Yet Another Hoof Boot Thread - new question post #8: EasyShoes?

[Ceylon_Star]

I’m asking in regards to my driving cob, but I figure the endurance crew will have the best knowledge on the issue

I’m looking to give my cob the best traction possible when driving on the roads. He has good hard feet, and extended work on pavement or gravel doesn’t wear them down very fast, so I’m not too concerned about hoof wear. My worry is traction on pavement, especially with how hilly our neighborhood is.

Shoes aren’t an option for this guy for a few reasons, mainly that it would require a very large amount of sedation to get him through a shoeing, and to use that much sedation as frequently as shoes need to be reset is just too hard on his body. My vet and farrier both feel that it’s not something that can be trained out of him, it’s too deep-rooted of a fear. It has already taken 2.5 years to get through a full barefoot trim in one sitting (thank goodness for my amazingly patient farrier who is worth more than all the gold on earth!!!). I’ve had drivers online suggest shoes with borium, but between shoeing not being an option, and nobody in the area doing shoes with borium, my options are limited.

I have limited experience with hoof boots. I’ve simply used whatever the horse went in for trail riding, and the ones who needed them had tenderness issues, rather than traction concerns. I really dislike the tight-fitting Easyboots because they only really fit for 2 weeks after a trim before becoming too tight. The bright side was that they kept junk out and made it hard to lose a boot, but they were awful to fight with anytime I wanted to go out. I LOVED the Renegades that another horse used. They were super easy to use and I never lost one despite riding through some less than great terrain. The one thing I noticed about the Renegades vs the Easyboots (I’ve used Epics and Gloves) is that the black rubber of the Easyboots feels a bit stickier than the smoother plastic of the Renegades, so I wonder how slippery the Renegades would be, especially if the roads are a bit wet (gotta love living on the wet west coast).

I know that a few boot brands have a stud option, and someone has suggested going that route, but I have always been taught that studs are to NEVER be used on pavement. I think Easyboot makes a removable stud option, and Renegade has non removable studs.

My experiences with Cavallo and Old Mac boots is that they rotate and/or fall off the easiest, and debris easily slips between the rim and the horse’s leg/foot. But on the flip side, those styles may fit my boy the best because of his quite round feet. My worry with the rotating/coming off is that if he were to bump a foot against the cart, it’ll come off in the middle of the road.

What have folks found was best for traction on pavement? What are your favourite boots and why?

Thanks in advance

[SharonA]

I always thought bare was best, when it came to traction on pavement… Metal shoes or studs on pavement is a bad thing, I was taught. I would leave him bare unless you notice a huge problem.

But, you know… two horsepeople, three opinions.

[cnvh]

I agree about bare-- short of shoeing with borium, my horse (whom I road-ride pretty regularly) seems to not slip around at all barefoot, but he’s occasionally a bit slippy with the boots on.

Speaking of boots, if you use Cavallos and they are able to spin around, they’re the wrong size because they’re too big-- a little left-right twist is OK, but you shouldn’t be able to spin them, not even close.

[Zwarte]

If your horse has no problems with wear, then I am not sure why you don’t just drive him barefoot.

I am in the process of transitioning my driving Morgan from shoes to boots. I have signed up to go on the Caravan http://www.thecaravan.me/join which is kind of like endurance for drivers.

The caravan will bring a farrier along but my horse has a propensity to lose his shoes at very inopportune times.

Like you, I researched boots and wound up with 4 Renegades. I opted not to get studs because I don’t drive on ice. If these perform as expected, then they will be worth the expense.

As far as traction is concerned, one of the reasons I took him away from metal shoes was that he was slipping in the trailer in them. The boots do fine but I think barefoot would be best. The advantage of boots is that you can decide whether to use them or not.

So far, he goes very well in the renegades. He is sore on gravel without them. They are kinda clunky looking but I can put up with that. They are very easy to put on and off.

Somewhere, I read that driving horses wear the rear boots more than the front which makes sense because the engine is in back.

[chicamux]

Ceylon Star,
Are you planning on doing the entire drive from California to Florida? Yes, IMO, you are going to need boots because the wear on your horses feet will exceed his hoof growth rate. I suggest you use the Easy Care website to locate a trimmer, boot fitter to help you find the right boots for you horse. You may find that using the boots 2 out of 3 days (20-25 miles per day) will work for you horse and let him self-trim to a certain extent.

The EasyCare studs are a very small tungsten carbide stud, small diameter, which extends very little beyond the bottom of the boots. Two at the toe, two at the heels.

Just my opinion, I am not a driver but I have done my share of road riding and definitely use traction on my horse.

chicamuxen

[Ceylon_Star]

Thanks folks.

No, not doing the cross America drive. Haha. I just live in an area that has hilly paved roads and worry about Pony slipping when we’re out on them. We are also on the wet west coast and once the wet weather comes back and the outdoor ring becomes too wet to drive in, the roads will be the only place for us to drive.

After hearing from you guys, I’m leaning towards picking up some studded boots for when we’re left with only the roads to drive on, and going barefoot the rest of the time.

Zwarte, do you find the Renegades to be grippy enough?

[gothedistance]

For my (Welsh Section Bs) pair I shoe them in aluminum when I want them shod. Aluminum doesn’t slip. When we are in the off season going barefoot in the fields, I boot them up for driving. I love/hate the classic Easyboot: love them for the wearability and thick “feel nothing through them” soles on our gravel roads; hate them for having to get them on and off (they are TIGHT, but that’s when they are at their best). Unfortunately, they’re not the best on slippery blacktop roads unlike aluminum shoes. The Gloves are MUCH better on the slick pavement, but they wear down like butter on a hot flapjack and are very thin on the sides and not all that thick in the sole, either. Then again, a Glove won’t be a problem since your cob has tough feet. Plus they are much easier to get on, and the gaiter keeps them on (for the most part). I tend to boot my driving ponies with classics in the front, and Gloves in the back - simply because it only takes once for a classic on a back foot nearest the pole to get tossed and have to be put back on before you realize that crawling under a pony and the pole to get an inside back boot back on - a boot that’s a fight to get on any given day of the week anyway - is too much of a PITA to deal with. At least the Gloves slide right on, and tend to stay in place with their gaiters.

I’m really sorry to hear your horse has a severe terror of shoeing. Poor baby! Which begs the question: did you ever try gluing on shoes? Aluminum is what I shod my Decade Team endurance pony with for 15 years (who also drove - he was a tandem leader and half of a pair, and was my foxhunter/whip horse for 12 years) although I nailed his shoes on. He and I -on a particular 2 day 100 mile endurance ride I loved- used to gallop up the car lane of a major paved highway like we were on fire, me with an evil grin on my face passing riders who were all worried trying to find traction on the side of the road because their horses would slip on the slick pavement. (For chickamuxen - Bonnie: you’ll remember this highway - it was at Mustang - the state highway in the 2nd loop of the 50 coming back to camp. Several miles of paved highway.) One day I also cantered up Rt 50 in Upperville on the pavement, right in the middle of my lane, traffic backed up behind me, drivers terrified to get any nearer than 50’ of me as I hand galloped along the 2 miles to get where I wanted to go. Never, ever, ever slipped. Ever. Aluminum grabs the pavement like suction cups if you have 100% aluminum shoes. If they have that steel wear strip in the toe, that will slide on steep slopes, unfortunately.

So…if you can have your farrier glue on some pure aluminum shoes, it might be an option. No studs needed. I’ve never had to glue on a shoe as my guys stand perfectly still for me to nail on their shoes, but I know quite a few people who do have their shoes glued on and LOVE them.

Please bear in mind that I hate studs for anything other than foxhunting where their benefits outweigh their downsides. I think they are too abrupt to stop the foot on any surface, don’t allow enough natural slide, and are jarring to the joints and bones. Because they lift the entire foot off the ground and your contact points are 4 tiny bits of metal holding an entire leg off the ground, there is a lot of pressure at those contact points. BUT, when hunting, you need traction when galloping at paces that are hair-raising, and when it’s your neck depending upon your horse to keep it’s feet underneath it on icy/slippery/wet/treacherous ground, then studs are your insurance you’ll live to see the next check.

[Ceylon_Star]

I’ll discuss 100% aluminum glue-ons with my farrier and see if that’s an option. I never would have thought of going aluminum, so thanks for the suggestion!

And good to know about the Gloves being less of a pain. I would have expected them to be the biggest pain with how close of a fit they’d need since there’s nothing to really hold them on, unlike the Epics. (and I was mistaken, it was the Easyboot Edge, not the Glove, that I had used previously in addition to the Epics).

Yep, huge shame that ponypants is so afraid of shoeing. I can’t be in the same row of crossties as a horse being shod or he’ll freak out and end up falling in the crossties I’m not even 100% sure WHY he’s so afraid of shoeing; he’s never been shod as far as I know. I know that the trimming issues stemmed from a farrier tying his foot up (so he couldn’t pull away) and he panicked and fell over and couldn’t get back up. Of course that was his first ever farrier experience, and so it stuck with him years later. We REALLY lucked out in finding a farrier who happily worked with us to make trimming a positive experience. She’s absolutely amazing, and not only does she get nice cash tips, she also gets baked goods or loose leaf tea (she’s a tea junkie like me! haha!) as an extra thank you, even with pony being pretty darn good to trim now. We do our best to keep miss farrier happy, and I genuinely look forward to our appointments because she’s a really cool person in general (and Pony nickers at her when she arrives now, hehehe)

[Ceylon_Star]

I just took another look at the Easycare website and noticed the Easyshoes. Has anyone tried them?

[gothedistance]

Oh, gosh. Your poor, poor boy. All it takes is one stupid person to give a sensitive pony a complex for the rest of their life. I’m not surprised you bless the ground that your farrier walks on as she is so wonderful for your pony. I wish someone would bring me goodies and sweets and cold drinks when I’m sweating my *** off doing my four ponies. I’d think I’d died and gone to heaven!

At least with gluing there is no nailing, no pounding on the foot, no noise at all, nothing to frighten him. He won’t know the difference between a simple trim, and a set of shoes going on, except for perhaps a bit more time standing around. Gluing does require patience in the setting and drying phase. I’ve been nailing shoes on since I was in my 20’s (4 decades ago!!) so it’s much faster for me to nail a shoe on than deal with glue. But it is nice to know that I now have that option if it’s ever needed.

If I were you, why not start with the Gloves first? See if they fit your needs. They aren’t terribly expensive, and you’ll LOVE how easily they slip on compared to the classic. If they do work, then you have your answer, and you can always keep the glue-on aluminum shoes as an option. It’s always nice to have options!

I’ve seen the Easyshoes on the EasyCare website - they follow along the same path as other plastic shoes that are meant to be glued on. Not sure how they handle on slippery surfaces. It might help if you contact them and see what the composite is - that way you might determine if they would be suitable for your needs, or not.

You may find that the Gloves work well, and the big plus with them vs Easyshoe is your pony can be barefoot whenever you want him to be!!

[hank]

[QUOTE=Ceylon Star;7734389]
I just took another look at the Easycare website and noticed the Easyshoes. Has anyone tried them?[/QUOTE]

If the price doesn’t scare you, they might be just what you are looking for…

[Ceylon_Star]

My trimmer IS a farrier and does do shoes, I’m just not sure if she offers full aluminum or not. I actually met her through a friend whose lease horse had miss farrier do his (complicated, due to really bizarre convex soles and crumbling walls) shoes, and lease horse was a real dink to be shod. I really liked the way she was firm but kind and truly horse-savvy, so got to talking to her about my guy and his issues and she offered to come give him a shot. Almost 2 years later and she’s still with us and happy to come work on ponypants <3 And as far as farriers in the area go, she’s one of the better ones for barefoot trims and actually takes the individual hoof and horse into account. Most of the others, it’s like pulling teeth trying to get them to do a decent barefoot trim, they prefer to push shoes whenever possible. Ugh. And the barefoot-only trimmers I don’t trust as far as I can throw them. One came and did pony while I had him sedated for clipping, and it’s the only time in his life he’s ever been lame. It took months for the bruising (caused by trimming waaayyyy too short) to grow out I recently found out that her “certification” is bogus and she’s actually self-taught. The other two just don’t have very good reviews and the people I’ve talked to who use them all need boots to ride, even in soft footing, so yuck. So yeah, extra-super-duper-lucky to have my farrier! I actually have a pound of beautiful direct-from-the-farm Taiwanese oolong tea set aside for her when she’s back to trim the pony in a couple weeks

I’ll get her to help me measure him after pony’s next trim and look at getting a pair of Gloves to try. Thanks!

[gothedistance]

Yeah, sorry - I just assumed “trimmer” and didn’t go back to reread your post to notice you said farrier. I changed my post, but I guess you’d already read it. She sounds like a gem!

The Gloves pretty much match my ponies’ shoe sizes, if that’s a help (probably not since your guy has never been shod), and they do come in half sizes which is a blessing.

[Ceylon_Star]

No worries And yes, she is a total gem and I adore and appreciate her! She’s setting aside extra time around our next appointment so I can take her for a quick spin in the cart!

The gloves also come in wide sizes which is handy. He has pretty round feet and while I haven’t measured them yet, I have a feeling he’ll be needing a wide boot, at least in front. Silly draft pony!

[not_again]

We’ve had great luck with the Easy Boot Gloves… just get the velcro snug!

[trailpal]

I tried the Easy Shoe glue-ons. Normally my horse is barefoot and I just use gloves in front. At the beginning of summer I thought I’d be doing a lot of riding and thought these would be easier. My trimmer has been showing me how to trim and maintain for over a year and has finally turned me loose - I can always call if I have a problem but I am too far for him to travel to these days, and he says he never has anything to do on my horse! He is pretty experienced and glued the shoes on for me (fronts only).

I live in humid wet Maryland. My horse is in days and out at night, at least for the summer. The boots stayed on only 5 weeks, one came off while I was out of town and his hoof wall got really chewed up. I normally rasp and do maintenance every week or two, and he had a lot of hoofwall after 5 weeks! He also became sensitive in the fronts after removing the other shoe, and it’s taking time to get him toughened up again. If you glue on the shoes, you cannot re-set them. They also have an option to be nailed on and can be reset, but I realize that is not useful for you.

I do like the Gloves, but will be trying the Renegades as they are easier to put on (a pain to set up the first time, but after that pretty good).

I can’t answer as to how any of this works on asphalt as I don’t’ really have any to ride on here.

[Ceylon_Star]

For the Renegade folks:

My farrier suggested I try the Vipers as they have more wider sizes and would likely work even better for my guy than Renegades (and she says that the tread is much better suited to my needs than the original Renegades), but I can’t seem to figure out where I can order them from. She said that they have left the beta testing stage now, it’s just a matter of ordering some. She’ll ask one of her other clients who has a pair but the client is currently away and she doesn’t know when they’ll be back.

[chicamux]

Patti Stedman is the person to talk to about the EASYCARE shoes. But she and her DH are still on the road, coming back from Utah. They did 3-4 days of endurance rides, major jealousy on my part.

Anyway, they were using boots but have switched to the EasyCare shoes now. They do their own trims and shoeing. I believe they are using both nails and glue but you should ask her. Her COTH ID is - Patti.

chicamuxen

[trailpal]

If you are on facebook, “like” Renegade Hoof Boots. From there you can order Vipers, and ask questions of that group.

[BigHorseLittleHorse]

I’ve been using the Vipers for about 2 years now (was one of the testers), and they’re great. But like all hoof boots, they fit some hoof shapes better than others. Your best bet would be to take a complete set of hoof photos in good lighting (side, front, bottom) and a set of photos with a measuring tape (length and width across the bottom), then call Renegade customer service armed with this info. (email them the photos, but follow up with a phone call for faster service.) They’ll be able to tell you if the Vipers would be a good fit for your horse, and if so which size to get, and then place the order for you. They’re very helpful!

The facebook group Renegade Hoof Boots is definitely helpful to get answers to general questions, but calling customer service is your best bet for a personalized solution.