I just completed a ride over the weekend in the new Glue On shells by Easycare. The ride was a mixture of sand washes, single track rocky, forest, meadows, and fire roads. As many of us know when out on the trail our barefoot horses will pick their way thru, but at a faster pace as in competition chances of hitting a rock at the perfect moment increases. I don't boot if I know the terrain and feel like the pace will be more slower due to more climbing the flat open areas. There are times on a CTR ride that you must trot into a P/R stop, and I have found it's usually on a hard packed fire road with those fist size rocks scattered about. Normally I walk down a road, letting the horse pick his way thru. Well he floated thru those areas, and his trot stride was huge for him.

 

Anyway, I wanted to test out the new Glue On boots, along with a different application method. Impressed is an understatement! We applied them on Thursday afternoon, using Goober Glue. Then bathed and headed out on Friday. They blend in so well, that at times I kept thinking they were gone. MyCole was unaffected by them at all as far as how he moved out, but over any type of rocky trail he just seemed to float. His traction was nice in mud or hard packed road. There was no sand or dirt inside when I removed them, and I will use this combination again if the terrain calls for it. When I was removing them, I can honestly say that they would have stayed on easily for quite a few more days! I wouldn't hesitate to use them at a 2 day ride.The boots cleaned up very nicely with a wire brush on my cordless drill after I removed them on Sunday afternoon. Very clean removal, and they can be used again. I also used a wire brush on the hoof wall, and it's like there was nothing there at all. A couple of people have wondered how it leaves the hoof and how they look, so I did take some pics before removing them--also there are pics of the area. http://www.hitnheel.com/glueongg.html I know someone who used this same combination at a 50 mile AERC ride on these same trails the weekend before, and they had the same feedback. So even at much faster pace than Novice, and more distance they seemed to perform the same as I experienced.

 

So for anyone looking for an option for a rocky ride and doesn't want to put on/off boots in several days each day, this would be a very nice option. It cleaned off the hoof nicely, and didn't set hard like another glue product I had used. This stays flexible and kinda rubbery. Very nice benefit!

Denise