[drivingpairs] Re: boots
- From: LBurke3456@xxxxxxx
- To: drivingpairs@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sun, 8 Jan 2006 09:35:11 EST
We have the Horsneakers, Boa Boots, and EasyBoot Epics. I would love to hear
from someone who has experience with Marquis boots.
Horsneakers: We purchased our first 4 pairs some 6 years ago. There have
been a multitude of problems over the years with them which the manufacturer
was
very willing to work with us on. I think it was a learning process for them
too. Anyway, I still keep a couple pair for back-ups but think the other
manufacturers have better products. They are fairly easy to put on but be
careful
of pulling on the neoprene material around the heel as it will break. Also
the straps with actual buckles are preferable to the ones with hooks because
the buckles allowed for an infinite number of tightness settings. Email me for
particulars on the issues we experienced with these boots.
Boa Boots: Used all of last season. Some rubbing on coronary band but once
we loosened them slightly and applied a tiny bit of tea tree ointment to the
area it wasn't a problem. I wish they didn't come up so high in the front
though as it's definitely a pressure area. I feel the gaiters help and once we
started using them, we continued. The boots lasted well. I like that they are
angled in the front for ease of breakover. We had 3 instances of them falling
off. Once the cover over the tightening mechanism must not have been put on
securely. It fell off somewhere along the drive and then the boot loosened
and fell off. Another time we had a heavy load on a long, steep, sandy hill
where one of the horses must have overreached and caught her front boot with a
hind toe. The third time the wire on the tightening mechanism just snapped
(it's replaceable). Believe it or not the very next time we used them as I was
tightening the boots, the other boot in the pair had the same thing happen!
You
sure do learn to keep your eye on the boots as you're going along when you
make the decision to use hoof boots.
Easy Boot Epics: My hoof trimmer removed the grippie things inside the boots
before selling them to me. She said they weren't necessary with the gaiters
that the epics have. We haven't used these too much yet as we purchased them
at the end of the season. They are somewhat harder to put on than the others
because they are tighter but got a bit easier after the first couple times.
They are cut low in front so the pressure on the coronary isn't an issue. The
sleek profile makes them seem so much less bulky than other boots I'm eager
to try them more.
Overall, with the natural trim we seldom need boots on the hind feet but do
have them for those really sharp rocky situations. Our horses are most likely
to pull a boot off when they aren't yet in condition and going uphill. I
think you do need a spare set or two if you use your horses a lot and are
serious
about using boots. And finally, if you're all dressed up going to an elegant
event with your carriage and you have a boot failure of some type, you can be
sure the person who has to get out of the carriage to remove that boot will
NOT be a fan of hoof boots!
Nilda
NY
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