Old Mac's- anybody using them?

[KarinUS]

One of our horses is currently going barefoot and I'd like to keep it that way- matter of fact I wish both horses had tough enough feet to go barefoot.
Now that we are going to start trailering and taking them on rides that include roads and hard surfaces I am considering some extra protection for Missy's feet.
Has anybody had any experiences with using Old Mac's boots/shoes?

[shadowanne]

I'd like to know the answer to that too. I've been wondering if I should get them for when I take my horse out trailriding on rougher, slightly rocky surfaces.

The last time I took her out her hoof edges ended up all jaggy. Good thing she was due for a trim anyway - smoothed them all out :)

[casey]

I have had several pairs of old mac's. It is crucial to get the sizing right.
Old mac's were designed (i think)by an australian endurance rider.
I have found the old mac's very good. They cant be worn 24 hours but im sure you know that anyway;)

They are very good.

[virtuallyhorses]

Yes, bought some Old Macs for Imp for the same reasons. Anything in particular you would like to know?

Fit is important. I have OMs for Imps fronts only and use them sometimes now - really only on very rocky trails as he's pretty hard in the feet now. Never really had any problems with him getting used to them or stepping on them. You do need to let them wear them in at first - so the first few wears should be short, say 10-15 mins only.

You have to get used to fitting them correctly - the inside strap goes on quite loosely and the outside wrap quite snugly.

Have worn them through very wet muddy rides (like knee deep mud) with no problems and have cantered in them....anything else? :)

[KarinUS]

Okay. Questions. Basically I was trying to get a feel how people (and horses) liked them.
I bought an easyboot before and hated it. It was IMPOSSIBLE to get on, etc.

How easy are Mac's to get on and off?
How do horses react to them?
Why the adjustment time?
Thanks!

[Bebe]

I used Old Macs for Bebe last year.

They were great for light use in the school and fantastic on the roads. Not great in mud, very slippy and they seemed to hold onto the mud too so after a while they became heavy and would fly off during canter. I can remember one particular ride when Bebe refused to canter, which isn't like her. When I got back I took her boots off and they weighed over 1kg each, no wonder she wouldn't canter.

They were easy to put on and take off though and it only took Bebe about 2 minutes to get used to them from a movement point of view. I started slowly with just 10 mins of use the first day, then 20 minutes, etc. After a week Bebe was okay doing hour long hacks in them with no rubbing problems. Apparently they can rub, I suspect the pastern strap is what causes the problem.

I've just taken delivery of a pair of Marquis hoof boots. At first inspection they appear to be more robust, more adjustable for fit and all the parts are replaceable which is good. They're also guaranteed for 6 months like the Old Macs. I won't be trying them until October (bought these now as they are secondhand but unused so were a bargain) though.

[galadriel]

There's another boot that came out recently, the Boa boot. Supposed to be much easier to put on and to adjust for fit.

Looking for a picture of Boa boots I found this page, which has links (about 3/4 the way down) to a few different horse boot pages:
http://www.barefoothorse.com/barefoot_Transition.html

[500]

I've never personaly used them but my farrier said that they were good- as opposed to easy boots.

You guys have goten me interested in these now! Do you know how long they last? Are they worth the price? Thanks.

[virtuallyhorses]

How easy are Mac's to get on and off? Very, if you can pick up a foot you can put them on. You open up the entire shoe, slip it on toe first and give a little wiggle to make sure that it's sitting properly. Then you can put the foot down and do up straps and velcro on the ground - you can also do this while you hold the foot it's up to you\your horse but I find it easy to do on the ground.

How do horses react to them? No reaction really. If your horse has tender feet, then I thought it took a little while for Imp to realise that he could walk on stones etc without worrying but once I made him do it a few times he clicked and then really stepped out in them.

Why the adjustment time? 2 reasons - you need to learn how to adjust them correctly so the first couple of times you need to check that you haven't put them on wrong, skewiff or too loose or too tight etc and because the boot does cover some areas of the pastern you have to allow some 'wearing in' like when you get a new pair of shoes. Thinking about it I think this is particularly important the first couple of times because you (I) tended to put them on too tight. The instructions tell you to put on the pastern strap loosely but you feel a bit paranoid at first so I'm sure that I probably was tightening it more than I do now... you just get to trust them more with use.

Cost - I think they're about the cost of 3-4 shoeings so very economical and I don't use mine often enough to give a good idea of wear. I've had mine a few years now and they look new. I have an endurance rider friend who has a horse that's worn hers for over 3 years which I guess would be thousands of kms as she does 30-40k training rides most weekends and longer rides for comps.... the OMs still going strong at the moment - I think she had to get one buckle restitched a while back.

You do have to look after them - if you just brought a muddy wet pair back and threw them in the corner I guess the stitching and fabric would rot. After a muddy ride I blast them with the hose and then hang them up - they come in a mesh bag so that you can hang them from your saddle or bridle rack.

[barny]

KarinUs--Just posted regarding Old Macs. I have used them for two years. They are simply the best. They are being used around the world for endurance riding to training race horses. I use mine on the trail and have never lost one. They are great for transitioning to barefoot and you only need them on the front as a horse will go anywhere barefoot on the back. As previously mentioned you need to ensure you get the correct size. The boot web site is www.oldmacs.com but if you go to yahoo.com and type in "old macs horse boots" you will find heaps on them. They would seem to be the most popular boot being used

[Bebe]

But why oh why are the sizes so small?

Bebe is an average sized horse (15.3hh) with average sized hooves yet the largest size Old Macs weren't wide enough once she'd been barefoot for a couple of months. They also were far too long in the toe area so ended up being really clunky on her.

They are good, but there is room for improvement imo.

[galadriel]

Bebe...the link I posted above, which has a list of various hoof boots, has links to at least one that has a wide variety of sizes. Another one...or maybe the same one...will also make custom boots. And the custom boots can be resoled, so that you don't have to buy new boots every time they wear out.

[Bebe]

Hi Galadriel

The biggest stumbling block for me and the custom made boots is that they're all based in the USA and I don't have a credit card so have no way to pay for them. Plus postage costs seem to end up doubling the cost of the boots.

I've got a pair of Marquis boots for next winter that appear to fit, I'll find out for sure when her shoes come off. We can get Boa Boots here now which come in bigger sizes than the Old Macs so they're an option now, though I think they're really weird looking :)

[virtuallyhorses]

Bebe your horse doesn't sound so 'average' if his feet are that large. :) My 16.1hh TB is a size 5 from memory (or was it 4, no I think 5) . Sizes for OMs are meant to be measured immediately after a fresh trim.

I've just looked at the Easyboot and Boa sizes - there's not much difference. The largest easy\boa size is a mere 9mm larger than the largest Old Mac size and the Boa\Easy sizes show a range i.e. 149-159, rather than Old Mac 150mm it would seem that they are relying on 'stretch' (which of course the cordura does too and that's how they allow for the foot to grow between trims).

[Bebe]

Bebe's hooves are average :p . She's a 15.3hh Cleveland Bay cross Quarter Horse. Cleveland Bays are carriage horses, complete with draft size hooves which have been offset a bit by her QH blood so they're not draft dinner plates but neither are they TB hooves either. They are actually very neat and don't look huge to look at so I never dreamt there'd be a problem finding boots for her. The Old Macs fit at first but when her heels decontracted they were too tight cross the heel, but also much too long at the toe. Didn't matter whether she'd had her hooves freshly trimmed or not as there was never that much to take off as she wore them down naturally.

The Old Macs go on but they're very tight round the heels and the velcro pastern strap can't seem to take the strain so they fly off. Doing up the pastern strap more tightly just means the boot comes off the hoof but dangles from the pastern.

Anyway 9mm in the world of hooves can be the difference between a balance and unbalanced hoof trim-wise, so why any difference for the fit of boots?

Even if they did fit width-wise, I'd have given up on the Old Macs simply because of how much mud they collected during rides.

[KarinUS]

It's nice to see there are so many choices now!
The Boa boots look good to me too, especially since they come with the gaiters for riding in sandy conditions.
The only suspicious thing about those is that they are made by the people that came up with the horrible Easyboot...

[scillywoman]

I live on an island and the farrier comes over every 8 weeks he trims one and shoes the other he has been recommending that I get boots for the one requiring shoes as in winter it is sometimes
difficult to get here. First he said get Old Mac's but now he has been told Marquis are better. Looking at the info on both it worries me that OM's may rub with the strap. I do a lot of riding on sand and in the sea, has anyone any experience would they fill up with sand and small stones and would the water drain out easily???

[galadriel]

Originally posted by KarinUS
they are made by the people that came up with the horrible Easyboot...

I think perhaps they've learned about a lot of the things that just didn't work with the easyboot. From what I've heard from people who are actually using the Boas, they're easier to put on, fit the hoof better, and are more secure.

[barny]

Bebe--it looks like you may have the wrong size Old Macs. If the pastern strap is not long enough to secure properly then the hoof is sitting on the boot rather than in it. When this strap is secured you should be able to slip a finger between the strap and the pastern at the sides and still have plenty too secure. This strap cannot chafe when secured properly. It works exactly the same as the band on your watch. When you slip the boots on over the heels of the hoof they should feel the same as when you slip your own heels into a pair of riding boots. They should pop on. As I have used the boots for over two years I usually help my friends get the right fit. Sizing is important. When the Old Macs are fitted correctly they are the best boot by a country mile and will not come off. If they do come off it is because the boots are too small and the pastern strap is sitting in the wrong position. Even a size too big will not come off. Most people I know use the Old Macs and when sized right swear by them

[barny]

Scillywoman--in reply to your post the boots drain very well as there is no solid back in the boots so the water comes straight out. The idea with boots is to allow your horses to stay barefooted and give you protection when you need it so when you are riding in the ocean why not ride barefooted and leave the boots off. It only takes 15 seconds to put a boot on and ten seconds to take it off so removing them is not a problem. I suggest you do a search on the web and see what boots most people are using . There is only one boot which does not come off(whensized and fitted correctly)

[Bebe]

Barny,

I was using the largest size of Old Macs, and I know that they were too small, which is why I've now sold them and have ended up putting front shoes on my mare - I didn't have any other sizes that I could try.

Amanda

[celyns mummy]

can you gallop or jump in them???

[barny]

Yes , they train racehorses in them. On the Old Mac web site www.oldmacsusa.com there are some testimonies from race horse trainers. I also know many riders who jump in them. I do cross country and trails and would never go back to shoeing