Congratulations to Renegade boot rider Sue Nance on her first place tie (with Dennis Summers) at the Dynamite Dash last week in Scottsdale, Arizona!
Horse and rider are looking good. Check out the nice heel first landing!
Photo by Steve Bradley.
To learn more about Renegade Glue-On hoof boots, click here!
Hadji Halef Omar and I have had another amazing year. We finished the 2009 ride season 1st place in the Southwest region lightweight division and 2nd place overall in the Southwest region. We were 2nd place nationally in the Pioneer award lightweight division, and 9th place nationally in mileage. Hadji and I completed 1360 miles, 26 rides with 100% completion. Almost half of those rides we finished in the top ten. I am so proud of my Hadji and how much he was still able to accomplish this year.
Hadji suffered a reaction from his vaccinations in mid July. The reaction caused separation of the hoof wall called laminitis. My plan of going to Tevis had to be canceled. I was devastated. What surprised me the most was that because Hadji was barefoot I was able to catch the laminitis very early and treat it immediately. If Hadji had shoes on they would have masked the variation in his gate that initially alerted me to the problem. The telling wrinkles/ rings on his hooves showed up about a month later.
If I had ridden Hadji as planned at Tevis the impact would have greatly increased the recovery time for the hoof to grow out healthy. Another benefit to Hadji being barefoot and conditioning him barefoot is his fast growing hooves.
With the knowledgeable input from Kirt and Gina Lander I was able to shorten Hadji’s recovery time. I was having Hadji trimmed once a week by my trimmer Cyndi Rach to keep his heel down and take pressure off his toe.
Kirt was insurmountable in improving Hadji’s recovery by viewing my weekly photos and telling me and Cyndi how to adjust his trim accordingly. I want to thank Cyndi for her hard work, without her weekly trims Hadji’s recovery would have been greatly delayed.
What we originally thought would take about 4 to 6 months before I could compete on Hadji was shortened to 2 months.
I also took Hadji to Bryson Ranch LLC, (equitherapyaz.com). Bryson Ranch is a facility that has a swimming lane for horses. They swam him daily Monday thru Friday, and had him in turnout. I left him there for 3 ½ weeks. Hadji needed movement for circulation without the pounding caused to his hooves in conditioning.
With the swimming Hadji was able to maintain his conditioning, cardiovascular and muscles without impacting his recovery. Swimming him was amazing in increasing his circulation which sped up his recovery. When I brought Hadji home I was pleasantly surprised with the muscle tone in his back and hind quarters.
I was able to ride Hadji 2 days at Bryce Canyon XP the first week of September with a day off in between rides. I then took him in October to Grand Canyon XP and rode all 5 days.
We ended the year In November with a 2nd place finish in a 75 mile ride and finished top ten in a 50 mile ride the following day. I am so impressed with the improvement to my horse by going barefoot. This is the second year Hadji has competed barefoot.
The 2009 ride season is Hadji’s highest mileage year out of the 9 years I have competed with him. What is even more astounding is Hadji is 17 years old. I want to thank Kirt, Gina and Renegade hoof boots for all their help and support. Without being barefoot I know Hadji would not be able to continue to compete at this speed and mileage at his age.
Thanks so much
Stephanie Palmer-DuRoss
& Hadji Halef Omar
Recently there has been a lot of discussion on a public endurance riders forum online over hoof boots. We’d like to share some of the comments made by riders of Renegade hoof boots!
Stephanie Palmer-DuRoss write about using O-rings and toe straps.
“I double over the strap on the O rings and have no problems and do not have to change the Velcro straps for several 100 miles even in mud and rain. On multi day rides I just rinse the Velcro out in a bucket of water and they are ready to go. I used to use zip ties until I realized how much better it was to double over. What a difference. My horse did 1360 miles in 2009. I did use Renegade glue on’s and the strap boots thru out the year. I only changed my straps out once around at about 500 race miles. ” Stephanie Palmer-DuRoss & Hadji Halef Omar
Roger Rittenhouse writes about going barefoot and his success with Renegade boots.
“I find the Renegades to be about the best. Once adjusted, they stay on. There are no rubs. I prefer the Velcro straps - as some said they will rip or pull apart if they get hung up. I carry one spare strap. I ride her in 4 boots or none.”
Lynne White writes about why she likes Renegades.
“What I like about the Renegades is there are no rubbing parts. I really like
engineering and design principles of the boot itself. The heal captivator
moves with the heal. One can buy replacement parts and do repairs at home.
I keep a kit handy and I have at least two brand new velcro straps with me at
all times.
I like the support I get from the company. They have a great website too.”
Naomi Preston points out why a lot of American’s like Renegades!
“I also like the Renegade boots. PLUS, they’re made in the good ole’ USA, not China like the competitor.”
Dolores Arst talks about various boots she has used including Renegades.
“I took the plunge to Renegades. I bought my first set of 4 and I’m thrilled with them. I have two horses in the Reengages. With one, I’ll have to have a pair of wides. So, as his feet get bigger, I use the Dalliers
Becky Hackworth goes into more detail on using Renegades and her recent successful 4 day and 200 mile ride at Death Valley.
“My latest success was at the recent Death Valley Encounter (DVE). I have been there every year since 1997 except for 2005. Have now completed all 4 days 5 times on 3 different horses. This year was the easiest boot wise. No prep to foot/leg except to pick out and use a brush to get dirt/sand off (same as easyboots) Apply boot. Used a strap to position captivator. Fasten velcro (push it together real hard and use 2 “O” rings per strap. Repeat 3 more times.
I did not loose one boot. I did not replace/readjust one velcro strap. My horse did not have one spot of pink showing of even a pre rub situation. We had over 32 hours of ride time in 4 days. Now that’s a test.”
Thank you everyone for sharing your Renegade hoof boot success stories with others!
Here is a Renegade hoof boot tip from endurance rider Karen Chaton.
If you have a tip that you’d like to share please email it to us!
“When I started putting my boots together it became obvious that I need to keep them paired up. I sorted all of my boots for each horse into separate piles. Then I paired them up, right and left, front and hinds.
When I put toe straps back on (after I cleaned them) I made sure that each toe strap had three good O-rings. Two O-rings have been working quite well but I knew going to Death Valley that the rocks would beat them up more than most trails do.
I took some of the old toe straps and opened them up all of the way. No use throwing them away - instead I used them to connect each pair of Renegades together.
This really kept all of my Renegade boots orderly and neat during the ride last week. Plus, when I take the boots out to go put them on the horses I can carry four boots on my index finger by simply putting the now recycled toe strap onto my finger. It’s so simple and easy! I can also use the new hoof-boot-organizer-strap to hang the boots if I want.
I wish I had thought of this sooner. I had been using the pastern strap to attach two boots together. This way is a little easier because it allows a pair of the boots to sit side by side.
I can also easily clip on four boots to my saddle with a caribbeaner now - for when I want to ride barefoot but have the boots for when I get to a rocky section.”
I just wanted to drop you a quick note and tell you about my wonderful experience using Renegade Hoof Boots. July of 2009, I finally made the informed decision to take my horse barefoot. Oscar is an 8 year old OTTB and put in 4 long years of racing before I adopted him from a rescue. I board in an area which has very hard pack, rocky ground with hills all around. I knew I would need a good pair of hoof boots during the first year of his transition because of the terrain and the fact that he has worn shoes the majority of his life. I researched and found Renegades were being used by finishers of Tevis and with no rubbing or sores. Wow, I had to try them. I got my boots and they came with extra replacement straps and easy adjustment instructions. They were very well made and were every bit as easy to put on as shown on the website. I was impressed.
Well, it is 6 months later and I am still impressed! I just slip the boots on as I tack up and head out for hours of trail riding. I have not had a boot come off yet and have ridden some rugged straight up and down terrain with ravines and obstacles abounding. My horse’s hooves are doing so well I am going to have to remeasure him for a new pair as his hooves are now 1 size larger than they were 6 months ago. His performance is improved and he finally is landing heel first consistently, which would not have been possible without his Renegades. The attached picture is of one of our recent warm up sessions and shows his beautiful heel first landing. All I can say is thank you for your wonderful product and that I will be making another order very soon for Renegades in the next size up.
Jenna and Oscar
