Tools To Avoid Peripheral Loading and Extend Horse Longevity In Hoof Boots and EasyShoes

EasyCare is now selling Vettec Equipak Soft and Glue-U Shufill.  Why are these products important for the equine hoof and your equine partner’s longevity?

Imagine walking or running in a shoe where only your toes and heels made contact with the insole of your shoe.  Your arch didn’t touch, your arch wasn’t given any support, and with every footfall only your toes and heel supported your weight. How long would you be comfortable without giving your arch and the main structure of your foot the ability to share the load?  Now visualize the similarities of a horse in steel shoes on hard ground.

Every time I take my horses from a soft pasture I remove a dirt/grass plug from each hoof.  This plug helps load the entire hoof and help load the hoof like the arch support in most human shoes.

Nature’s hoof packing.  Does this happen by chance? 

One of my best conditioning rides in Durango is a dirt road that gets hard packed during many times during the year.  Although hoof boots offer protection from the rocks and concussion the addition of a soft packing helps load the entire hoof,  I personally notice a big difference in my horses when a packing is used.  The horses move better, they are more forward and they seem to finish with more bounce in their step.  The following day legs are tight and without heat.

We are seeing great results from both the Vettec Equipak Soft and the Glue-U Shufill pour in materials.  Both products set up quickly and can be used in both hoof boots and under EasyShoes.  One of the unique things about the Glue-U Shufill products is the ability to choose different densities.  The Glue-U also gives you the ability to use different densities in different parts of the hoof.

Ernest Woodward applied this EasyShoe using Shufill 10 density and Shufill 20 density in the heel.

A horse with decent concavity is peripherally loaded in hoof boots.  A quick and easy way to give the hoof the opportunity to support the load as nature intended is adding a pour in after the boot is applied to the hoof.  Drill two holes in the bottom of the hoof boot before applying the boot.

Applying Vettec Equipak soft before a hard conditioning ride.

Flexible pour-in pads make an exact mold of the hoof’s concavity: a great way to help the sole share the load.

Glue-U Shufill 40 hardness used to support the hoof in another EasyShoe application. 

Give a pour in packing a try for your equine partner.  Let us know if your horse improved at his respective discipline. Find these products and more on the Accessories page of the EasyCare website. We currently have them included under the Glue-On boots and EasyShoes section.