| Feature |
EponaShoe |
Ground Control |
PonyW'air |
| Sizes
available |
16 sizes available (000N and
000W to 5N and 5W). Shoes are available with and
without a mesh. |
5 sizes available
(000 to 2). |
6 sizes in each of
3 styles available (000 to 3) and each of those is now
available in narrow. Also 3 sizes of egg
bar shoe available (00 to 1). A couple of the styles
are also available with a 2 degree wedge. |
| Sizing method |
Awesome!!! Just take a digital
picture of either the hoof or a sized shoe with a ruler next
to it. Upload the picture onto your computer.
Then use their software to determine the proper size.
You can also determine the size by taking measurements and
then choosing the proper size. |
Not bad. You
can either take measurements and chose the appropriate size
or you can obtain a sizing chart from them. With the
sizing chart you can compare either a shaped shoe or an
outline of the hoof to the chart to choose the appropriate
shoe. |
The poorest of the
sizing methods. The only way to determine the correct
size shoe is by taking measurements. I think there
should be a better fit for one of the test horses, but I
chose the size indicated by the measurements. With the
wide variety of shapes and sizes of these shoes, a better
sizing method is needed. |
| Price |
Approximately $19.50 per pair
plus shipping. |
$16 per pair plus
shipping. |
Approximately $17
per pair plus shipping. |
| Colors |
All shoes are gray and blue. |
Available in clear
or black. |
Available in a
wide variety of colors. |
| Options/features |
Optional mesh, clips,
carbides, and stud mounts. Shoes can be glued on
instead of or in addition to using nails. |
Can be used with
the same studs as Easyboots. |
Shoes have small
studs at the toe for traction. These shoes are the
most like normal horseshoes. |
| Nail holes |
4 holes per side. |
No holes, just
channels and then you can place the nails where you want
them. |
4 holes per side. |
| Initial thickness |
0.580" |
0.510" |
0.545" near the
toe studs, 0.615" at the heel |
| Application notes |
Manufacturer recommends using special nails (MX-50,
MX60, or E-type). |
Uses City head 5
nails. Clear shoes are nice to put on because you can
see through them. Also tried with MX60 nails and
clinching was a little easier. |
Uses City head 5
nails. Goes on like a regular shoe. |
| Traction |
Good traction on dirt, mud and
rocks. |
Excellent traction
on pavement. Good traction on dirt, mud, and rocks. |
Traction is good
on dirt, mud, and rocks. Haven't had a chance to try
them out on slick grass yet.
One horse (Visa) slipped a lot with these shoes on hard
dirt roads. |
| Wear |
Other than toe wear and pieces
of the different layers falling off, these shoes wore about
0.045" per 100 miles on mixed terrain. (These shoes were
used on the highest amount of pavement so that may have had
an effect). |
Other than toe
were, these shoes wore about 0.015" per 100 miles on mixed
terrain. Based upon the current progress of testing,
these shoes are wearing the best. |
Other than toe
wear, these shoes wore about 0.055" per100 miles of use on
mixed terrain. |
| Removal |
Each nail must be removed
individually. These were the most difficult to
remove because the nails had seated down so far into the
rubber that they couldn't be easily grabbed by the crease
nail pullers. |
Removed each nail
individually, but with large pull-offs it may be possible to
pull the shoe normally. |
Removed some of
the nails individually, but then removed the rest with the
shoe using pull-offs. |
| Resetting |
Will probably try to reset
these shoes, but don't know how well that will work.
The center material has come loose from the rest of the shoe
in many places and the black material has lifted off in
several placed. |
Shouldn't be an
issue. Other than discoloration, slight warpage, and
some scuffs, these shoes hardly look like they have been
worn. |
Don't anticipate
any issues with resetting these shoes. |
| Other items |
The soft center material tends
to separate from the rest of the shoe. One shoe had a
large amount of manure between the two pieces when pulled |
|
|
| Overall |
I still look forward to trying
this as a glue on shoe, but so far it is not performing as
well as the others when it is nailed on. |
Surprisingly this
shoe is leading in the evaluation. Not only is it the
cheapest shoe, it is also wearing the best.
Additionally it is performing comparably to the others on
the other points. |
For a farrier that
is leery of plastic shoes, this might be a good one to try
since the application is just like a regular shoe. Now
if they could just come up with a user friendly sizing
method.... |