What is the best cable configuration to make Esay boots as tight as possible so they wont come off? I beleive they are the right size as they are fairly challenging to put on - ie. they don’t just slip on but need some work to get them on. They stay on well at walk and trot, but sometimes get chucked off at the canter…
Have you looked at this page on the Easy Care web site ?
http://www.easycareinc.com/Our_Boots/easyboot_epics/epics_fitting.aspx
http://easycareinc.typepad.com/photos/easyboot_cable_adjustment/easyboot_cable_settings_004.html
Also from their web site:
Tips for Better Fit
If all horses were the same it would be so simple…but they are not, so we learn from each other and help each other find solutions to fitting boots on harder to fit horses.
Vet wrap or duct tape will keep the metal teeth in an Easyboot from gripping onto the hoof wall and can actually hold the boot on better.
The use of pads and/or cutting the top edge of an Easyboot, Epic, or Bare down can keep a boot from rubbing on the coronet band of low heeled horses.
Putting a smaller backstrap into an Easyboot, Epic, or Bare can shorten the length of the boot. (do not shorten more than one size though)
Changing a regular Backstrap (with teeth) out for a Comfort Strap (no teeth) can add width to an Epic. (just make sure the length is the right fit).
Bonnie S.
You could also replace your cable with a slightly shorter one, if the tightest setting is still too loose.
Are you using the Epics or just the Easyboot? If you aren’t using a gaitor, adding that might help too.
I am still having some issues with the boots falling off (maybe 4 times over a 2 hour ride). I have them on the tightest setting (and yes, they are the right size - smaller would be impossible to get on…) and the falling off seems a bit random. I’ve trotted and cantered with them and they’ ve stayed on most of the times, but they have also fallen off at the walk.
My horse is usually barefoot with no issues over rough terrain, but I am heading to a CTR where portions of the trail are said to be very rocky, so I thought I would give the boots a try. I will be using front boots only, and cannot have anything over the coronet band (ie gaiters).
I’ll give duct tape a try tomorrow.
I second that if you’re not using the gaiters (ie the Epics), then I’d try that. I have the standard bare-bones Easyboots sans gaiters, and they’re good for LIGHT work on perfect gravel paths, nothing else.
Another possible option, depending on your horse’s hoof shape is to puchase the new heel straps for the next size down. What I have found is; if your horse’s foot is the exact same shape as the interior of the easy boot then you have the best chance for boots staying on. Gaiters certainly help. But if your horses foot is wide and round, then you are putting a round hoof inside of an oblong boot. So the heel strap is a bit too far back and you can’t get it tight enough. I was told by someone, I thought it was someone who posts here, that you can put the shorter heel strap from a smaller size boot (Easy care sell these straps seperately) onto your boot. You always want to trim the heels of any easy boot down, prevents rubs and if the boot is basicly too long anyway, you can trim them way down and probably trim the boot so it is shorter. It would look like a heelless sandle. This is conjecture, I haven’t done it myself as I’ve been disgusted with the shape change that Easy care did to Easy Boots when they bought the company.
Bonnie S.
When you put the boot on, are you making sure you are pulling up on the backstrap inside the rear of the boot so it is high enough on the rear of the hoof? Make sure that you do that before working on the front lever… On my mare, I have to make sure the strap is almost up to the hairline, so the boot stays on at canter/galloping speeds. If these are an older model, with the cable wire in the front, you can also wind the wire around the top of the wire/metal lever attachment area-once on each side. There is a slot there where you can wind it around-tough on the fingers!! This will make it really hard to bear down on the cable when it is on the lever, since it shortens it, but it snaps down really tight. I have to use a steel hoofpick to get the lever up after riding-but they don’t come off.
In reviewing this, it’s hard to explain my tips, but I hope it makes sense to you when you look at the boots;)
[QUOTE=spurgirl;4270860]
When you put the boot on, are you making sure you are pulling up on the backstrap inside the rear of the boot so it is high enough on the rear of the hoof? Make sure that you do that before working on the front lever… On my mare, I have to make sure the strap is almost up to the hairline, so the boot stays on at canter/galloping speeds. If these are an older model, with the cable wire in the front, you can also wind the wire around the top of the wire/metal lever attachment area-once on each side. There is a slot there where you can wind it around-tough on the fingers!! This will make it really hard to bear down on the cable when it is on the lever, since it shortens it, but it snaps down really tight. I have to use a steel hoofpick to get the lever up after riding-but they don’t come off.
In reviewing this, it’s hard to explain my tips, but I hope it makes sense to you when you look at the boots;)[/QUOTE]
Just a little tip… don’t use your fingers to mess with the cables, use the end of the hoofpick! I never bother with my fingers, it can really tear them up! :eek:
If you can press the clip down with your hands, it is too lose. I always have to step on the clip to get it down, else it is too loose. For my guys with wide ground surfaces and smaller at the top, I have to wrap the cable over so it crosses in front. I use a sturdy hoof pick so I don’t cut my fingers.
I disagree with pulling the back strap up. It’s fastened in there securely, and if you make a point to pull it up you are likely to get it too high. I’ve seen rubs as a result.
Again, this is hard to explain, without actually showing someone…When I mentioned pulling the backstrap up properly (and that is what the cloth strap that comes with the older ones are for), I’m not talking about pulling it up so high that it rubs-DON’T pull it up to the top of the hoof/coronary area. It needs (on my mare at least) to be halfway up the back of HOOF, as if in a sling. When you tighten the front lever down, there is now some pressure on the strap, inside the boot, to hold the boot on better. If you don’t use the cloth strap to pull the backstrap in the boot partially up, and it is around the very bottom area of the hoof, it’s not doing the job of holding the boot on the hoof, it’s just there…My mare has a decent clubfoot on one front, and without doing this, at the canter, she would constantly lose a boot, very much like the OP is describing.
I have this model with the cloth straps too. Unless I am understanding the customer service woman I spoke with those straps stay put and are only for ease in pulling the boot on. There isn’t supposed to be anything touching half way up. I find instead of using those to pull it on I let the weight of my mare finish doing it once I have it basically on. I have no trouble getting them on and never once have they come off while riding. They ARE very tight, like said, I also step on the cable to tighten it, the customer service lady told me they had to be that tight and that I very tight fit in general was required to keep them in place. I use just the standard cable configuration, I don’t need to use the alternate ones that were spoken of above but many do need to. I also know of one horse who can’t keep them on without pads. That shows improper sizing in most cases with THAT particular model. Customer service stressed that a proper measure immediately following a good trim was imperative to keeping them on. I followed that too. We use a size 3, and they are fine the whole way through our 5 week trimming cycle. I have been very happy with mine.
I wouldnt trust an easy boot without a gaiter to stay on a bare hoof for a whole CTR. You could always foam them on- a pain, but if you really need them on, its probably worth the hassle.
