Well I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season filled with good friends, family, food and festivities! Our holidays were nice, but I can’t help saying that I was glad when they were over and life returned back to normal. Did I mention I don’t really care much for change??
We’ve been given a very interesting winter thus far. We kicked ‘er off with sub-zero temps in the middle of November. Yay <insert sarcasm>. Then we were blanketed with feet of snow. Pretty. Then we had a period of nice temperatures and sunny blue sky. Yay! Then it rained. It rained for 36 hours along with icy wind and temps around 33 degrees. And THEN it froze. As in, rock solid. For going on a week and a half now, the ground has been frozen solid. The snow that once was melted, and that that didn’t melt froze into an icy layer of, well, ice.
Soooo all of the mud that once was now resembles the craters of the moon. The horses walk gingerly across the ruts, and stand awkwardly with contorted toe and pastern angles, half in and half out of a previously sloppy hoof print. We haven’t ridden in weeks due to the ice, but are looking forward to above freezing temps this weekend! Yay! Ahhh, the little things in life.
In preparation for the weeks of muddy slop ahead, I took advantage of the clean “snow feet” from weeks past and measured my mare for a new pair of boots. My very first pair of non-EasyCare Gloves. I am getting a set of EasyCare Grips, which I am super excited about. Now don’t get me wrong, I adore my Gloves and find them useful in every type of terrain and footing there is, but it would be nice to have a pair of boots specifically designed as mud tires.
Left front, width
Left front, length
Right front, length
Right front, width
Hind width
I had no idea what size of Grips to order, so I went to the trusty EasyCare website and took advantage of the super cool Hoof Boot Calculator. Calculations show that Replika will need a size 00 all the way around. Is it really that easy? I guess we’ll see! It will be interesting to see if she moves as well in the Grips as she does in the Gloves, but will be even cooler to see how the Grips perform on the nasty, sloppy, slippery ridge-tops here at home when the earth thaws. I will also be ordering a set of Quick Studs for my Gloves. The choices we have for our horses are beginning to feel never-ending! We are so lucky to have these options.
My resolution for the new year is to never stop learning, keep an open mind and experience all that I can. What is yours?
Happy New Years!
~ Amanda Washington
SW Idaho
