Equi-cast

[friedmas]

Hi all! I was wondering if anyone has experience with Equi-Cast? I currently am leasing a horse and he’s fantastic, but he has softer feet and thinner soles. His owner doesn’t want him shod. However, during the week of 4H fair I’m afraid he’s going to get super tender. Stupid awful arena footing, uhg! Since his owner won’t let him get shoes and pads, my farrier (who does my own personal horse as well) brought up Equi-Cast and Equi-Pak.

Do you guys have any experiences with it? My farrier said it could be very beneficial for the short term but he says there’s always a risk of it falling off

[JB]

One question is - will you be able to show in casts? If so, then I think it’s an excellent idea. If the farrier does this enough days out that you’ll know if it’s uncomfortable for the horse in time, but not so far out that it’s “old” by the time the fair comes, I think you’ll be fine. The few times I’ve used it, which included work and running around on hard packed clay pasture, I still had to pry it all off.

[friedmas]

@JB

One question is - will you be able to show in casts? If so, then I think it’s an excellent idea. If the farrier does this enough days out that you’ll know if it’s uncomfortable for the horse in time, but not so far out that it’s “old” by the time the fair comes, I think you’ll be fine. The few times I’ve used it, which included work and running around on hard packed clay pasture, I still had to pry it all off.

I’m pretty sure I could show in them. I don’t see why not but I can double check the rule book. And that’s a super good idea, I was thinking having them put on 4 days before the beginning of the show

[danacat]

If the casts are put on correctly + zig-zag of glue on hoof wall before application – they should stay on for several weeks if not longer depending on how abrasive the footing is for turn-out and general riding. But you should easily be fine for the duration of the show +++.

[Texarkana]

We used to use them at one barn I worked at when horses threw shoes. I learned to apply them to my own horse towards the end of her rehab from a hoof injury.

I don’t think it’s a bad idea, depending on what you’re doing. The traction with them is not great. It’s one thing to have them on a single hoof and three other good feet for traction, totally different situation to have them on 2 or 4 feet. I wouldn’t want to be jumping or barrel racing with them on multiple feet, that’s for sure! Flat classes shouldn’t be a problem. Maybe I dreamed this up, but I think there is something endurance riders put on the bottom to improve traction?

[x-halt-salute]

@Texarkana

We used to use them at one barn I worked at when horses threw shoes. I learned to apply them to my own horse towards the end of her rehab from a hoof injury.

I don’t think it’s a bad idea, depending on what you’re doing. The traction with them is not great. It’s one thing to have them on a single hoof and three other good feet for traction, totally different situation to have them on 2 or 4 feet. I wouldn’t want to be jumping or barrel racing with them on multiple feet, that’s for sure! Flat classes shouldn’t be a problem. Maybe I dreamed this up, but I think there is something endurance riders put on the bottom to improve traction?

An endurance rider I know used to have her farrier create shoe-like coverage out of Vettec Superfast as occasional protection for a horse that had poor hooves. It’s been a decade, so I don’t know if that’s still a thing people do. Here’s the first description of the process that came up on Google. Might be worth looking into if equicast is not legal for OP’s intended shows.

[friedmas]

@Texarkana

We used to use them at one barn I worked at when horses threw shoes. I learned to apply them to my own horse towards the end of her rehab from a hoof injury.

I don’t think it’s a bad idea, depending on what you’re doing. The traction with them is not great. It’s one thing to have them on a single hoof and three other good feet for traction, totally different situation to have them on 2 or 4 feet. I wouldn’t want to be jumping or barrel racing with them on multiple feet, that’s for sure! Flat classes shouldn’t be a problem. Maybe I dreamed this up, but I think there is something endurance riders put on the bottom to improve traction?

I think the traction should be fine for us, I’m a pleasure rider so the fastest im going is an extended canter which is about the speed of any normal horses lope lol

[danacat]

If I’m not mistaken, you can apply beads of superfast or Vettec Adhere around rim of hoof for traction.

[Dunkhead]

I have used Equicasts on two of my lower level dressage horses with great results. As some have mentioned, as they wear, they can lose some of their traction. But I was told that it really only comes into play when your horse is coming in at speed onto a slick surface like a barn floor with no mats. My horses don’t ever do that so no problem for me. Best of luck to you! They really do preserve the hoof wear yet are breathable, expandable, etc…

[friedmas]

Thank you all for the help! The casts stayed on for the week of fair, and his owner agreed to shoes!