Jetta Gets Booted!

After consulting via email and phone with the good folks at EasyCare, I got out the Power Straps and the Glove Wides size 0 boots and decided I had to give it a good effort despite the fact the the boots are not an optimum fit. (See our post from 6/14/12.) This morning I gave Jetta a somewhat creative trim, I'll admit. Now, I already know that reason says you don't trim the hoof to fit the boot, but rather fit a well-trimmed and carefully measured hoof with the proper size boot. But that said, I also already know that the well-trimmed hoof Jetta normally wears has a very short toe with a wide, round hoof that does not measure a good fit in any of the EasyCare boots. So it was time to experiment. 

A month had passed since Jetta's last trim so this morning I used the grinder to trim her front hooves. I lowered the heel back to where it needed to be. I trimmed the rest of the hoof as usual, except I didn't bring her toe back as far as it probably wants to be naturally. I did put on a good mustang roll, but I didn't bring the toe back quite to the white line. I could have brought it back another 3/16", but I am kind of hoping to  fill in the toe gap without messing with her natural breakover. I took care of the quarters and bars as usual and basically her hooves looked great. I drilled holes in the boots and screwed on the Power Straps. I decided to save the athletic tape for round two if the boots didn't stay on today, so with a couple of solid whacks with a rubber mallet, the boots were in place and we were ready to roll.

I headed out to pick up a friend and we drove to the west hills we call the Roller Coaster Hills for obvious reasons. Short, steep, ROCKY, desert hills covered with sage brush, silver cedar skeletons, and boulders. And rocks. Did I mention them already? Lots of rocks! Sharon's horse Mikey has ridden out there for years barefoot and he has the world's toughest feet. My horses, however, like their boots, and this is a great boot-testing ride.

We saddled up and headed out. Normally this time of year it's too hot out here, but with the recent rain it wasn't too bad. We power-walked up the steep hills and cruised down the downhill sides. These are "blind summit" trails, meaning you can't see down the other side till you get right up on top of each hill--great for building strength and muscle in the hindquarters! Jetta felt fabulous and it didn't take long for her to gain confidence on the rocky trail knowing her feet were protected. She stumbled once or twice at first, but seemed to get used to the fact that she had boots on within the first quarter mile or so.

We walked and trotted the two mile stretch of hills till we came to the Scum Tank. Jetta met cows for the first time at the tank and still proceeded to walk up to the water and check out the scum! She even took a sip! The cows, calves, and one big bull watched us warily.  We carried on and passed a few more stragglers on their way to water; Jetta was totally cool with the cows which was a relief to me as I used to be not so cool with them!

See why I call it the Scum Tank?

Then came the weird part of the ride. Helicopters close overhead, passing repeatedly above us on their way to who knows where, carrying something on long cables. A power plant is being built south of where we were so we assumed it had something to do with that project. My gelding, Keno, would have been jumping out of his silly spotted skin, but Jetta was not even worried. This baby girl has a good mind!

When we turned to head back we took the low road so we could get in some more serious trotting. Jetta was forward, fast, and controlled. Mikey (an old guy at 23) was working up a sweat to keep up. A few times Sharon cantered Mikey past Jetta to see how she'd handle a horse passing her. She glared at him, but let him by and didn't get upset when I asked her to stay at a trot. The hard packed gravel/rock road was easy traveling for the most part, and the boots were great. I could tell a big difference in her comfort level as well as her mental comfort. She was moving out confidently rather than cautiously. No twisting of the boots, either, which I was worried about due to her very round hoof. I did feel her catch her front boot with a hind hoof once, but it caused no trouble.

We came to another cattle tank as we neared the trailer and this time there was also a small, muddy-almost- boggy pond. I decided the ultimate test would be to ride through the slick mud to see if it would suck her boots off. Not a chance! We rode through the pond twice and the boots were tight! So maybe, just maybe, we're going to be able to boot this girl from now on. I have used Easyboots for years with great success, but Jetta has different issues than I've dealt with before. We're definitely on the right track though. I'll watch her hooves and play with her trim and make adjustments as needed, but today was a great day on our journey toward getting Jetta ready for competition!