Boa Boot fit - any help appreciated!

[JessicaRabbitt]

Hi there

I've just received my set of Boa boots today, they were recommended as being the right ones by a hoofboot expert, and hopefully they will be fine...but...my horse has feet wider than they are long, so there is a bit of a gap at the front .I'd like them to be snug and not twist ideally, as she will be wearing them 24/7 (for veterinary reasons) for at least a month, so was wondering if anyone had experience of "stuffing" the empty area - with cloth/cotton wool, or perhaps foam?There is vetwrap in the boots as well just to add to the complexity.At the moment she is walking 2 x a day and has been in EasyBoot RX's but they have pretty much died, hence the transition as we're wanting to start turnout .Any hoofboot people out there have experience of this??Thanks so much in advance!!!

 

[Jojoeena]

Will watch this with interest as need some boots for my boy but like your horse he has wider than long feet and the only true boot made for this was the old Mac original which they no longer make, so have been looking at the Boa but was unsure .. they are a lot of money to not be right :-/
JR out of interest, who did you contact for advice ?

 

[JessicaRabbitt]

Will watch this with interest as need some boots for my boy but like your horse he has wider than long feet and the only true boot made for this was the old Mac original which they no longer make, so have been looking at the Boa but was unsure .. they are a lot of money to not be right :-/
JR out of interest, who did you contact for advice ?

I know, I looked for Old Mac Originals too but without any success (my horse has giant feet!) , so Boa's were the next best thing.Lucy at Trelawne Equine has been offering me advice by email and has been really helpful.

 

[Jojoeena]

The easyboot glove wide was 'supposed' to have replaced them but when you look the measurements are the same for width and length ?? Have spent a few days 'researching' (i.e being very confused) Who knew that finding / fitting hoof boots could be so complicated lol ... thanks, might drop them a line and see what they suggest

 

[JessicaRabbitt]

The easyboot glove wide was 'supposed' to have replaced them but when you look the measurements are the same for width and length ?? Have spent a few days 'researching' (i.e being very confused) Who knew that finding / fitting hoof boots could be so complicated lol ... thanks, might drop them a line and see what they suggest

I know what you mean.....it depends on which website you look at (sigh).I believe Hoofwings also do custom made boots....

 

[noblesteed]

My boa boots were fitted by me using the guidelines on the easycare website... they are very tricky to measure and for a certain shape feet you need a certain type of boot - boa, cavallo, easyboots etc are all different shapes. My horse's feet are longer than they are wide and they fit perfectly - very snug, no twisting at all and there is a knack to getting them on... so... I think maybe the advice you were given was duff. As far as I know Boas only fit feet that are longer than they are wide. Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong though!!!!

 

[JessicaRabbitt]

My boa boots were fitted by me using the guidelines on the easycare website... they are very tricky to measure and for a certain shape feet you need a certain type of boot - boa, cavallo, easyboots etc are all different shapes. My horse's feet are longer than they are wide and they fit perfectly - very snug, no twisting at all and there is a knack to getting them on... so... I think maybe the advice you were given was duff. As far as I know Boas only fit feet that are longer than they are wide. Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong though!!!!

Heavens,this is so confusing!!!Like all owners I just want the best for my horse,but her enormous and wide feet make it tricky, plus hte fact that the boots need to be on 24/7 am be suitabe for light turnout.The lady I spoke to said they weren't exactly ideal but that they were the best fit available...so for now I'm looking to find a way to fill in the gap at the front of the hoof.I'm hoping as the feet grow out as well the shape will improve, perhaps that's very optimistic but hey, things need to get better !!

 

[daydreamer]

i am no expert and have never tried this and don't even have hoof boots but.....

if it was me i would try and put some plasticine or similar in at the toe to try and get an impression of the space that needs to be filled. Then try and cut to size something durable but not too tough, umm - dense foam or a bit of left over light non-rubber type stable mat (EVA?) or maybe even dense polystyrene sheet? Or I guess maybe you could try and get some thick hoof boot pads and cut a bit out for the front bit?

Basically i'd just try and see what i could scrounge together!

Hopefully someone who knows what they are talking about will appear

 

[JEZA]

Dear OP
I think you will find the boa is best for feet that are longer than wider. I found The Saddlery Shop helpful. Have a look at their web site, Im sure it says they are the main uk distributor for hoof boots and they offer experienced over the phone support.
good luck.

 

[Kallibear]

Boa's suit oval feet best (slightly longer than wide) but can work fine on round feet, but are prone to twisting. Try glueing a bit of carpet tile to the inside front.

Cavallo's or Old Mac origionals (G1) are your best bet for wide feet. Cavallo's are the easiest to use and alter but they may not go big enough? If not then Boa's are your only option.

Sadly you ARE very limited if your horse has wide and big feet. The boots were all designed in the US where it's mainly arabs and QH with dinky little narrow feet, or the big draghts which don't need boots! They've started to make wider boots but they still don't go big enough (last I heard from Easycare, they refused to make large boots because they refused to beleive any horses had truely huge feet, it was just flare that needed trimmed back! Mind you, they don't have many natives and cobs in the US). NONE of my horses fit into the easycare range: the wide boots just don't got big enough

Lucy at Trelawne Equine has been offering me advice by email and has been really helpful.

If I rememeber correctly there's some very dubious barefoot advice on their website..........