“It was very cold that day,” says Catherine. I live near Edinburgh in Scotland and this is a picture of me and Tia (complete with Old Mac’s) on the beach at John Muir Country Park at Dunbar in East Lothian.

Tia is a 16.2hh Irish Sports Horse that I’ve owned for seven years. She had a few years of intermittent forelimb lameness, caused by a tendon injury, sidebone and non-specific heel pain. I became tired of the huge expense of the remedial shoes that seemed to be doing very little for her and decided as I was able to ride so infrequently that I’d forget the shoes and use boots for the occasions that I could ride. Best thing I ever did! She became progressively more sound without the shoes (although did need her old macs for hard or stoney going) and is now competing in TREC on a regular basis and doing pretty well!! We also enjoy hacking (beach is best!) and low level endurance riding and are hoping to progress to some 30km competitive rides in the near future.

The Old Mac’s never budge at all and I’ve been through deep water, including swimming in the sea, hock deep bogs, steep up and down hills, a bit of jumping and travelling at all paces! I’ll never go back to shoes with her or any other horse! Thanks Easycare.

I was so pleased with Kengis that day. We have not done an event for a year (lots of foot abscess hence why we are now bare foot) and he is 21 so I was so chuffed when they announced that we had won! He used to trip quite a bit with traditional shoes on but since going barefoot he rarely trips at all now and I am amazed in the change in his feet.

Kengis is a Russian Don. I bought him as an eight year-old from a riding vacation I went on. They had bought him over from Russia. I only had him two years when he went very, very lame, leading to six months’ stall rest. After that time the vets told me to have him put to sleep. I refused and took him home to my parent’s place in Kent where we could look after him 24 hours a day. I started to walk him in hand and after a month he was sound.

We had many trouble-free years after that but then, about a year and half ago, he started to get abscesses. We tried all sorts of boots and treatments, all of which seemed to work short-term but the abscesses always came back. In October 2009 he had his worst series of abscesses: one in each foot and then another two after that.

A friend suggested I try using Easyboots so I could continue to turn him out. My farrier was happy about that as the blood flow to the hooves is better if they can move. We decided to pull all his shoes and use Easyboot Epics over his treatment and turn him out.

Once the abscesses had cleared up I turned him out barefoot. He was tender to start with but over the months his feet have really toughened up. I use Easyboot Epics on his front feet when we go out riding.

When he had traditional shoes he used to trip a lot and he even had a bad fall following a trip at a walk. Since taking his shoes off and riding him in his Easyboot Epics we very rarely trip or stumble at all now.

His confidence is back and so is mine. I had become quite nervous about going down hills and riding over bad ground in case he tripped and fell again. My farrier is so pleased with the change in foot shape and the quality of hoof he has now.

With shoes on his feet were always crumbling and no amount of hoof oil and feed supplements made any difference at all. He only has a vitamin additive now and no hoof supplement and his feet are great! I think that some horses feet are just not able to deal with having metal shoes on and Kengis is one of them.

I wish I had changed to barefoot earlier. If I had not discovered Easyboots I would not have been able to ride him over the last six months, never mind entering and winning a cross-country. Without them I would have had the extra worry about laminitis, as I would not have been able to work him. They really have been the best horsey item I have found over the years. I would recommend them to anyone!

I love this boot! My mare has “ouchy” feet in the front, and with regular shoes I would never be able to cure this, plus I don’t ride enough unfortunately. So why should she be standing around with iron shoes?

I use a rubber mallet to really get them on good, and just peel them back from back to front to take them off. They are so light and not bulky at all, and my horse still moves naturally and we are fine now going over rocks. I’ve also noticed that barely any sand gets in the boots while riding.  She stepped on one and pulled her hoof almost out, but two steps later her hoof was back in.

We live in very abrasive and rocky terrain and my horse likes to paw, so I don’t think the boots will quite live as long as stated, but with this price it will be easy to replace them.

I really recommend getting the Fit Kit first, it is difficult to exactly measure the hoof right in millimeters, and I had the wrong size at first. With the Fit Kit you can really try out how the boot should fit and get it right.

I highly recommend this boot to everyone.

Susanne G. Kesterson

My wife Brenda and I added “Pete”, a 16 year old Appy, to our family in November, 2008. He had probably been in shoes all his life as evidenced by his small hooves. They were really contracted at the heal as well as the walls.

Within a week of getting Pete home he dropped a shoe and that allowed us to get started on his transition to barefoot. We contacted Leslie Carrig at High Desert Hoof Care,  and she pulled the remaining shoes off Pete’s hooves. She commented on how small his hooves were and how it was going to be a long process to get his hooves anywhere near normal.

Pete was very tender, especially in the front feet, so Leslie fitted Pete with a pair of EasyCare Old Mac’s G2’s. She is a master fitter and has a truck load or all types of EasyCare hoof boots on her truck with her. When she left Pete was sporting the new Old Mac’s G2’s with Comfort Pads inside and was walking nicely.

During this past 10 months, Leslie has come to our house every 4 weeks to trim and check on Pete (and our other 2 horses). Pete’s hooves are now spreading and have almost grown all new hoof. We ride in Easyboot Epics with Comfort Pads now and we are looking forward to Fall and Winter riding.

By this time next year Pete should have grown out an all new hoof again, and with the help of EasyCare we will ride anywhere and on any terrain you throw at us.

Thanks, EasyCare and High Desert Hoof Care!

The photo is Pete and I at Washoe Lake in Nevada. Pete is wearing his EasyBoot Epics.

Don Tucker

Marilyn Daugherty

Lately we’ve been doing a lot more jumping and with all the rain in the Northwest this Spring, I realized Pi would benefit from a bit more traction, especially when we’re soaring over fences in a field.  I decided to try the Grips and we haven’t looked back!  They grab the ground and provide us with a secure landing without sticking too much, and Pi loves them.

Thanks for helping us keep on jumping barefoot despite the weather!

Aimee and Pi

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Gail Snyder and Scooter, enjoying Easyboot Bares

Scooter and I went to the Parelli Center in Pagosa Springs, CO last September for a Fluidity Riding course. We’re still developing our partnership, so I had great plans for our time there. Since I’m a natural trimmer and an EasyCare dealer, I couldn’t help but notice many of the other horses were also barefoot and the rows between the pens were lined with carrot sticks, fly spray and a variety of EasyCare boots.

Scooter has a set of Bare boots for all 4 feet that I use while riding in extremely rocky terrain. I didn’t expect to need Scooter’s boots since the Parelli grounds are pasture, hard packed dirt and deep sandy play areas. But from the first day on, Scooter was tender on the dirt roads. I didn’t expect this since we ride on hard pack all the time. I was so relieved to have his Bare boots with me since they allowed us to participate in all activities without discomfort. I realized afterward that Scooter was suffering from stress induced laminitis, a common occurrence with hauling and boarding horses in new environments. The evidence emerged a few weeks later in the form of a horizontal “event ring” descending from the cornet band around both front hooves. This is a indicative of a laminitic episode.

Scooter wore his Bare boots on both fronts, all day, every day without exception. They are a perfect fit and the tread pattern worked well on the Colorado trails. There was never any evidence of rubbing and no sign of lameness, as long as the boots were on.

Our two weeks at the Parelli Center was the horse experience of a lifetime. Some of the moments were captured by Parelli professional photographer, Coco. The photos came out great since Scooter and I always seemed to be smiling. Thank you EasyCare for Scooter’s Bare boots and comfort pads!

Gail Snyder