Tuesday, October 16, 2012

New Boots for Zora and Divna

 
We have not had shoes on our horses in ages. We have found that it doesn't really work for us. Zora in particular has such a long stride that she knocks off the front shoes. It hasn't really been an issue, since we are fortunate enough to live in Northwest Indiana, which is sand dune country. Our trails are generally soft, and we do not have to do much street/road riding.
 
However, it does pose a problem in one regard. There are some beautiful trails and camping areas in other parts of Indiana where the ground is quite rocky. Central and southern Indiana are known for rock quarries -- Indiana is actually famous for limestone (the builders of The Biltmore Mansion in Asheville NC had Indiana limestone brought down for the construction). There are some great horse trails in those areas. For those trails you need shoes on your horses. Outside of Zora's stride problem, it can be difficult to coordinate the shoeing with the travel schedule. Last minute opportunities are not even an option.
 
So we did a little research, thanks in part to my Horse Illustrated magazine, we found some we felt would work for us. We got our mares the Easy Boot Epics.
 
 
Here is Zora after her fitting.....
 
 
 
And here is Divna in her new boots....
 





I had to include this picture -- The Girls were so cute -- When we got them both shoed-up, they both took the exact same pose.....the relaxed stance that you see horses take.



We plan to take them to the Midwest Trails near Bloomington Indiana. Midwest Trails is adjacent to the Hoosier National Forest and has almost 100 miles of trails! I hope these boots work out as nicely as we expect them to....

Oh, and the great thing about Midwest Trails is that The Girls will each have their very own stall, and we will have a CABIN!!!!

Guess we are all four ready to go....