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I found the Boas very easy to use once I had worked out the tricks to getting the boots on properly. The Boa lacing system made boot use simple. I had tested the boots on all kinds of terrain and found they stayed put through everything from rock, grass, and even ankle deep mud. Walk, trot, canter, gallop and even popping a few fences were non-issues. I thought they were great then.
In 2005 I got deeper into the barefoot world, learning more about hoof form and health and came to believe that bare was the way to go. I still used the boots for hacking, but was riding barefoot most of the time without realizing what was missing. At the end of 2006 I started using the Boas every ride. A week after that I attended a hoof clinic with Pete Ramey and came home with an understanding of what hoof boots could do for my horse.
I discovered that The Brat is a bit thin soled at the toe on his front feet, and has a bit of lamellar wedge going in there. I understood what I was looking at when I came home and picked his feet up. Pete emphasized the need to BUILD sole. Heel first landing and lots of them, is the only way to build the hoof. Pete apologized often for sounding like a boot salesman, but he told us boots and pads are the fastest way to get those heel first landings. The faster and more consistently we get those heel first landings, the sooner and stronger the horse's feet will develop. I resolved to use The Brat's Boa boots with Comfort Pads for every single ride. Inside, outside, sand track, grass field, gravel road. Every. Single. Ride. The way he moved in those Boa's when I free longed him to check his landing was amazing.
In two weeks I was seeing a more callused, concave sole. In two weeks I was getting some incredible work under saddle. In two weeks I was seeing a difference in the WAY HE STOOD IN THE BARN! His normal stance is hind feet tucked up under his body. In TWO WEEKS he was standing with his hind feet further away from his front feet, and the ONLY change was the boots and pads for every single ride. I had not trimmed his feet since before the clinic. I had not changed his diet. I had not changed his work, routine, turnout place or time, or his friends. I just started using the Boas and pads every ride.
I started in mud season. Cold, wet, near winter mud season. It was at times a nuisance to have to clean feet before booting and I succumbed to the temptation to skip the boots just for once. I could feel the difference in his movement, and I didn't like it. He wasn't ready for bare yet and I went back to the boots.
After mud season came winter and boy did we get winter. Snow, snow and more snow. Knee deep, almost jump through it snow and the Boas didn't budge - check out my picture. That's about a week after the first big storm we had that dumped over a foot of snow in 24 hrs. We have now had well over 14 feet of snow this winter and the Boas have run through all of it on some pretty good rides. I've been out several times down the snowmobile trails and roads for 2-4 hours at a time.
Only now are the Boas starting to show signs of wear and I am looking at getting a new pair of boots. I am thinking of trying Epics this time around for three reasons: because the Boa boots do sometimes rub the scar on the back of his right foot even with the gaiters, because of EasyCare's new satisfaction guarantee, and because Pete Ramey thinks they are even better than Boa boots. I am regularly checking the site to see if they are available again. But I'd be quite happy with another pair of Boa boots as well - they are a great product.
P.S. You are probably wondering about the letters on the brat's chest - it's part of his Halloween costume. He was a super hero - SuperBrat. The chest design was SB styled after Superman's S logo.
Erin Mackintosh- Nepean, ON Canada
Photographer: Carolyn Dziawa
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I bought a pair of Boa Boots initially as protection for road and rock trail rides with my horse. The Brat (as he is affectionately known) has been barefoot his entire life, but was not totally comfortable on the harder surfaces.
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