Driving Sneakers

[Jules]

Ahah, Sue, I had forgotten who had said it. Yes, I can totally see how would happen if the buckle was at the back.

Jules can you post a picture of the boots that you are using?

Will do! I will put them on him when I get home from work this afternoon and take some pics on him and off him.I do have to say that his little 'shoes' are lined up outside my front door alongside my childrens shoes...it looks rather cute

Edited to add. Took a billion photos in my usual tourist-let-loose-in-a-koala-park style AND even popped out for a drive in them instead of going to a twilight conference (naughty!). Photos on my DH's phone, will post to this thread once he has sent the pics to me. I have to say that those boots should carry a warning that reads: "Warning: Horse may turn from a lazy slug into a race car" Obviously the gravel worried my guy more than I thought....

back to add: can't seem to add the photos on my photobucket account, it is telling me they cant be converted to inctmp- ummm what? lol Will try again later or can FB them to anyone who is on my friends list

 

[Jules]

Hind - his hinds are smaller dimensions than his front hooves

 

[happy appy]

How much did these boots cost? What were the sizes? are they custom made?

 

[susanne]

Jules, do you have the link for this boot? I didn't see them on the Chimacum site.

Also, where does the upper rough edge of the leather fall on the hoof? Is there any danger of it rubbing on the coronet band? (I know...I just wouldn't be happy if I didn't have something to worry about!)

These look great!

 

[Jules]

How much did these boots cost? What were the sizes? are they custom made?

The cost is one of the best bits...wait for it....they were $56 a pair! Seriously! You don't know how excited that has made me as an Easyboot here in Australia is $120 FOR A SINGLE BOOT! I still imagine that is a really reasonable price for you guys too.

There are three sizes, I just measured my horses hooves across at the widest point and lengthwise and told Janie from Chimacum and she suggested a size.

Jules, do you have the link for this boot? I didn't see them on the Chimacum site.

Also, where does the upper rough edge of the leather fall on the hoof? Is there any danger of it rubbing on the coronet band? (I know...I just wouldn't be happy if I didn't have something to worry about!)

These look great!

http://www.comfyfitharness.com

You open the link and then scroll all the way to the bottom of the page and they are on the right.

The leather top falls below the coronet band on both fronts and backs, the fronts have more clearance as the fit is best on those hooves size-wise for my guy, but as you can see from the pic, the back boots still sit really nicely. I ran my finger around the top of the boots as I am an over-anxious 'mother' to my pony too, but I think there is little chance of rubbing, indeed the top of the boot is quite unobtrusive and soft which is a far cry from my previous experience of really rigid hoof boots.

I am feeling rather chuffed with my purchase- Can you tell?

lol

 

[rubyviewminis]

I will bet I am not alone in waiting to see pictures and find out how the road boots worked out. Thank you so much to all of you for your information!

 

[Jules]

Okay, so I can update that my original set just croaked it. I have used them every drive (except showing- lol) since I got them in July, so can say I am extremely pleased with how long they lasted.

 

[happy appy]

I wonder if they would of held up longer with oiling? It might of kept the leather softer.

 

[TMR]

I have some questions for you Jules, since you were so nice to give them a try out for all of us. I am looking to use them for CDE's so have certain things they have to be able to go through?

How long were your drives...(20 minutes, hour, etc)? Did you do any canter/gallop work in them? Did you try them through deeper water? What were you driving on..(asphalt, concrete, grass, gravel)? Just curious to how long they held up to what they were being driven on. What wore out on them?

Thanks a bunch for taking your time to do this.

Donna

 

[Jules]

running late but here is the quick run down-

they gave out at the point where the upper was stitched to the base. The rubber had worn with all the road driving so then the stitching was getting worn by the road..until it wore through and popped udone. The upper was still intact, as was the base. The uppers was still surprisingly soft for all the hosing, puddles and mud they had seen. Maybe they are that 'wash and wear' stuff that gets used on some sythetic harnesses in the parts where leather is needed??

Lots of road driving, no deeper water, just puddles that were fetlock deep at most. Bush trails, which were gravelly/dusty affairs. I was recording hours but stopped late August at 29 hours use. Sometimes I would drive 2-3 hours, other time 40 minutes. Varying paces. Sometimes not out of a trot, other time blasting up hills. Wheeeeee! lol.

that wasn't so short, I can't help but talk driving.

Will revisit this tomorrow though and see if I can think of anything to add.

 

[happy appy]

so the stitching gave out? I wonder what you could use on the stitching to make it last longer?

 

[susanne]

I may have read wrong, but my impression was that the rubber soles wore through, thus causing the stitching to contact the road and wear. I should probably re-read.

Would they remain viable if the rubber didn't wear down? Could you put Shoe-Goo on the bottom so that it wore instead of the soles? (That's what runners do to save on expensive running shoes...)

 

[izmepeggy]

I wonder if a shoe repair shop could fix them? Your just so full of information Jules..hehe

 

[TMR]

Thank you for the great answers Jules. Were you using them on just the fronts or all four?

 

[studiowvw]

Or you could cut a deeper groove on the stitch line and then restitch?

 

[Jules]

I used them on all fours. I wil take a pic of the boots later on to show exactly what happened to cause their demise. Yes, a groove where the stitching is on the sole would absolutely extend the life. The rubber is very thick and really didn't wear down much at all, it was just the tiniest fraction that wore down, allowing the stitching to come in contact with the rocky trails and roads and then wear through. Other than the stitching coming undone, the components of the boots are still in great condition and showed no signs of failing anytime soon.

 

[Jules]

They are dirty from a drive, but as you can see, other than the stitching, the components are still intact