You can say this about most topics in endurance: Your
Mileage May Vary (YMMV). But there are some people in this sport (as in all great passions) for whom the answer is My Way or the Highway (MWOTH).
There is no single right answer for electrolytes,
conditioning schedules, nutritional supplements or behavioral training. With any
method, YMMV.
So you gotta feel bad for the newbies. Some poor 19-year-old
posts to your Facebook group “Which is better, hoof boots or shoes?” and the
entire board braces for impact as the MWOTHers come out to play.
When I read the passionate responses, nay, declarations, of the MWOTHers, I can’t
help but think how lucky they have been to find a solution that works so well
for them they are willing to pretend it’s the only possible one. Because I will
tell you something about my experience with horses: They are all really
different.
Blue is in boots because shoes didn’t work for him. That is
the only reason. If I thought I could put him in shoes tomorrow and not
immediately have problems, I would sooo do it. Why? Because boots are a &^$&@#$-ing hassle, pure and simple.
They are fussy and inconvenient—just one more thing to worry about on the trail…
where I have enough to worry about already, thanks very much.
My conditioning ride this weekend was a perfect example of
why boots might not work for some people. All I can say is thank goodness I was
riding alone.
Every little thing he
does is tragic. Oh, horses. Do they ever stop hurting themselves?
NO, THEY DO NOT.
NO, THEY DO NOT.
Had Blue been in shoes, this little scrape (looks much worse
than it is—it was basically a glorified rug burn) would have required nothing
more than a smudge of Neosporin. Because he is in boots, and the boots have a
gaiter, and the gaiter sits exactly on top of this scrape, a bit more elaborate
booting protocol was needed.
That’s athletic tape on top of vetwrap on top of gauze on
top of desitin on top of Neosporin. No big deal. And PS: It barely budged
through our whole ride, including through miles of fetlock-high mud and two
trips though a stirrup-high water crossing.
The aftermath: filthy, but still quite functional. |
Trial and (plenty of)
error. As part of the ongoing thrush drama, I decided to try padding Blue’s
front boots to give him a little more cushion and support. I am not convinced
they make a significant difference in his comfort level or his way of moving,
but I will tell you one thing. They sure change the way the boots fit.
Or don't. |
You wouldn’t think that 6mm of soft padding would cause such
a fuss. At least, you wouldn’t if you were me. And then you would be surprised
by just how much fuss it was as you kept having to dismount to put the boot
back on.
Are they still on?
1-2-3-4 GO! Something that I never did in my shoe days was stop and check
that all four shoes were still nailed on after a tricky obstacle. Now I do it every time.
And when I say “stop and check” I mean STOP and check. I don’t know how else to
confirm the boots are there than to stop the freight train, lean over in the
saddle and count to four.
Steady-state riding. What’s
that? In his book 4th Gear Endurance, Dennis talks about
steady-state riding, which basically means asking the horse to go at a
consistent pace that is right on the threshold of his ability. For Blue that is
a sustained 10mph trot. And we might have been able to do that this weekend if his
footwear had been nailed on. That same front boot kept popping off, so finally
I took it all the way off to get a closer look. As is turns out, it wasn’t a
problem with the pad at all. The heel hardware on the gaiter had pulled through
the rubber part of the boot and was basically just flopping around.
I wasn’t carrying a spare, so it was time to improvise. I
washed the boot off in a large, deep puddle. (Plenty of those around.) I had my
truck key tucked into my shirt, so I used it as a screwdriver to take the whole
thing apart, realign the pieces and tighten it back down.
All told, this probably took 5 minutes to fix, but it was
long enough for me to feel the chill wind and decide it was time to stop
bushwhacking head back to the trailer.
I guess the moral of the story is this: Boots are not for
you if frequent stops drive you crazy. You need some flexibility in your
conditioning plans to allow for boot malfunction under normal circumstances.
And during the transition/learning curve period, you might as well plan on not having a plan.
We still did 13 miles of worthwhile riding on Saturday, but they were not the 13 miles that I had planned. If you have a plan and a schedule you really must keep, the boots will derail you every time.
We still did 13 miles of worthwhile riding on Saturday, but they were not the 13 miles that I had planned. If you have a plan and a schedule you really must keep, the boots will derail you every time.
So which is better: Boots or shoes?
Eh… no comment.