Utah Olympic Park

I know some you have been already using apps of what ugg boots to buy, but beware also of fake boots. In this article I review the Cavallo Hoof Simple Boot. I think it’s important to write about my experiences because it took a lot of research to figure out how to fit this boot to my quarter horse gelding, Walker, who is currently in transition from shoes to barefoot living. If I had not done the research, I would have ended up with boots that were the wrong size, not to mention ultimately detrimental to Walker’s progress toward a barefoot lifestyle.

Walker’s Barefoot Trimming Situation

Walker is a 4-year-old quarter horse gelding I purchased as a reining prospect. The moment I brought him home I immediately yanked his shoes off. His feet were typical of an overly-bred quarter horse: thin walls, hoof wall separation (giving his toes that lovely long “ski” look), and a thin sole. I figured this was no big deal, as I had had a lot of experience transitioning horses out of shoes. Plus, Walker had only worn shoes for about four months.

I was wrong. Walker, being a Shao Yin personality type (read more about this and other horse personality types on Dr. Madalyn Ward’s Horse Harmony site), was a hot house flower. With every barefoot step he took he winced. He limped. He looked totally pathetic. Worst of all, he was totally unrideable. I live in rough country, where rocks, gravel, and rough terrain abound. Walker, in total contrast to my mustang mares, could not hack a single step.

I tried to tough out the situation for a couple of months. I tried several different barefoot strategies. I tried taking off less flare with each trimming and using a severe mustang roll. This only caused the hoof wall to separate more. I tried taking off all the flare. Walker, in contrast to his name, could not walk. I tried trimming every few days. No dice. Same with going a long time between trimmings. Ditto with all kinds of hoof paint, iodine, and other remedies. The nutritional aspect, with my home made “horse goo” of mangosteen juice and algae, was helping him grow much better hoof wall, but that was way up at the top of his hoof. In the meantime, he was trying to walk on the crummy lower portion of his hooves. Ouch!

Cavallo Simple Hoof Boots

I finally broke down and decided that my boy needed some artificial help; I either had to slap shoes back on him (makes me wince) or buy him some boots. Since the boots cost exactly double the cost of a shoe job (about $145), I opted for boots. In my experience they last longer and cost less in the long run.

In the past, I’ve often used Old Macs, especially on my bigger horses. I love the Old Macs and have taken them everywhere, but they are fairly large and clunky. Walker is small (not quite 15 hands) and has slender legs and tiny quarter horse hooves. Instead, I opted for the Cavallo Simple Hoof Boots, which have a much slimmer profile and looked easy to put on and take off.

I got online and researched a bunch of reviews, as well as visiting the Cavallo site for their sizing chart and instructions. According to those instructions, I measured Walker after a fresh trim. Using their sizing chart, Walker was a size 2. I was all ready to hit the “buy” button for a pair of size 2 boots when I decided to read through a few more user reviews. Here’s what I learned based on the user reviews:

1. Order one size smaller boot than the sizing chart suggests

2. If your horse’s hoof has a lot of flare, measure the hoof after a fresh trim in which you take off all the flare

3. These boots stretch with use so buying one size smaller makes sense

4. In order to ensure a better fit, buy a few of the pad inserts in case you need them

5. You want the fit to be snug (with Walker, I put the boot halfway on and then he has to put his full weight on the boot to get his hoof in). With a snug fit you prevent rotation and rubbing (the inserts also help with this)

6. When you first get the boot, wrap a plastic bag around your horse’s hoof and around the boot to try the boots for fit. This prevents the boots from getting dirty and allows you to exchange the boots if necessary

7. Let your horse break the boots in slowly to prevent rubbing and sores (20 minutes the first day, an hour the next, and so forth)

Walker’s Experience with the Cavallo Simple Hoof Boot

Walker loves his Simple Hoof Boots. The first day I put them on and rode him, he literally galloped down our gravel drive. This is the same gravel drive he literally could not limp across barefoot. He wore the boots for a short 20 minute ride the first day, then for a longer hour ride the next day. Over time, we’ve increased the amount of time he wears them.

One day I decided to let him wear the boots all day in his pasture. He was mostly sound in his pasture barefoot, but occasionally he would hit a rough spot and limp. Plus, I noticed that he rarely ran or bucked with Fezzywig, his pasture buddy. I also noticed that he had become quite swaybacked and had been working to remedy that with bodywork. The day he wore his boots all day in pasture, he ran and bucked like a maniac. He also didn’t look as swaybacked. To understand what has happening to his body, I got down on my hands and knees and tried to imitate a sore-footed stance. In that stance, I noticed that I rocked back on my knees and dropped my back down to avoid putting weight on my hands. Hmmm, not exactly rocket science but pretty nifty nonetheless.

Walker now wears his boots all day and has them off at night. We live in a dry climate, the high desert of Colorado, so he can get away with wearing his boots for long stretches without any moisture buildup. This is important since the goal is to develop a hard, dry, tough hoof, and moisture buildup tends to soften the hoof (especially the sole). Depending on where your horse lives most of the time, you may wish to do keep boots on him for many hours at a time, or to just put them on when you are riding him.

Finally, in addition to his new Simple Hoof Boots, Walker loves his extra doses of Simplexity health Omega Sun Algae, which is unparalleled when it comes to building strong hoof wall. We are about four months away from him actually walking on his new hoof wall (you can see a line that separates the old hoof from the new growth), but I can tell that the algae is producing a much thicker and stronger wall. Can’t wait for him to actually be able to walk on it!

I hope this article helps those of you who are considering buying the Cavallo Simple Hoof Boot. It’s a high quality boot and well worth the investment for those who want to transition their horses to barefoot but need a little “help”!

Stephanie Yeh is a zen cowgirl obsessed about horses, healing, natural remedies, herbs, magic, MLM, and more. Check out natural horse care tips, ways to fund your horse obsession, natural health products, and more on her blog (http://zencowgirl.blogspot.com) and order XanGo mangosteen products on her website ([http://www.mangosteengood.com]).

Article Source: https://EzineArticles.com/expert/Stephanie_H._Yeh/315373

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/3456131

Thunder Road Brewhouse is a striking, large industrial indoor and outdoor space for 21st birthday venues Melbourne. Planning a party used to be so simple. When you were a teen, if your parents were away for the night or the weekend, you’d simply call up your friends and invite them over. If they weren’t doing anything they’d drop on by with a few drinks. It was instant party! Food? Well, you raided the fridge and if there weren’t any goodies you asked a friend to snag some chips or snacks on his way over or maybe you’d order in a few pizzas if you could afford it. Then the fun began.

Now that you’re an adult you realize that a bit more has to go into hosting a party. Your friends all have busy lives and maybe small children and they might not be able to show up if you call them at the last moment. They might have already made other plans a week ago. Besides, they’re no longer content with a handful of chips and a can of soda. They have expectations now. Relax. None of this need be a problem. We can provide you with all the party planning information you require.

First things first: what kind of party will you be hosting? Will it be a birthday party, a Fourth of July party, a grad party, or what? And will it be a surprise for the guest of honor? A lot depends on your answers to these questions. Next, what is the main age range of the guests? That’s also a huge factor! And how many guests will you be having over? The answers to these questions may seem simple, but a lot of practical considerations stem out of each of them.

When you invite your close friends over, you already have a good idea what they like or don’t like-but what do you do when you’re throwing a surprise party for your eighty year-old grandmother? What food do you serve? What activities do you plan for the guests? Or if you’re hosting a birthday party for four year-olds, and you’re not familiar with the likes/dislikes of that age range either, you’ll need to give some thought to games and or movies to keep them occupied.

Also, knowing ahead of time how many guests you’ll invite lets you figure out how much food to provide and how many party accessories you need to buy. And that leads to the basic question: what is your budget? Yes even for a “simple” party you should know how much money you can spend. Otherwise, costs can snowball out of control rapidly.

These days, people don’t mail out invitations much any more; you risk having your invite get lost in the daily deluge of junk mail people receive. Most people these days either pick up the phone and call their intended guests or send an e-mail. Now there is a new option called evite that combines the age-old personal touch of a handwritten invitation with modern computer graphics and cyber-speed. You simply go to evite’s website, sign up for an account (It’s free!) then design your card and send out the personalized invitation to your list of e-mail addresses. Some handy features this site has: it will track which of your guests have responded, who says that they’re coming, and lets you know the number of people who’ll be coming. It will even tell you who has received/read the invitation, even though they haven’t RSVP you yet. And of course it’ll let you know who’s not coming. It even allows guests to write a short message when they respond.

Something else you will need to decide: where will your party be held? If it’s going to be out of doors, is there enough shade in case the weather turns hot or covered areas in case it rains? Will you host the event in your home or at a rented location? This last factor may well depend on how many guests you plan to invite, hence how much room you will need. It may also depend on how much time you can invest. After all, if you have a party in your home, many hours worth of work and thought will have to go into cleaning, decorating, cooking and serving food, not to mention cleaning up when the party is over and the guests have gone. Renting a venue is more expensive, it’s true, but it cuts out a lot of work and allows you to actually relax and participate in the party-instead of running around the whole time.

Whether you cook all the food yourself or have it catered, you will still need to give thought to what kind of food you’ll serve and how much. You’ll have to decide whether this is a smorgasbord, buffet-style meal or whether the guests will sit down to eat. These are vital decisions! After all, as the host you simply must offer your guests food. When people are invited to a party they expect to eat-and eat well! People who weren’t able to attend usually ask, “How’d the party go? How was the food?” Since food will eat up most of your budget, it should also take up a good portion of your planning time and thought. This is barely touching the surface of what goes into planning a party. You won’t be a pro the right away and there’s always more you can learn but we hope that the above tips will help you get started.

Stacy is a party planning expert. For more great information on party planning [http://www.foodpartyplanning.com], visit.

Article Source: https://EzineArticles.com/expert/Stacy_Scott/417519

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/2897414