I became the owner of an Arabian mare when she was 18 and thought perhaps I would be able to get a couple years riding out of her. About two or three years ago, she started having some issues with her front hooves being out of balance. With x-rays it was determined the cause: she was a little long on the inside of her right front foot.

A new farrier took over and she was leveled out. Unfortunately, that farrier took her down a whole shoe size. Now she was tenderfooted, lame in the right front and all out of wack in behind. She started hitching in behind. My vet thought it could be because of her “front-end”. He said, “the back-end has to follow the front end!” Another farrier took over her hoof care and we shod her every eight weeks, even trying various pads. She still had problems, so off came the shoes for the last time.

She was barefoot now and we used my older Original Easyboots that were originally purchased for a lost shoe. I couldn’t keep them on her and at the next eight weeks’ trim cycle, I considered putting metal shoes back on her, even though she was still favoring the right hoof. At the ten week mark of growth, she became totally sound all the way around. No more pointing the right hoof. Her extended trot was back and no gimpy walking around the paddock.

The combination of keeping her barefoot, my regular rasping of tiny amounts to keep her level and her new Easyboot Epics have been a win-win situation. As her hooves grow so slowly at her age, I just keep the feet level with some growth on them and her Epics protect her from chips, cracks and concussion.

She has very low heels so I had to remove the heel strap, cut the rear of the Easyboot down even with the seam in the neoprene gator. The rubber of the boot fits perfectly under the seam and is the same thickness. Because of this, it fits seamlessly around her heel bulbs. I also had to raise her hooves up within the boots to get her coronet band up away from the boot heel. I tried the comfort pads, but her hoof walls cut down into the pads, slicing them at the heels. Now I use two layers of non-slip bath mat, covered with a slick layer of a plastic coffee can lid. This thin plastic keeps her walls from cutting into the bath mat material.

Name: Susan K.
City: Chino Valley, Arizona, USA
Equine Discipline: Trail
Favorite Boot: Easyboot Epics