Eli's Easyshoe Journey

When Eli came off the track he suffered from the same condition that many retired racehorses suffer and that would be long toe, low heel syndrome. He has had very little in the way of heel the entire time that I have owned him and it has always been a struggle for my farrier to pull back those toes.

He has been competing successfully in endurance since 2009, during which time he moved up in steel shoe sizes until he was eventually in a size 2. He would occasionally have a heel grab injury and his two lameness pulls were as a result of that. His first pull, he reached up and grabbed his shoe, twisted it and proceeded to puncture his sole with a nail. His second lameness pull was in a 75 mile event at around 42 miles when he reached up and severely bruised and blooded the back of his heel bulb. It was at that point that I decided to do something and see if my farrier, my vet and myself could not work together to help manage this issue a bit better.

Healing heel grab injury that required about 6 weeks off

I pulled his shoes and gave him a couple months barefoot but he didn't do well in boots and needed more support for his underslung heels and slightly prolapsed frog. In January of 2014, my vet did xrays and determined that his internal structures were healthy but he did need more heel support and a considerable amount of toe to come off.

XRays

So, with x-rays in hand, my farrier could now do his work with the knowledge of what was going on internally. So, from January to June, he was shod in traditional steel and some improvement was made but he was still somewhat sore in his heels. 

Photos January 2014

We continued to work on better balance but we were still struggling with his heels. I had really been wanting to try the new Easycare Easyshoe N/Gs on him so we decided to give them a try. 

Foot prior to first application of Easyshoe N/Gs

 Note the prolapsed frog below the hoof wall

 Note the excellent support for the back of the foot

 19 Days

 28 Days

The improvement in his comfort and movement proved almost instantaneous. The width change in his foot in 5 weeks was remarkable. So, the remodeling of the foot began. Within a month the frogs no longer had the prolapsed appearance and his heel soreness disappeared.

September 2014

 Frogs no longer prolapsed

 Now in a Size 3 Easyshoe N/G

 Great width achieved!

We have finished up a perfect season in AERC competitions and he is moving better than ever. I firmly believe that the Easyshoe has created real change in the shape of his foot capsule. His trot has extended from 13mph to around 16mph before switching gaits. He has done everything from mountainous 50s to 50s in the Sandhills in these and he is always moving great.

November 2014 Foot

Update December 2016

Eli is still doing phenomenal in the easyshoes and I can't recommend this product enough for horses with Long toe/low heel syndrome.

JD's Carolina 55

After a really amazing season of endurance, Dody and I headed down to JD's Carolina Ride for the last ride of the season. I took Eli for the 55 and Dody took Finn for the 30 mile ride. We arrived early on Friday morning and set up camp. We were joined shortly by our good friends Tim and Lara and their boys for the 55. It was lucky for me that Tim was there because he is also my farrier and it turned out we needed to reset one of Eli's shoes because he had pulled two nails out. 

The horses vetted through great. The vet told me that Eli had tied for lowest heart rate with a check in rate of 32. He continued to eat great throughout the day and we relaxed and got ready for the next day. Dody had to ride at 7:30 and I would be out at 8am.

We went up to the start with a few minutes to go and started in the middle of the pack. He was polite but very strong. The first loop would be a 25 mile adventure in strength and endurance. I was not feeling my very best, however, Eli really was on top of his game.  We left camp at 8am and we completed that long loop by 10:39am. My legs were jello from trying to keep up with my big horse and it took me a few minutes to adjust to walking again! He vetted through super and did well in his first hold. I ate and got myself feeling better as we prepared for the second loop.

East Meets West, aka "Eli" on the first 25 mile loop

Photo by Becky Pearman

Eli coming in off of the first loop and still going strong.

Photo by Becky Pearman

 Heading out on the 2nd Loop

Photo By Becky Pearman

 Trotting away!

Photo By Becky Pearman

 The second loop was close to 14 miles. We didn't see a soul for at least 8 of those. Eventually, Foster Olson caught up to me and we ended up riding the last two loops together. Our horses matched up nicely. Eli was feeling really great and led the way.

After the hold, heading out on the last loop.

Photo Dody Sutton

 Foster was waiting for me after the hold and we rode the same 14 mile loop again and Eli led every step of the way. We had a great ride and nice conversation. The weather was perfect and we came in at 4:33 in 15th and 16th. Our ride time was 6 hours and 53 minutes for the 55 mile distance. I was very proud of his time for the distance as that was our personal best for a 55 and he did it easily. He vetted through super at the end and the vet even commented that he'd had terrific scores all day!
We have had a perfect season and completed our 5th year of endurance competitions. On to year six!

Final vetting

I also just realized that this vet was also the one that gave him his first 55 mile completion 5 years ago!

 A well deserved rub after a long ride!

 His ride card...