Itty bitty, teeny tiny "easyboots" for Shetland?

[deltawave]

Posting this here because there must be a lot of pony people here who take their little ones on the roads. :)

My adorable Shetland turns out to be not just "broke to drive" but an EXTREMELY good little bombproof harness pony, wow! She hadn't been driven in a few years but when I put her to the cart after weaning her colt, she quickly showed me just how good she is. I'm so thrilled with her!

With visions of some fun outings next year dancing in my head, I want to put a little bit of a base of fitness on her this fall and winter, weather permitting...she's been a baby-maker for a 3 straight years and her tummy barely fits between the shafts! :lol:

So (reaching my point at last) do they make tiny little "Old Mac" or "Easyboot" style boots for small (10.2h) ponies? I don't like to shoe 'em if I don't have to, and although she has good, tough feet, around here it's either drive on the roads or do LOTS of circles up and down the driveway. :p What do you pony drivers use in place of shoes? Where to get them? Thanks.

[Auventera Two]

Yes they do. Go to www.easycareinc.com (http://www.easycareinc.com) and you can find their size charts. Even if the smallest ones are a bit too big, you can use the EVA foam insert pads to snug the boots up a bit. I think Epics are your best choice, as they have the smallest sizing, and they also have gaiters which are extra security around the pastern.

[deltawave]

Thanks for the tip!

[Auventera Two]

You're welcome! :)

[LostFarmer]

Unless the poor pony is wearing off more hoof the she is growing I would just drive her on. I drive on many paved roads with and with out shoes. I prefer to have them barefoot unless they are wearing off to much hoof. I also rarely need to do anymore than a quick rasp touch up at trim time.
LF

[deltawave]

The "poor pony" will indeed remain barefoot until or unless she NEEDS something. I was just trying to think ahead. :)

[PalominoMorgan]

I do happen to know the answer to this question. Yes. They make them in TINY sizes. How do I know this? Saw 2 pair of Old Mac boots on clearance at tack shop. Called farrier to ask shoe size of my one mare. Buy boots. Bring em home. Farrier laughs and says, "for what you paid... keep em and put em on a weanling someday." So... yes, they come in TINY sizes. I happen to have 2 pair that I *might* get to use someday when I breed my mare.

[GE]

Star Lake Farms makes boots for minis that may fit your Shetland. They are basically buckle on shoes that can be used for driving and are $20. I found the info on a mini horse farm that I belong to.

Third item on the page:
http://www.starlakefarm.com/new_items.html

[jej]

I had a pair of very small Easyboots for my 9.2 hh Shetland - I bought them for a laminitic episode he had, when we didn't want to shoe him. Go to the Easyboots website - I ordered them direct (and I'm in Canada). The service was great.

My little guy wore them for turnout, and while they stayed on really well, they do rub - so be careful. If I had the choice, I would prefer to shoe any small pony that required it.

[Thomas_1]

I'm not sure what sort of driving you're intending to do and what your terrain is like. But I'm thinking why do you think she needs shoes at all??

Did you mean ground driving or actually driving as in with a vehicle behind her?

Reason why I'm curious about all this is that ordinarily shetlands have hard neat little feet and are extremely hardy ponies and I wouldn't personally be presuming she needed shoes just because you're going to start to do something to keep her fit.

Unless you're doing something challenging .... so like very hilly work where you're expecting the pony to use its britching to hold back the weight of the vehicle and passenger/s or work at speed with the carriage on the back and where traction and holding is going to be important, then I'd be thinking that a shetland could ordinarily be able to cope.

Obviously this all presumes though that:

-your shetland is what I consider to be a typical shetland

-that there's nothing in its conformation or clinical history that indicates shoes are going to be required to keep it sound and safe in the intended work

- your roads aren't surfaced like the rocky road to Dublin

- the inclines and terrain aren't steep gradients - like where I live!

Then if she was going to be doing stuff where shoes were indicated to help with work in draft and particularly traction and road holding, I've got to say that I'd strong advise AGAINST even considering boots. They just don't cut the mustard. Indeed until I've just seen this posting, I've never before seen a recommendation for boots for a light harness horse and in real life I don't know a single experienced and knowledgeable driver that would ever even think of recommending them as appropriate when road holding and traction was required and with a vehicle and passengers behind the pony.

Rather the pony would be better shod and with road traction tungsten driving studs.

[goodhors]

I am with Thomas on this. Unless you are getting pony very fit for competition, lots of miles, I don't think she would need boots at all. In fact, as you use her more, get increased circulation in hooves, her hooves may grow a bit faster so they won't wear as quickly.

Make sure farrier leaves her walls a little longer and soles a fraction thicker, so she doesn't feel the rocks or hard ground. Those are her natural protection to cover all kinds of ground, with no pain or wearing hooves short quickly. Even with all the "barefoot" information, I still see too many equines here in MI trimmed way too short. No sole depth or wall length, left on to wear down.

Many years ago, I kept a 10H Shetland-type pony shod for an elderly gentleman. American Shetland, more refined than UK Shetlands. It was his main method of transportation, in one of the old metal pony carts. I would put new shoes on that pony every five or six weeks when he called me. I would kind of peel off the old shoes, they were worn to almost gum-wrapper foil thickness!! Started out as regular, thick keg shoes, pony sized. We would talk about what driving he had been doing, pony was getting at LEAST 15 miles a day, lots on paved roads. The guy liked me because my pony shoes never fell off. The man did odd jobs, went shopping, visiting his friends all over. Pony was really fit, a kindly animal with wonderful, thick wall hooves. A nice little equine with a big trot.

That is really the only pony I knew that needed shoes, because his hooves would not grow fast enough for that much mileage.

I would not bother with buying any boots, until you see if pony is going to wear her hooves down enough to need them. Even the CDE pony folks usually only shoe for the event, get added traction. Not shod because of wear on hooves.

If you plan much winter driving, I would recommend winter shoes with ice studs and the snow rim pads, to prevent snow or ice build-up in hoof. I know you folks get plenty of snow, none of the spray-on stuff really works very long for driving. She will need traction in snow, pulling any kind of load.

[atr]

take a look at hoofwings.com. I like the look of these.

I was looking for something for my 37.25" tall mini when I found them. I'm still not sure whether we are going to need something occasionally or not.

Last time the blacksmith trimmed him, I think he was a little over-aggressive. It took about 2 weeks for him to feel completely comfortable on rock and gravel roads afterwards, so we are going to have to approach this more carefully in future.

Jolly good fun, these little chaps, aren't they?

[olehossgal]

I own a 38" AMHR miniature and several 32-34" AMHA miniatures that I drive. If I am going out on rocky roads, I occasionally use the "Pony" sized Easyboots(Epics), with Gaiters,in front on the the larger mare--otherwise, I do not use boots. Now admittedly, I am not in seriously uneven country, and most of my driving is done on clay soils, which aren't abrasive and aren't rocky...nor do I very often drive on asphalt(just lucky, I guess!) I trim all of my own miniature horses' feet, and always have(for the past 23 years,and I DO leave more wall AND more sole for the very reasons mentioned by others; still, I don't like to risk stone bruises(see above!)I have had excellent luck with the Easyboots, though, and would recommend them over those little things from Star Lake, which I suspect wouldn't hold up for too long??
To me, one of the pluses about the Easyboot is that it is probably less likely to rub than most of the other types(and most of the others simply do not MAKE anything small enough for miniatures/very small ponies, either)-the addition of the Gaiter is likely what would rub over time. I 'doctored' some of the older Pony-sized Easyboots, and was able to use them pretty successfully with a couple of my 34" miniatures, but admit I did not use them for long periods of time nor over tremendously tough terrain.
There is a place in AZ that makes something called the "Horsesneaker" in probably the widest variety of sizes around. They offer a semi-custom style, and a full custom fit...and they are expensive(on the plus side, though, they can be sent back for resurfacing, so might have a much longer 'life'??)! I have studied their website more than once, and *might*consider some under certain circumstances. I know of at least one endorsement of them, from a longtime Miniature driver AND experienced VSE CDEer on another board I frequent--another reason I *might* consider them.
A little anecdote: earlier this summer,a group of us went down to a ranch in the Sacramento Mountains of southern NM for a driving weekend--two full-sized(a Morgan and a draft/QH cross)and four VSE's(34-38" in height). The 'forest road' we used turned out to be pretty darned ROCKY--not many loose rocks, but many, firmed-embedded, and of all sizes, rocks! The draft/QH was shod, the Morgan used a full set of EASYBOOTS, and I used my Easyboots w/ gaiters in front on my 38" mare. We trotted virtually every step, went a little over 6 miles round trip, and nearly set a new land speed record for most of the way back,insisting the horses walk in to cool out/even out their breathing(lightning and threatening thunderstorm; at least the temps were pretty cool!) It was 'uphill' all the way out, 'downhill' all the way back--not EXTREMELY steep, but up and down, and NOTICABLE, for sure! There was not an 'ouchy' step taken by any of the minis, nor even the tiniest 'chip' off a single hoof--I checked! These were all minis who had good feet, well and properly trimmed, and were in good condition.
Now-- I don't have to deal much with ice, or REALLY STEEP or rugged terrain, where I drive; for those who do, of course that would make a difference!

Margo

[deltawave]

Thanks, everyone. Yes, she's a genuine Shetland and does have good, round, tough little feet. :) My farrier has driving horses and "gets it" that they work for a living and he thinks she'll be fine, but if (IF!) we go beyond the "toodling about on the roads" stage most of the carriage trails around here are pretty rocky and there's decent, although not terribly difficult, terrain.

So far on our gravel/crushed concrete driveway and the asphalt roads she's doing fine, I just like to plan ahead. :)

[Thomas_1]

You're very fortunate if you have a farrier that has some rock solid practical driving horse expertise - with it being an elite minority sport, it can be a skills gap. Of course all CJF qualified farriers will have sufficient knowledge and training to do a good job, but its the actual practical application and experience in number that I mean and particularly if you need something specialist or remedial. However you're fortunate in only having 1 driving pony and that being a shitland (*) And they're about as easy maintenance as any equid comes. Only problem I have is that because they're so damned little it doesn't half put strain on the back having to bend down to the little monsters.

The shitlands I have here are all more than able to cope with just lumpy, bumpy, stony tracks and I'd be very surprised at any shitland unable to cope unshod with what you've described.

Its only when they're on the tarmac (do you say asphalt?) roads when there's big inclines that they need some traction and particularly if you're reliant on the britching to hold the carriage back.

* Health warning: fortunate in so far as general maintenance is concerned. Note: Shitlands are like spots, they've a habit of breaking out and before you know where you are you've a load of them! Shitlands are just big horses with attitude disguised in small bodies!

[goeslikestink]

shetlands are natives they come from hilly and rocky terrain so they are built tough
little things hardy and easy keepers they can get things other horses cant, they like little mountian goats only ponies beleive me they are tough and i wouldnt put boots on either
my little boy ted was ride and drive did everything i know he suffered from lamintus but that was becuase the people that had him before left - as in dumped him for 2yrs the farmer who owned the land didnt get his money so took the pony he asked me to dell him for him only i brought him instead as he was old and needed help with his feet,, after all the hard work by self and farriers etc he lived a long good life working well didnt have another bout of lamnitus as i had strict feeding for him and constant care with farrier
but he was exception to the rule as regards to shetlands on the whole..wasnt his fault he was neglected before i got him but sure wasnt neglected with me

[Wallyze]

Mine can do a lot of roadwork before they need shoes. I only shoe in the summer when we are getting hard fit and showing and stuff.

If they get a bit footy I make little leather boots and whap them on for the short term until I shoe them.

They can rattle along doing a good 10 miles, 3 times a week before they need shoes.