Howard Kent and his terrific volunteers and vets put on a fabulous ride in the picturesque mountains near Heber City, Utah every year. I would have to say it's quite a difficult course but well worth the effort. The scenery is hard to beat! This year it rained heavily making it particularly hard going. As usual Flambeau and I encountered those challenges that always teach us invaluable lessons. As usual I met old and new friends to share special moments with and create the many stories I bring home with me. And as usual many strange things happened! Here is just one.
My Opportune Meeting with 'Mr. Easyboot' Right on the Trail at just the Right Time!!
I'm obviously passionate about Endurance Riding. Apart from meeting my husband Mernie, it's the best thing that's happened to my equine orientated existence. However, I'm happy to say that I'm even more passionate about keeping my horses barefoot and healthy right from the ground up. I trim my own horses and use Easy Boots to help protect their hooves; those precious structures that faithfully carry both of us everywhere we want to go. Flambeau is a hot- headed, easily wound up racing machine. We refer tosome of his gymnastic maneuvers as "the Flambeau Flip!" I'll have to admit I too can get pretty competitive and loopy at times. So I've had a love hate relationship with hoof boots and their tendency to be launched into orbit by my plunging and lunging Flamboyant Arab. Thankfully, trial and error has led me to the Easy Boot Glove. Flambeau is a great test pilot for hoof boots or anything else us humans try to attach to him. He can throw a boot so far off the trail you'll need an aircraft or maybe a sniffer dog to retrieve it! He takes off so fast he leaves a hole in the ground. Strawberry Fields Forever Endurance Ride in Utah this year was the real test. Mud, slush, rocks, rocks and mud, slushy, rocky water crossings, straight up, straight down, bogs left right and in between. Did they stay on? Almost! His back left popped off right when he was really wound up and racing with the hot shots. Bummer! I stopped to get off and fix it and, with riders going passed him, you can imagine just what a rodeo that was! Flambeau was spinning around with me chasing this near back hoof in a futile effort to remove the boot when a voice call out,
" Need help?"
"Yes", I replied, "this bloody boot has come off!"
Can you believe it, it was Garrett Ford, Mr Easyboot himself,
He kindly and expertly put the boot back on and advised me i needed a size smaller.He then ensured me he'd fix that problem back in camp; which he did. Off I rode through the muck .
I ended up riding one hundred miles with ones on the front and 0s on the rear through the most horrendous mud you can ever image and they DID NOT BUDGE! I was starting to think Flambeau was simply a horse impossible to keep booted. I now know that's not true.
Garrett showed me he how it requires technique rather than strength to apply the boot and how important it is to have a really snug fit in such adverse conditions.
I love the Easyboot Glove. They're light, durable, easy to apply and remove and they look great! Thank you Garrett for coming to my rescue and providing me with a product I can depend on through hell and high water!
