100 miles, 2 days for Audrey & Merri @ Detroit Horse Power

Explorations Photography

Imagine this: It’s the night before your big event that you’ve been training months for. All you need to do is get to sleep so you’re well rested to start the day off right. You lie on your damp cot that got half soaked from the downpour rain that the forecast failed to predict. BBzzzz…. Bzzzzz… yet all you can hear and focus on are the buzzing mosquitoes trying to get a tasty snack of your blood. I did manage to get a few hours of sleep Thursday night but it was not ideal and the mosquitoes were worse the 2nd night. But it was a good weekend of riding.

Support for Detroit Horse Power non-profit
This was my first-time riding at the Detroit Horse Power Ride (aka Metropark) and I highly recommend it! It’s a fundraiser for the non-profit group of the same name that uses horses to teach vulnerable Detroit youth: perseverance, empathy, responsible risk-taking, confidence, self-control or PERCS. Every-one of these skills is necessary for endurance riding. I especially like the ‘responsible risk-taking’ one! I gave them an extra donation along with my entry fee and you can learn more about their project of building a stable in the middle of an inner-city here: https://www.detroithorsepower.org/ 

Friday Start
Both Caroline and I were riding in the 50-mile race on Friday. Sixteen riders started and we set-off at 6:30am to ride the slightly sandy, rocky, somewhat hilly, forest trails that make-up Kensington Metropark. One of the challenges of the weekend was to see how Merri (my 8 year old appaloosa/arabian mare) and I dealt with the heat and humidity, which we haven’t been tested on before to this degree. In the morning the temperature was ~73 degrees F and 99% humidity. It was wet and I got a workout weaving and ducking under heavy wet branches and leaves. By the afternoon the humidity dropped to 70-80% but the temperature rose to 88 degrees F! Merri did an excellent job taking care of herself, drinking and eating well. Her heart rate was reading high at >180 ish bpm (maybe the sensor was reading wrong?) but when I stopped on the first loop to electrolyte, her HR had dropped to 69 bpm in < 5 min. After that I stopped looking at the HR monitor for the rest of that loop. Caroline had zoomed ahead and was in the leading pack but I opted to stay more towards the middle of the pack knowing we needed to save some energy for the next day. 

My Air Vest Works!
Got through the vet check and hold 1 fine with the help of Barb Hager (mom) who’s got the crew thing down pat and it was on to Loop 2! At this time, Merri and I were by ourselves and I learned why I ride in an Air Vest. The trees were still really wet and heavy from all the rain the night before. I was trotting along on a relatively loose rein and in a split second I see a movement ahead and to my left and then a loud crash! Merri spun, I heard a POP and I was on the ground, landed on my right shoulder and back. A large tree branch had fallen about 20 feet ahead of us just to the left of the trail. Normally Merri will spook in place at unexpected scary things but I don’t blame her this time for spinning because it was scary even to me. The pop was my air vest going off and I had a moment on the ground to appreciate that the experience was like falling on a pillow. There was no need for the usual thoughts that I typically have immediately after a fall: ‘do all my body parts work? Any sharp pains? Will I have an awesome bruise to show for this?’. I managed to keep ahold of my reins so Merri didn’t go far. We were both shaken but after walking a bit and figuring out how to deflate my vest by unscrewing the canister, I got back on and we carefully finished the loop without any other incidents! Now at the 2nd hold we passed the vet check fine after delicate sponging (Merri doesn’t like quick rapid sponging). I tried to replace the vest CO2 canister with my spare but at this point my brain wasn’t working optimally and I inflated the vest again and, in the process, ate another $40 (the cost of a replacement canister but still cheaper than an ER visit). 

To the Finish of Day 1!
For the last loop of 12.5 miles, Caroline had left ahead of us and I was able to find a riding buddy, Amy, and the horses matched well and appreciated the company of riding together. I especially was thankful since we had to ride the same loop that my air vest went off and I was a little nervous. We kept a steady pace of trotting and walking with eating grass (the horses were eating grass, we just drank water). At about 2 miles to go back to camp we caught back up with Caroline and Glory and we hand-walked in to tie for 7th place, ride time of ~7 hours 44 min. I stood for Best Condition hoping to get the High Vet Score recognition because at the last ride we were really close to getting it. To my surprise we won the High Vet Score and the Best Condition award! This was a great confidence booster because it tells me I didn’t ride too hard or too fast, we still top 10’d and we were ready to do it all over again the next day. 

Day 2, 50 miles all over again, Dressage lessons are paying off 

In short, day 2 was a success. There were 9 horse/riders starting and we turtled coming in 6th place, riding for a total of ~9 hours 22 min. There are advantages and disadvantages to riding in a group of other horses. For example on the first loop Merri was happy to be at the tail end of a line of 3-4 other riders just keeping them in sight. But on the 2nd loop, partnering with Karri B. and her horse worked well in the beginning as the horses motivated each other to keep going. But then Merri would trot hollowly and tense down hill (instead of relaxed or just walking down hill). And then Merri wouldn't grab a bite of grass to eat because the other horse wasn't stopping and eating. So, I let Karri go on ahead and then Merri ate better on trail without having to worry about another horse.

There was a low point at the 2nd vet check when vet Bob Marshall said her back was starting to get sore (probably because of the tense downhill trotting). I worried all through the last loop, but we had switched to a fresh dry skito pad and I worked hard to get Merri to collect and use different back muscles. Thanks goes to Caroline, who’s been giving me dressage collection lessons and teaching us to ride more correctly. As a result, at the end of the ride there was no back soreness! 

Other interesting notes 

Interference observation: At the Muckleratz 50 mile ride I did not need to use rear ankle boots because Merri did not interfere at all. This was 5 weeks ago and just after a hoof trim and Versa Grip Shoe changeover. But at this Detroit ride after the 1st loop on day 1, Merri had interference marks on the inside of both rear fetlocks. I used the ankle boots for the rest of the ride but I felt bad that it happened in the first place. My farrier said that horses can interfere when they’re at the end of a trim cycle (which Merri was) because their hooves are a little longer and it affects their way of going. This is great info to have for future rides and knowing when to use ankle boots vs not needing them. 

I had no chaffing, in part due to liberal use of Squirrel’s Nut Butter anti-chaffing salve and in part due to the right clothing. On Friday I rode in new compression tights from SportHG.com that I purchased at the OD National Championships ride. I like the tights but can’t quite recommend them yet because by the end of just one 50-mile ride they have some holes and runs and stitching coming apart. I’m going to contact the manufacturer since they are supposed to last around 800 miles (not 50). 

I’ll probably be buying a new pad and new girth to have spares when doing multi-days and 100 mile distances because it was helpful to have the fresh dry pad that Caroline lent me. Maybe then I’ll be done buying tack? 

Mindset and ‘framing your reality’ can and does affect your physical functioning and performance. Do you go into a ride thinking ‘I just want to get through this’ or do you go into a ride thinking ‘My horse and I are excited to see what happens on trail and grow stronger’. This first thought process of ‘I want to get through this’ means you have the expectation of struggle and hardship and pain and the focus is on the end goal of finishing. The second mindset, focuses on the journey and partnership and emphasis of growth mindset. I’m not saying that one mindset is better than another, after all the AERC slogan is ‘To Finish Is To Win’, emphasis on finishing. But I’m fascinated by how thought processes can affect our physiological functioning (how sore we feel, how much energy we have, how focused we are, etc). I may have to write another blog post about this as I explore it more. I had only a little muscle soreness overall (the good kind of soreness) and by the end of the day on Monday I could walk down stairs fine. In the past it’s taken me a week to fully recover from a 50 mile ride. I recently listened to the 2-part podcast from Hidden Brain called ‘Reframing Your Reality’ and they describe how mindsets and beliefs affect our response to stress, how our bodies metabolize food and how they respond to exercise. Check it out here: https://hiddenbrain.org/podcast/reframing-your-reality-part-1/ 

Future 100 here we come! (or maybe 75) Because we did so well this weekend, Merri and I will be signing up for a longer distance at Cala-Boogie ride labor day weekend. Not sure yet if it will be a 75, 100 or 75 mile elevator. The biggest obstacle will be trying to get some night rides in to see how she is riding in the dark. 

Until next time...Happy trails and enjoy the Journey!

Explorations Photography

 

Audrey & Merri Complete Old Dominion Open 55 mile and Crew 100

 

Photo Credit: Becky Pearman Photography

 It’s been awhile since I’ve done a blog-style ride report. Writing these helps me recognize all the steps along the journey that is endurance riding overall and reflect on how to improve. My last blog report was written back in 2018/2019 when I was living in TX and riding Jazz (TWH), then owned by Bobbie-Jo Lieberman, who I can’t thank enough for mentoring me. Since that time, I’ve moved back to NY and bought my own horse, Merri (Da Bomb NPF) who is a now 8 yr old Appaloosa/Arabian mare. In 2020 I broke my ankle from a fall off Merri, recovered, both of us regaining confidence and we’ve been having a great journey in this epic sport!

Last weekend we traveled to Orkney Springs, VA and rode in the Old Dominion open 55-mile race with Caroline North (my sister) and Barbara Hager (mom) as crew. It’s great to be able to share the sport with family, especially because if you forget something, you can borrow it from your sister! I had forgotten my spare hoof boots but Caroline let me borrow a spare of hers that we could tie to the saddle just in case Merri lost a shoe. All this season we’ve been using EasyShoe Versa Grips which have been working so much better than last year’s trials and tribulations with glue-ons and struggle with hoof boots. While the nail-on Versa’s have been working well so far this year, it’s always good to have a spare boot in case you lose a shoe on trail. At this ride our luck held and, in the end, I did not need the spare.

The start, finding our place in the pack
At the 6:30am start my strategy was to start mid-pack, around 15^th place out of the 30 starters, and aim to find a pocket of space where I wasn’t stuck following behind other riders or going too fast with the front runners. We were able to do just that and as a result Merri was happy just to go along at a speed I liked. This way I avoided her turning into the head tossing dragon that was trying to get to the front of a line of horses like she was at the No Frills ride earlier this year. Somewhere on the first loop two riders came up behind us, one wanted to pass and when I asked the other rider if she also wanted to pass she said profusely no and meekly asked if it would be ok if she could just follow? I said that was fine and Amy S. and I rode the whole rest of the ride together! Amy thanked me >5 times for letting her follow on the first loop because she must have been dealing with her own dragon! One of the best things about this sport is making new friends and Amy and her horse Luna were a pleasure to ride with. Amy was very familiar with the trails and provided great commentary. It’s a horrible feeling when you don’t know the trails, are riding by yourself and have the nagging doubt of ‘Am I off trail!?’ but I didn’t have to worry about that with Amy as a ride buddy. We picked our way through rocks, some mud, winding forest trails, then maintained a road trot (9-10 mph) down the long 2 mile downhill along hard-packed forest roads. We made it into the first vet check hold without a problem, pulsing down well. At the trot-out the vet asked to see Merri trot a 2^nd time because she does have an ‘interesting’ way of going, with a wide chest she tends to have a side to side motion/waddle. But Art King, DVM watched her go the 2^nd time and gave us the green light since he’s seen Merri trot out at previous rides and was familiar with her.

Amy Stone riding Luna

The 45 min. hold provided time to eat, drink and refuel and crew Caroline and Barb got to work and had everything ready and waiting. Since the 1st loop had gone so well I made the decision to switch from the bit to the S-hack, which was the first time at a ride I felt comfortable enough to do this with Merri. The S-hack allows the horse to eat better on trail but it also affords less control to the rider so that if the horse wants to take the bit and run, they could. This was a big step for Merri and me in that she was listening to me and I was listening to her and our communication was working well. This was an improvement from No Frills 2 months prior when she did take the bit and run/gallop which was scary!

The never-ending climb

The 2^nd loop was the hardest terrain with the never-ending mountain climb through rocks. For local readers, picture Allegany State Park Carrollton Trail #1, only twice as long and half as wide single-track with lots of rocks, did I mention the rocks? Two miles of steep uphill and you think you’re at the top but then it just keeps on steadily going up! While Amy knew the trails she said she always blocked this part out of her memory and couldn’t remember when it would end. Finally, we made it to the ridge line and I took some pictures and video. After a bit of downhill and roads to make-up time we made it to Laurel Run vet check 2! Merri passed the vet check with all A’s. My crew weren’t allowed to be at this hold due to space constraints but the volunteers were fabulous! It was at this point I realized that for future rides I need to refine my hold food. I ate the food provided at the hold (a PB sandwich, cheese sandwich, granola bars, gummy snacks, Gatorade, water) but it did not sit well. The same thing happened 2 weeks prior when I rode NY Adventure, I got an upset stomach after the 2^nd hold.

Unexpected upper level dressage moves
Back on trail, since I wasn’t feeling well, Merri was also taking her time, now at 2:30pm, 35ish miles completed with the sun beating down, 75ish degree heat and flies buzzing around. We maintained around a 7mph trot down the mostly flat roads with Amy and Luna enthusiastically leading the way (where did they get that extra energy from?). All of a sudden with no warning Merri did an airs above ground, with all 4 feet off the ground, landed, lost her balance and stumbled to the side of the trail where I thought she was going to fall over on her side! During this, I screamed (first time I’ve done this on a horse) at the completely unexpected behavior, maybe she spooked at a bug? Luckily Merri did not fall over and I promptly unclipped my air vest (really glad I invested in this purchase) to dismount and see what was the matter. After hand-walking a few steps I got back on and we didn’t have any other unexpected upper level dressage moves (though at one point she may have done a flying lead change and did let out a buck of joy while cantering).    

To the Finish!
The rest of the ride is a bit of a blur. Amy and I got off and ran ¼ mile down hill to give the horses a break and stretch our legs by jogging. We made it back to the Bird Haven vet check at 4:05pm to meet our helpful crew for the last 30 min. hold. A few miles from the finish Amy was able to keep her seat as scary turkey vultures were roosting in the trees next to us and making scary noises which Luna did not appreciate as we were traversing the last down-hill section. In the end we trotted across the finish, tying for 12^th place at 5:43pm. There was initially a bit of mix-up at the finish line, when Henry the official timer marked us as coming in 14^th behind other riders but we were able to get it sorted out. The organization it takes to put on a ride like this is amazing and the volunteers were all wonderful! At the final vet check Merri received all A’s except for a B on impulsion. In the next few weeks we’ll be working on collection and strength training to get her to use her back and core muscles more to help with this.

Ride Stats
The ride camp had a horse scale so I could measure Merri’s weight before and after (I felt no need to measure my weight :). My Garmin GPS watch recorded other stats but note the distance is not accurate but HR and speed should be.
Merri weight before on Thursday: 1105 lbs.         Merri weight after on Saturday: 980 lbs.
Elevation of Base camp: 1398 ft.  Elevation Ascent during 55 mile: 7336 ft  Elevation Descent: 7306 ft.
Distance measured by Garmin: 47.43 miles (again not accurate since I forgot to turn it on/off a few times and it doesn’t accurately measure distance over elevation).
Average HR of Merri: 112 BPM                  Average Speed: 5.1 mph 

 

Saturday 100 mile Most Improved Crew
While I had a successful 55-mile ride on Friday, the weekend wasn’t over and Caroline was ready to ride 100 miles with Glory (QH/arab gelding), pairing with Felisa Read and her morgan/arab gelding Lenny. Barb Hager and I have voted ourselves as Most Improved Crew compared to last year. We did not get lost in driving to any of the 4 different away vet checks, we did not forget anything (with the exception of not being able to find Lenny’s carrots at the first hold but luckily we found them for the next one), nobody sprained an ankle (poor Jen last year) and we did not leave anything behind at the holds (last year I left Caroline’s extra clothes bag behind and we couldn’t retrieve it until midnight ish).

Despite our stellar preparedness we could not change the weather or ride conditions. It had rained steadily the night before and during the 5:30am start. All the rocks were still there but the muddy sections were muddier and now the rocks were slippery. They don’t call this ride the ‘Beast of the East’ for nothing. Caroline and Felisa made it into Bird haven vet check 1, completing loop 1 in about the same time I did the previous day, making good time. Lenny must have a huge heart (literally and figuratively) because he pulsed down to the required 64 bpm immediately at all the vet checks. Glory wasn’t far behind since he is the most in-shape he’s probably ever been. However, Caroline had to trot out Glory a 2^nd time because the vets thought they saw something a little off but he did pass. Now in hindsight we realize he probably had a loose shoe.

Caroline & Glory, Felisa & Lenny @ Birdhaven

Caroline and Felisa left the hold together to complete the never-ending rocky mountain climb. It was somewhere on this trail that Glory lost a front shoe to the slippery rocks. Caroline realized it and put on the spare Easyboot to protect him until they got to vet check 2 at Laurel Run, where no crew was allowed. The farriers were hard a work at this check because many other horses had also lost shoes to the harsh conditions. They were able to nail on a replacement Versa Grip but it was one size smaller than ideal and Glory had ripped off a chunk of his hoof wall when he lost the original shoe. At the re-check it was up to the vets to determine if Caroline and Glory could go on with the replacement shoe or if they should be pulled. One vet said OK, one vet said no-go and the third tie breaking head vet said no-go. Both Caroline and Glory were disappointed (Glory still had tons of energy left) but they will be able to ride another day.

 Felisa got the all clear to go on and we were able to crew for her and hear about Caroline’s pull at the 3^rd vet check of Bucktail. Lenny was a carrot eating machine (literally like Bugs Bunny sucking up the carrots) and Felisa did not sit down once, eating her burrito while on the move (a hold food item which I plan to try out at my next ride). They headed back out on trail 30 min behind Todd Hezeau and his horse Wynd, one of my friends who drove all the way up from Texas! It was nice to chat with him again and provide crew help to Kathy as needed. Todd finished the ride in 8^th place!

Long story short, Felisa and Lenny soared through all the following 4 vet checks and crossed the finish line at 2:30/3:00am in the morning in 10^th place out of 35 riders! They are an inspiration and maybe next year or the year after, Merri and I will finish the OD 100. The completion T-shirt prize really says it best: ‘It’s hard to be humble when you’ve completed the OD 100’.

 

My Scoot Boot Experiences

Jazz modeling the scoot boots with mud straps.

There's an old saying 'No Hoof, No Horse'. If the hoof is not taken care of, then the horse will not survive. Therefore it is so important to have proper hoof protection for the type of riding/driving that you do. There is no such thing as a perfect hoof boot or shoe but you can find the right boot/shoe that works for you and your horse and the type of terrain and conditions that you ride in. Some boots will be better in dry, arid climates, whereas others may perform better in muddy, wet conditions but may have the drawback of being more difficult to size or put on. Many friends have asked me about the scoot boots, so here I've provided some background about my own struggles with boots and testing out the scoot boots.

Past experiences with renegades:
In the past Jazz (TWH mare) has done well wearing renegades, however these boots will often twist or come off anytime they get wet. I've had to fix them after crossing streams, from a rain shower and even after sponging her chest and neck when the water and sweat dripped down. It seems to be hit and miss as to when they decide to come off due to wetness, though terrain likely plays a role. Last year in September at Unicorn Hunt in east Texas, I turtled a 55-mile ride that had two major downpours and lots of wet, boggy, albeit flat ground. I was riding very conservatively and checked every mile to make sure the front renegade boots stayed on. Only one came off before the rain hit, and that was a result of dust lessening the stickiness of the Velcro strap. After backtracking <1 mile I found the boot and put it back on without issue for the rest of that ride.

At our most recent ride, Old Glory held at C-Bar ranch in central Texas in April, we completed 50 miles on Saturday and 25 on Sunday. On Saturday I used renegades on front and went barefoot behind. I had to dismount and remount about 10 times to fix boots that came off due to going through mud/wet streams, broken cables, lost straps or twisting. This was a very technical, difficult ride with a lot of climbs, descents, rocks, mud and water crossings. The first renegade we lost in the mud within the first 5 miles, it might still be sitting in the mud. I’m mad at myself for losing it because it’s like throwing $100 on the ground! On Sunday I decided to test the scoot boots with regular straps on the rear. They became twisted within the first few miles after we went through the first mud patch. I promptly took them completely off and we completed Sunday with renegades on front and barefoot behind (this time I had to get off only ~5 times). While we completed the ride and even won high vet score on Saturday, the boots were a real pain (both figuratively and literally since Jazz stepped on my foot once when I was fixing them).

More and more of the endurance rides I compete in have water crossings and/or mud along with rocky terrain and so I was intrigued by the scoot boot design and curious to see how they would fair. Here is a summary of my experiences with them to date:

Scoot boot experiences:

Day 2 Quitaque Climb, both rear scoot boots stayed on.

The first time I used scoot boots at a ride was last October at Quitaque Climb in north Texas (see previous blog post ‘Year End Review’ for a general recap of that ride). I started the 55-mile ride with renegade glue-on shells but lost the first shell off the left rear after only ~10 miles and replaced it with a scoot boot with regular straps. Though the gaiter was destroyed/lost, this boot stayed on for the entire ride and the entire next day of 55 miles (approximately 100 miles total). At some point I also lost the right rear shell and replaced it with another scoot boot.

Rear boots after Quitaque Climb, left gaiter was lost.

Tread held up well after Quitaque Climb.

Modified left rear (LR) boot at outside coronet band.

The terrain included hills, rocks and water crossings with mud. After day 1 I realized the outside edge of the boot was digging in to the coronet band and hoof wall. We modified this boot by cutting the top outside edge to prevent further rubbing on day 2. This rubbing of the hoof wall only occurred on the LR, not the RR and likely is a result of Jazz’s altered hoof shape from the glue that remained on the hoof wall in combination with the conditions (wet and sandy through the streams). There was a rub on the left hind pastern, as a result of losing the gaiter on day 1 and some swelling the following Monday morning but no lameness. All in all I was happy with the boots performance from this ride. Though as mentioned above, at Old Glory the rear boots did not stay on in the muddier conditions and I decided to get mud straps to see if they would prevent twisting.

LR after the weekend, some swelling, no lameness.

 

Some swelling in LR, slight rub on back pastern.

Mud strap test:
I’ve now tested the mud straps on two conditioning rides, the first an easy going 6.5 mile ride over flat, dry and somewhat rocky terrain. Using gaiters on all four boots, I had no issues with rubbing or twisting, indicating they work well for general trail riding purposes. However, I’m not just a trail rider and need a boot that can withstand much longer distances and harsher terrain. For a more thorough test, I took Jazz to the Hill Country State Natural Area which has lots of rocks, climbs and descents. We completed 14 miles of the rockiest and hilliest terrain available going at a walk/faster walk of 3.5-4 mph. Unfortunately, we didn’t go through any mud (the lower land trails with water crossings were closed because of recent rains). The results are that the mud straps work well to prevent twisting, though they have weak points that are prone to tears and breakage, particularly when under added stress of going up and down hills/rocks.

LR bottom toe strap and mud strap broke, boot stayed on.

The left rear (LR) mud strap broke at ~12 miles after going up an ascent. Though the mud strap broke, the boot stayed on and did not actually come off. I did have the regular straps over top of the mud straps which worked well as a backup. Luckily, I have 2 extra mud straps that came with the package so I’ll be able to replace those that are weakened and broke from this ride.
The RF displayed the start of a rub on the back of her pastern at about mile 8 and I applied Desitin to prevent it from getting worse. Just as with human shoes, boots need to be broken in using shorter rides to get the hoof, pastern, heal bulbs toughened up before any competition rides of 25 miles or longer are undertaken. If rubbing remains consistent on the shorter rides, the boots can be modified using a heat gun to slightly stretch the heal straps or mud straps for a more custom fit. There are instructional youTube videos for how to use a heat gun to stretch them.

LR broken mud strap.

LR weakened mud strap.

 

LR weakened mud strap.

 The gaiters held up pretty well, but I will look into purchasing Dr. Scholl’s molefoam padding (available at Walmart) that can be cut and used to make new gaiters if they become shredded or lost.     

LR, broken toe strap and scratched screw.

RR weakened mud strap sheath.

Given the boots relatively simple design of only 3 straps (2 toe straps and 1 ankle strap) that attach over top of screws (no buckles, cables, Velcro) they are easy to put on. The mud straps do add time when putting them on and taking them off but they are still relatively simple and secure. It's nice to have the different colors (we all know how important this can be to endurance riders) and I prefer the bright green and aqua because they are easier to see against Jazz's black coat. When riding in rocky conditions the front screw enclosures can break off. This didn’t happen during the conditioning ride however I have had to replace them 3-4 times after they’ve broken off during previous rides, likely due to being hit on rocks/gravel. I was unable to find what type of metal they are made of (brass?) but it is softer. See to the left how the lower screw has been worn away and it will be impossible to use a screwdriver to remove it. I’ll likely need a vice grip. In general it's good to have a variety of tools.

Just looking at the pictures above you might think I'm not happy, but actually I am. Here are my priorities: First and foremost the boot has to protect the hoof (no lameness), secondly it has to stay on so that I don't have to get off and on 20 times like I did at Old Glory (not fun). Third, it has to be durable, and while this is the weak point of the mud straps, I can handle replacing them as long as priority one and two are met. More testing is needed to see how they hold up under truly muddy conditions.

Next weekend I’ll be competing in the 75-mile ride in La Veta, Colorado. I’ll be using renegade glue-on shells on all four feet to start. The scoot boots with mud straps will be my 1^st backup boot and renegades that strap on will be my 2^nd backup option. Fingers crossed it all goes well!  

Other take-aways: no matter what boot you use, plan for what terrain you’ll be riding in. If riding in rocky, hilly terrain bring extra mud straps. If your horse is sensitive to rubs be sure to practice with short rides and look into customizing the boots more. You can work with a distributor in your area to help get the best fit and customization. I’ve been following Stacy Pratt’s Heartland Scoot boots FB page, watched youTube videos and have gotten many great tips about customization.  

 Check out these awesome videos from the end of our conditioning ride (view in full screen mode). The first one is in real time, the second video is the same steps from the first in slow motion and allows you to see what goes on in a split second that allows a horse to keep their balance.