Monday, October 18, 2010

Simple Boots?


Anyone want to give their two bits on Simple Boots?

I pulled my pony's.... *huge sigh* Please pause here a moment.... okay... yes, her name is still Princess, no matter how much it bugs me.... While I've come to accept her name I am still having trouble saying it... I avoid using it all together or choke on it every time I am forced to.
So I've started looking for the appropraite abbreviation, with not much luck.... let's see there is....

P. which sounds like pee.... as in urine... which could make sense as she constantly has yellow stains all over her body....but is hardly flattering.

Incess sounds like incest. Not cool.

Cessa is a name I related to Cndcowgirl's horse... and I dont know if it is "her"...

Prin sounds masculine and a little harsh and she is anything but.

Rince is a cycle on the washing machine...

Ince is, well... not a word.

Prinny and Prissy are the closest I've come to an actually name for her and I dont like either... but then both are better than Princess.

Which leaves me with Ess. Hmm.... Essy... Essa... *thinks hard*... maybe that isnt half bad.

Now... back on topic...I'm thinking of Simple Boots (or feel free to suggest another brand). The simple (pardon the pun) and only reason is because that she has mildly sensitive, not super hard and very white feet that I need to use to ride on VERY sharp, shard gravel. This gravel chews up even my trail runner shoes (with a more durable sole than normal runners) in a matter of months. Because of it's depth (a few inches and loose) I dont feel like normal iron "shoes" will offer any protection and riding barefoot is not an option.

So... the brand I personally have used (I rode a friends horse in a pair) is the Cavello Simple Boot. They seemed to work really well on that ride and that was up and down hills and in muck! I do realize that when using boots it is important to use the "sock" that comes down over the boot to prevent pebbles from getting in and to make sure that the boot is properly fitted. Also to check for chaffing. I just wonder if anyone else has had any issues with them... or alternatively if anyone can vouch for them?

10 comments:

  1. I'm no help with boots, but Kacey over at http://allhorsestuff.blogspot.com/ is! She's used every brand / type on her mare over years so can give good feed back.

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  2. After a botched job by my ex-farrier, my horse Rupert could barely walk so I got him a pair of Simple Boots and he was able to walk without limping after putting them on. I would recommend taking them off for cleaning every day. After taking the boots off everyday for several days, everything looked fine so I left them on for 48 hours during which time he got his feet wet. Even though the boots are designed to go through water, I don't think extended wear when wet was what the manufacturer intended. He had blisters on the back above the hoof which was totally my fault. Overall, I thought the boots were great.

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  3. I myself haven't used any of those hoof boots but Kimfer really likes the pair she uses in a pinch. I believe they are Old Mac. Does that sound right??

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  4. I keep all my horses barefoot but when I need boots (on 2 horses occasionally) I like and use easyboots Epic with the Gaiter, their website is chock full of information.
    The secret to boots is keep the foot tight with no flares and keep to a frequent trimming schedule, 4 weeks max. I trim my own and touch everybody about weekly or 2 weeks.

    The likely to break parts are replaceable and affordable. I have several pairs that are several years old and look like they will go many years to come.

    http://www.easycareinc.com/

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  5. I rode a mare named Princess for 6 years and could never ever call her that. Her owner even called her P, she couldn't say it either. I decided to call her Princess Buttercup on all our ride entries, but when I talked to her, I called her Leia.

    The thing was, she really was a Princess - it's self-fulfilling, ya know? She was the daintiest, cleanest thing. She despised dirt so brushing her was nice, and bathing was never necessary. She had one of those thick long manes that somehow never tangles. She also never farted, nor tripped. She did not want to get dirty, I think, so she kept all 4 hooves under her despite the rugged terrain.

    However, her manners and training were impeccable - what a lazy rider I became, having such an easy horse!

    ~lytha

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  6. I've been going through this boot issue myself. I like the design of the simple boots but they don't fit my gelding's narrow feet. Fortunately the sport boots do fit him so I'm going with those. Even being slightly too large for him the simple boots didn't come off and they didn't rub him at all.

    I've got a pair of very lightly used size 2 simple boots that I could sell you for a reasonable price...

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  7. I'm not much help on the boot issue. I know the bf's mom and sister use the ol mac boots and really like them, but I don't have any experience with them personally.

    Could you try seeing P in your head as Pea instead of Pee when you say it? Or you could go with PC (Prin Cess)? I'm awful with names. Even if I do come up with a good one, something else usually ends up sticking and next thing I know I'm stuck with a cat that I call Legs, despite the vet listing her name as June Bug. LOL Good luck!

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  8. I have to second Patches here because you were calling Princess, "Sweet Pea" on this blog for so long. Why can't P be the abbreviated version of Pea?

    Off topic but sort of related, I've taken to calling my Palomino mare Molly, "Molly Moo". No idea where that came from!

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  9. That horse needs a middle name. That'll fix everything.

    Love, love, love simple boots. My other horse lifts his hooves eagerly to put them on.

    Buy 'em. They rock.

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  10. I'm in agreement with epic easy boots. Although, I'd really like to try the epic glove.
    What is nice about the Easy Boots is the insert available to help the hoof develop properly.
    I've been very pleased with using the Easy Boots to transition the OTTB that I have.

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