She kept to her old habit of looking for the softest footing for most of this ride. Her back feet don't have boots, just her fronts.
It was a lovely day - not too hot and not many bugs. I couldn't get her to put her ears forward for this photo!
At the end of that ride I checked the boots and her feet; there was only a little bit of debris in the boots and a little bit of displaced hair on her heel bulbs. I may not have had the boots adjusted properly, so the next ride, I made sure they were snugged up better.
On the next ride we did the water test. These boots have a toe flap that you push tightly against the front of the hoof, then two side flaps that velcro to the velcro on the toe flap, and then another velcro strap that snugs down on top of all that- I wasn't worried that they would come off in the water like the easyboot did.
Rode through the pond, which is pretty low right now, with no problem and then up a little hill onto the dyke. The boots were no problem on the hill, which is loose gravel.
Then some trotting on the trail- I was always worried that the boots would interfere with her hoof placement and she would be klutzy but I needn't have worried. We got to the swimming hole which was blessedly deserted as this was late afternoon, so we both just soaked up the peaceful sounds of nature's version of silence.
The boots seem to be working just fine! Gussie seems to be comfortable in them, they stay put- I haven't tried mud yet- and they are easy to put on and take off, unlike the easyboots I had. The water seemed to drain out well because of the front construction with the toe flap.
I bought a second set from a used hoof boot page on Facebook, they aren't the Treks, just the standard Cavallos so I will be testing them out too, they should be here in a couple of days. Sporty red ones! If they work well, I could use them on her hind feet if I had a really rocky area to ride but mostly hind feet don't need boots as 3/4 of the weight of a horse is carried on their front end. It will be nice to have a spare set though.
Bevelled on the front for proper breakover
