Old Mac G2's

[Daffy Dilly]

Daffy was near enough crippled today. Not sure whether it was stiffness (he did improve) or him being footsore, but I think it was a combination. I'm putting him on a course of bute, increasing the lunging (YO has them being kept in again d*mnit) and going to increase the use of his magnetic rug and rug in general with a view to reducing his stiffness.

He's not leaving the yard again until I have some boots. Darren recommended the Old Mac G2's, which I should hopefully be able to go and buy on thursday as somewhere locally has them listed on ebay. My question is regards the fitting - how easy it is really? Darren isn't coming out again until mid January, but these boots are on a no-return once worn policy.

On the one hand I want the boots asap as he really is suffering and I need to rule things out, but if it's going to be a case of them being tricky to fit, I'm better off waiting anyway until Darren is coming back and then ordering from somewhere that does allow them to be returned.

[Est]

I followed the measuring guide
http://www.thesaddleryshop.co.uk/information.php?info_id=15
on this website, then hired a pair from them which fit perfectly, so I bought the hire pair (they were brand new anyway). I also bought a size smaller because Merrick was borderline on sizes with long toes, and I knew he'd be a bit smaller post-trim.
The boots arrived quickly (within 48 hrs) so maybe this'd be a good option?
http://www.thesaddleryshop.co.uk/index.php?cPath=296_297

[Daffy Dilly]

I think I will do it that way, I can always pay for next day delivery, and if they aren't right at least I won't be losing the full amount. Thanks :)

[Est]

You're welcome! Merry Christmas :)

[MelanieD]

G2s are good, think they measure about right. You can check fit by putting a plastic bag around the horse's foot (as long as you have a tolerant horse!) and a towel or something on the floor, keeps them clean and hides that they've ever been near a horse ;)

Just for comfort until you can get boots something like solemate pads, or cut up camping mats or even nappies taped on can really help.

Does he have cr*ppy feet and good reason to be sore? If not then worth eliminating laminitis/LGL.

[Roofio]

Another vote for the saddlery shop hire service from us - postage was v quick, and if you measure his feet then ring up they'll help you get the right size.

I did the whole plastic bag/something to stand on thing and it worked well, once i'd convinced J that the pink rug i was getting him to stand on wasn't going to eat him!

[Daffy Dilly]

G2s are good, think they measure about right. You can check fit by putting a plastic bag around the horse's foot (as long as you have a tolerant horse!) and a towel or something on the floor, keeps them clean and hides that they've ever been near a horse ;)

Just for comfort until you can get boots something like solemate pads, or cut up camping mats or even nappies taped on can really help.

Does he have cr*ppy feet and good reason to be sore? If not then worth eliminating laminitis/LGL.

He's not *that* tolerant of plastic bags :p

He has no feet; he's walking on his soles (they wore them off at the vets), so I guess that's enough reason to be sore. His feet are otherwise quite good, he scored 4.4 overall useability (she says like she knows what she's talking about!) and Darren did say to continue hacking 3/4 times a week for 15-20minutes without the boots, and then in the school 3/4 times a week for 20-30 minutes, which we were doing, but he was quite bad yesterday, first time he's actually been footsore I think. He did improve as we went around, so I think he was mainly stiff, but I've knocked the hacking on the head until we have boots.

He's ok in his stable/walking on the yard/in the school, so that's where we're staying for now.

[Yann]

G2's are quite flexible fitwise and can even be used successfully on feet they shouldn't officially fit. I'd second trying the saddleryshop too :)

[Daffy Dilly]

Measure Accurately

Bah. :p

Going to try again tomorrow, but basically I got 4 3/4" wide, 5" long in front, and 4 1/2" wide and 5 1/2" long behind. I got 5" long behind the first time though, so I'm going to measure again tomorrow.

On paper though, do those sizes sound reasonable? I'm just thinking that he has some (ok, a lot of) growing to do, he's not going to go up a size is he? I can't afford that. :o

[Yann]

Those measurements sound very reasonable and should be easy to boot successfully all things being equal. The hind length does sound a bit long, most hind feet tend to be slightly shorter and narrower than the fronts, but you might be correct.

Translating them into metric you're 120mm x 125mm in front which is borderline between a size 3 and 4 G2. Which to go for would really depend on how flared the feet are (how straight the wall is from coronet to floor) how long the heel bulbs are and whether the horse moves straight or not. If the feet are flared to some degree then you're better plumping for the smaller size as decent trimming will make the footprint smaller over time.

You would also be a good fit in a size 1 epic / bare, which to be honest having used both types of boot extensively would be my preference, just depends what sorts of surfaces you're mainly going to be using the boots on.

[Daffy Dilly]

Saw a pair of G2's today. We are definately hiring, and will get Darren to fit them for us.

Going to ask next week when I ring them, but do you think if we hired a new pair, literally tried getting them on and couldn't (so there was no wear to them at all) we'd be able to exchange them without paying the hire charge?

Those buckles are going to be a pain though. :rolleyes:

[Yann]

No chance at all would be my guess ;)

[Daffy Dilly]

Maybe I should just buy outright then, after a lot more measuring! This is complicated :p

ETA, I even asked if we could take Daffy to the not-so-local saddlery today to have them fitted, but they won't. :(

[Yann]

It's not as bad as it seems, been there and done it a few times. Have you got any pics of the feet?

[Daffy Dilly]

Not post trim no. But just before;

http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v315/Daffydilly/Daffys%20Feet/11th%20December%2007/

Can try and get some more tomorrow, want to get him extremely patient with his feet (he's already good) for when I'm faffing with those buckles.

[Yann]

They don't look bad. Assuming your measurements are correct a size 4 would give you a bit more to play with in terms of strap length, and make padding easier if you wanted to do that as well. Horses do seem to get used to being booted very quickly and the G2's are a cinch to get on and off. If in doubt use a pair of pliers on those buckle straps;)

[Daffy Dilly]

After all that the saddlery shop aren't doing next day delivery atm due to illness in the family, and they also don't take paypal.

So I've just ordered them from old-work. Have ordered a pair of 4's and a pair of 5's, will just have to keep them clean and tidy! :rolleyes:

[Yann]

The most important thing to do when you try them is to see if they swivel on the hoof, if they do then they're too big. The amount of pastern strap you have to play with is also a good indicator.

[SB1]

Hello,

What is the difference between Boa boots and Old Macs???? Hinds off at the end of the month!!!! However, with all this snow we have we won't need anything as we can't go anywhere!!

Treen

Tis okay, I've had a look at the Easicare site mentioned elsewhere and it looks full of useful info!!

[Daffy Dilly]

Apparently the d*mn things are "2-3month Special Order" and before the suppliers would order them, I would have to sign a legally binding contract to state that the boots were non returnable, even if unmarked. I'm sure that's against my statutory rights, and I needed the boots like, a month ago anyway. ;)

So I've bought them from the not-so-local saddlery, and off to pick them up now. They had better not need returning, I think I would do that by post. :rolleyes:

Hopefully this time tomorrow I will be telling you how easy they are to put on and how fantastically well they fit. And how well he walks in them. :p