole enterprise.

Gaiter Flipping
First I showed her how to flip down the gaiter as far as it would go. New gaiters, being stiff, tend to not flip down quite as far as they can, resulting in a "poofy area" closest to the boot. If you're not careful this bulge gets pushed down into the boot as you're trying to fit it and stops the boot going on properly. However, as the boot gets worn in, the gaiter will flip down much more easily and this will be less of a problem.

A new boot gaiter is "poofier", so doesn't fold back as flat as the gaiter on the older boot shown behind. This "poofiness" tends to get rolled down into the back of the boot when you're trying to push it on the foot. Eventually the gaiter will behave itself and make boot application much easier.

To begin with, even the #1 boot wouldn't go on. Part of the problem was the aforementioned bulge which immediately disappeared down the back of the boot, necessitating its removal, re-stretching down of the gaiter, and starting again. It's worth mentioning that if we had been fitting the #0.5 boot, this would have been less of a problem because there wouldn't have been extra room in the rear of the boot for the bulge to fit down where it didn't belong.

Grungy Hoofwall
After some wiggling and puffing, I realised another problem was that Roo's hoof had a little dried lumpy mud glued to it which I cleaned off using the edge of the rasp. Our area is blessed with clay soil that sets like concrete. This may work fine as hoof-expander when dry, but as soon as we cross a creek, it'll turn into slime and have the effect of greasing the hoof. Not great.

Rubber Mallet Usage
The boot (especially a new, unflexible boot like the one we were using) tends to get jammed on the quarters, so you have to wiggle it side to side to ease it over this wide part of the foot. Once you're close to getting it on but it still isn't quite going on all the way, I had my friend give it a couple of whacks to the toe and then a couple to the heels to seat the boot.

To get best results when you hit the toe, angle your rubber mallet so that you're pushing the boot towards the toe, not towards the underside of the foot.

Fast-Fingered Gaiter Flipping
As you let the foot down, it's best to flip the gaiter up before it gets to the ground. If you don't, the horse will always stand on the gaiter and the back of the gaiter will always fill up with small rocks/mud/twigs, even when the horse is standing on a completely clean surface. It is written. 

Feeling the Toe
Once the boot is on (or you think it is), you can push on the bottom-front of the boot to see if there's any space behind it. If there is, your boot is not on all the way and usually a couple of whacks with the mallet, or a few steps trotting the horse will seat it properly.

Evaluating the Fit
As this point you evaluate the fit again. Is the V at the front stretched slightly, or is it loose? In a perfect world, that V should be stretched slightly, showing that the whole of the boot wall is tightly hugging the hoof wall. In reality, if you have a horse with flared walls (common when you don't trim them as often as you should... <inspect fingernails>) or more particularly, a flared toe, you may find that the lower part of the boot is fitting very tightly, but the upper part is gapping somewhat (this is a problem I fight constantly with Uno's over-enthusiastic toes if I don't stay on top of them). Sometimes the addition of a powerstrap can help this problem. And sometimes it'll make it so that it's impossible to get the stupid boot on, especially if you're using a brand new one, so you might need to wait a few uses before fitting the powerstrap.

Either way, rest assured that the more you do this, the easier it'll get. Not only will the boots become more flexible with use, your boot-applying technique will also improve and you'll struggle less. The use of the rubber mallet may become a thing of the past as your boots stretch to fit your horse's feet better, and you get a better shape to his foot as his transition continues.

With a #1 boot on Roo's foot, my friend was quite pleased with her handiwork. She felt that the boot was a good fit. On the other hand, I wasn't quite so sure. Knowing that in the past Roo wore a #0.5 on this foot, I couldn't tell if the #1 Glove seemed to be working because because I'd allowed his feet to grow too long or if his feet had actually expanded in stature. My gut feeling was that although the #1 boot would probably stay on for most riding, if we got into an extreme situation (foot twisting, rough terrain, steep hills), the boot would probably come off.

Pulling out the #0.5 Glove (with powerstrap), I worked hard and managed to smoosh it onto his foot. As anticipated, it was a very tight fit and would have been much easier without the powerstrap's "help". So my choice for him would be to keep him in an 0.5 (and remove the powerstraps).

And this is where a fit kit is worth its weight. You may find that you put a #1 boot on your horse's foot and are very satisfied with the results and think that you have the best fit possible. But if you then put on a size smaller, an #0.5, you may realise that that is the perfect fit.

Similarly, by holding each size of shell against the bottom of the foot, you can readily see how the boot is going to fit.

If you really fight to get a boot on, yet the fit isn't great, could it be that the horse's toes are too long? This is something I struggled with for many weeks with Roo's back feet in the early days. With what I felt were 'reasonable-length' toes, his rear boots constantly came off on steep hills. By holding the next size smaller boot against the bottom of his foot, I was able to see how much toe needed to come off to get a really good fit - and also able to see that the amount of toe that needed to come off wasn't much. I shortened his toes and the boot losses stopped.

Listening to people talk about their boot losses despite "a good fit", I often wonder how good their fit really is and if by trying a smaller boot and/or with a small adjustment to their trimming, they'd be able to get a "perfect fit".

(...or alternatively it could be that they have horses who move like gumby and deliberately twist off their boots just to annoy them.)

A couple of weeks ago, a friend visited from England. She has just decided to take her endurance horse barefoot and compete him in boots. It sounds like she has found a sympathetic trimmer who is interested in what she's doing, so her plan is to schedule him regularly to do the main trim, while she makes touch-ups in between. As far as I can tell hoof boots are still far from the norm in Britain, with most "professionals" convinced that having horses barefoot just won't work and advising their clients accordingly <wry face>.

Initially she picked my brain over the internet...

What Equipment Would She Need?

My List

• A pair of gloves (v. v. important to avoid knuckle rasping)
• A hoof pick (I like the ones with the bristle brush on the back)
• A good rasp (blunt, rusty rasps are no fun and result in much puffing and frustration)
• A sharp narrow-bladed hoof knife (wide-bladed ones are designed for draft horses as far as I can work out)
• A hoof stand (this is a lot of money to invest in, but believe me, your life will be so much pleasanter with one than trying to do this without. Without you’ll be sad and tired and struggle)
• A rubber mallet

What Boots Would She Need?

She was a little confused by the difference between Glue-Ons and Gloves. I explained that although they were essentially the same base-model, Gloves were what she would be using for conditioning and events because of how easy they were to use and quick to put on and take off. You'd only really use Glue-Ons if you were doing a 100 miler, a multi-day, or practising the gluing technique. Once those puppies are on, they aren't going anywhere without the application of some brute force and a wide-bladed screwdriver.

What Size Boots Would She Need?

I explained about measuring the foot accurately to figure out what size boot her horse would need and then I explained that Murphy's Law dictates that your horse's feet will never fall within the confines of the "correct" measurements for a specific boot size, so EasyCare came up with the "Fit Kit".

Say your horse's foot measures something close to a 0.5, but not quite according to the sizing chart. You order the Fit Kit for 0.5 and EasyCare will send you shells in sizes 1 - 0.5 - 0. You can spend a happy session with your horse pushing shells on, walking him around, taking them off and repeating the performance with the other sizes until you are satisfied with what size boot you think is the best fit.*

* this is often not the size you think it's going to be. Case in point, none of the Glove sizes were close to fitting my pony, Jackit's, feet on paper, but in reality once I figured out the right size, his boots don't seem to go anywhere.

To give you an idea of what I was working with - I have small hands. I was fairly convinced that no Glove size would work for him, but it turns out 00.5 and 00s fit him fine.

You get to keep the Fit Kit for 30 days because everyone knows the second a horse item arrives on the premises, it guarantees instant horrendous weather/sickness in human operator/sudden unexpected business travel.

Unfortunately, not living in the US, my friend doesn't have access to fit kits, so she had (hopefully) the correct size Gloves shipped to my house, and I also sent her home with a couple of old boots the next size up 'just in case'.

She was ready to move on to the next stages - basic trimming and boot fit.

• Fear of Failure
• Because we are too busy
• Over-or under-estimating the degree of difficulty the task involves

• Get a buddy to do the barefoot transition with you.
• Challenge your myths regarding shoeing and do some research.
• Get a new attitude.

Shari Murray

Customer Service

If you call the customer service help desk, you’ll probably get me on the phone! I process repairs, returns, credits and exchanges that come into EasyCare.