EasyCare

Testimonials on the barefoot hoof and protective horse boots are prolific at EasyCare. Here is one on a couple of happy horses with their natural hoof care experiences.

"I’ve got a 7 yr old OTTB (reasonable feet, barefoot about a year now, I do ride in boots) and a 24 yr old ex-eventer Appaloosa who had all types of issues and is now very happily barefoot for the past 4 years. The TB has decent sized feet, although loves to try to stay run-under on the right front, has platter type feet and has worn the Old Macs and Boas. The Appaloosa has crappy feet, upright pasterns, basically tea-cups for feet and wears Boas quite nicely. They are both very happy with their boots.

I’ve used the original Old Macs, the Boas and the new Old Mac G2’s. I love both versions of the Old Macs however the Boas are much easier to put on!

I’ve found that the shape of the hoof makes a huge difference as to the type of boot that works for each of my horses. The type of riding that I do is trail riding (nothing severe), ring work, riding in fields and jumping. So far, I’ve been slightly more comfortable jumping in the Boas.

I’ve found that the biggest factors to finding boots that I’m satisfied with is proper fit and correct shape for that horses hoof.

The boots that I use are the kinds that go over the top of the hoof. Someone recently mentioned the new Easyboot Bares which look quite intriguing as they do not go over the top of the hoof which, in theory, I think I like the idea of.

I only use boots in front on the horses. SO far, they’ve managed to seem fine barefoot behind and it’s nice to save on shoeing bills!

With today's ecomomy we all agree that it's great that we can find affordable hoof protection for our horses!"

For more information on getting the right fit for your horse, check out our boot fitting guidelines page here. 


 

Here is a look at some of the booting and padding suggestions of barefoot hoof care by Maria Siebrand of "The Thoughtful Horseman". 

Boots & Pads
With a very rare exception, I will fit your horse with boots and pads the day I pull shoes. You may find that you never need to use them, or you may find that they are a necessary part of the shod-to-barefoot transition. 

At any time, if the horse moves more comfortably with the boots and pads than without them, you should use them. It is critical that the pads are used with the boots; without the pads, the hard, flat surface of the inside of the boot acts as a peripheral loading device, and only the hoof wall carries the weight of the horse, much like a horse shoe. Pressure and release to the sole of the foot and the frog are essential to proper hoof function, and therefore pads are essential.

Keeping boots clean, fresh, and in good operating condition prevents rubbing and prolongs the life of the boots and pads. Boots and pads can be hosed off in the washrack. Be sure to take the pads out of the boots and thoroughly clean both the inside of the boot and the pad. Let both dry thoroughly before using.

Once dry, sprinkle the inside of the boot with a little Gold Bond Foot Powder to freshen the boot, discourage bacteria and fungus, and also to help the boot slip easily over the heel bulbs.

To keep the wires in Epics sliding freely, spray the "loop" ends inside the boot with a little WD40.

It's a good idea to buy a spare set of pads; when one pair looks very flattened, pull them out and put in the new ones, but don't throw away the old ones just yet! Put them aside for a few days, and they regain their sponginess. If the pads become torn or have holes in them, they do need to be replaced. Cleaning sand, dirt and grit out of the boots after every use preserves the life of the pads.

Most of the parts on the EasyBoots are replaceable and inexpensive. The neoprene and velcro gaiters are usually the first thing to succumb to 1200 lbs of horse, but don't despair! I keep plenty in stock.

Preventing Rubbing to the Hoof Wall or Heel Bulbs
If the tongue of the boot (plastic piece that comes up across the toe/dorsal wall) comes up too close to the coronary band, it can be trimmed back with a pair of scissors. Likewise, if the tongue rubs the wall excessively.

Heel bulb rubbing/irritation can be mitigated several ways. Try a single layer of vet wrap around the affected area, zinc oxide ointment (diaper ointment), or slide a tube sock or a ladies' knee high stocking over the hoof before putting the boot on. 

Maria carries several styles of the EasyCare boots and hoof pads so she will be ready to help you with your booting needs. You can order from her website or give her a call at 619-865-9614. You can also check out her website at www.thoughtfulhorseman.com to see other articles and pictures that you will really enjoy and gain knowledge about barefoot. 
 

Posted by Nancy Fredrick

A world of information is available at www.barefoothorse.com. This following article makes us stop and think how important natural horse care is and finding the right protective horse boots that are available, starting with EasyCare, the leader in hoof boots!

When we pull the shoes, nearly all horses are found to have substantial internal damage to the hooves. It takes about a year of special care to re-build good feet; we call this healing time the "transition year." The occasional horse that doesn't have transition soreness generally had shoes for only a few months.

Horseshoes seem to have been invented in the Middle Ages in Europe, to keep the feet from falling apart when knights' horses had to live for months in slop-filled tie-stalls while the castle was under siege. At that time, the modern study of Anatomy and Physiology did not exist yet, so there was no way to study what the shoes did to hooves and legs.

Horses today are high-priced performance animals and valued companions, and are not kept in unsanitary conditions that rot their feet. A long life and lifelong soundness are important to most horse owners. Therefore, it is time to re-think the use of horseshoes.

There are more than a dozen ways that shoes are known to damage the feet, legs, and circulatory system of the horse (see A Lifetime of Soundness by Dr. Hiltrud Strasser). The worst damage comes from loss of circulation in the hoof, and loss of shock absorption.

Circulation: When the horse steps down on his foot, the cone-shaped hoof wall flexes wider at the bottom; when he lifts it off the ground, it returns to its narrower "closed" shape. This spread-and-squeeze acts like a pump, pulling blood into the foot with each step.

Horsehoes are nailed onto the foot when it is in the closed, off-the-ground position. With a shoe on, the hoof can't flex, so the pump doesn't work; not enough blood and nutrients are pulled into the foot to build and maintain strong tissues. Therefore, the quality of sole, wall, and frog is poor; injuries are slow to heal; and the white line deteriorates over time and becomes stretchy.

A rough estimate is that a medium-sized, barefoot horse pumps a gallon (4 liters) through its four feet in about 20 strides. If anyone has more accurate information I will put it here.

Shock absorption: In the tough yet elastic barefoot hoof, the flexing of the weighted hoof can absorb as much as 2,000 lbs. of concussion. But the horseshoe holds the foot inflexible, cancelling out 75% of its ability to absorb shock. Instead, the concussion goes on up the leg and damages joints and tendons that were not designed to take so much shock.

A third type of damage is that shoes contract the hoof. The hoof naturally grows in a cone shape; as the hoof wall grows, the base (the part that touches the ground) gets wider. But shoes hold the base to the size it was on shoeing day. The shod hoof changes from a cone to more of a cylinder shape. The heels are forced to curl inward, which puts incorrect mechanical stress on the hoof wall, and can show up as wall cracks, white line damage, or heel pain.

An overgrown hoof that was not shod, showing how the hoof gets wider as it grows.

An overgrown hoof that was shod, showing how the shoe made the hoof grow in a cylinder shape with "underslung heels."

The horse's feet keep growing till age 5, when he reaches his full adult weight. When shoes are put on a young horse, the coffin bone cannot grow wider, and the foot ends up small for the horse, and often contracted.

For these and many other reasons, the barefoot horse has a lot of advantages over the shod horse, both in health and in performance.


Posted by Marcie Mendoza
 

Prizes

1st Place - 7 Night Mexican Riviera Cruise
2nd Place - iPod Touch
3rd Place - EasyCare embroidered Cloudveil Jacket
4th Place - iPod Nano
5th Place - iPod Shuffle

The top five performers through April 30th, 2010 win! You must complete all training modules to compete. Only your first six attempts at each Edu-Game count toward your best score.

Contest runs 01/13/2010 through 04/30/2010.

Only 6 Edu-Game attempts are allowed for each module. Additional attempts will not be counted towards the contest entry.

The following training modules must be completed to qualify for the contest:

• Fit & Construction
• Hoof Boots
• Our Momentum
• Our Story

Hoof Care practitioner Dawn Willoughby of Wilmington, Delaware, took a walk on the wild side this past January. Dawn ventured over to Panama to meet with some forward thinkers there to do a clinic on natural horse care and barefoot trimming.  Dawn took a few samples of EasyCare hoof boots with her to show them that instead of iron horse shoes they can quickly and easily slip on a pair of EasyCare protective hoof boots.  Pictured is Dawn in action along with Moria an Arabian, owned by Mario Chamorro.  Moria is sporting some Easyboot Epics while moving some Brahma beef cattle. 

Professor Robert Bowker recently returned to Australia to lecture again for the Australian College of Equine Podiotherapy and to also offer a two day seminar for professional trimmers and vets. 

Professor Bowker is a researcher and anatomy teacher based at Michigan State University and runs the Equine Hoof Laboratory there.  His ground breaking research into the hoof right down to cellular level, is helping trimmers understand the importance of anatomy based trimming strategies and 33 new Aussie students eagerly lapped up his information.

One student trimmer recently broke her leg in a riding accident, but in a wheelchair and armed with crutches, she flew in from Tasmania so as not to miss any of  Dr. Bowker’s lectures.

The Australian College of Equine Podiotherapy are excited to have Professor Bowker as one of our lecturers and thank him for his endless enthusiasm and wonderful advice.  We look forward to his return for the next course starting in October 2010.

Chris Ware

Course Co-ordinator

www.equinepodiotherapy.com.au