Help with hoof boots.

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birdof1977

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I am looking for a bit of advice in regards to hoof boots for barefoot horses.

I've just taken a mare on part loan who is barefoot, but 2 hoofs are in a bit of a state after the summer. The yard that she was at previously was very dry and the ground like concrete most of the summer, she has now been moved to somewhere better, with more moisture. But consequently her hoofs a quite poor at the moment, very dry and cracking, chipped etc. The farrier is due this week to give her a trim, we have also been putting cornucrescine intensive miosturiser on daily. Up until last week she had been turned away for the last 6 months, but now that I am going to ride her, I thought about getting her some hoof boots while her hooves are bad, especially as we will be doing a lot of road work to build up her fitness levels.

What I would like to know is, what boots would you recommend and can I she just wear 1 boot on the front and 1 on the back, or do they have to be worn in pairs (ie. 2 front and 2 back)?

I know that some of them can be quite expensive, so i'm hoping that I will only need to buy 1 pair.

Just to add, this horse has been barefoot for over 10 years, normally lives out 24/7, and doesn't normally have problems with her hoofs. So I'm hoping that this is just a temporary problem.
 
The Boa boots are very good and easy to get on and off. I bought one last week and its not moved yet.

Also the Easyboot with the gaiter is also very good and again doesn't seem to move,although it has rubbed a little bit.

I don't have a great deal of experience with the boots as I've just had to use them recently for the same reason as you. I 'm using an Easyboot as borrowed from a friend on one back foot and the Boat on the other back foot! Overall I think I prefer the Boa.

You have to make sure you get the right size though so that they don't move around and cause more problems.
 
QR - The Easyboot Epics are one of the best boots for roadwork, the tread on the Old Macs, in particular, can be too aggressive for tarmac.

It really does depend on the size and shape of your horse's feet, as to which boots will fit best. The team at www.thesaddleryshop.co.uk are very helpful and knowledgeable about all of the most popular boots on the market.

I only have front boots for both of mine and they are fine on the roads. Their hind feet do look very short, to a non-barefoot eye, but they are very hard and are never footsore. So don't worry too much if her feet start to wear, just keep an eye on how comfortable she is.
 
My girl has wider than long hooves at the front, so she has Old Macs g1's, which fit that shape best, and easyboot bares on the back. Our cob has cavallos just on the fronts, which are an absolute doddle to put on, I really like them so far. I think I've tried them all now, apart from Renegades which are supposed to be wonderful, but very expensive. Also you can't put pads in them, and all our hoof boots have got the EVA pads in that easyboot sell.

I wouldn't put them on odd feet, as they raise the foot up, so you'd have a lop-sided horse
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I would like to sell my marquis yellow size 2's which she used to wear on the fronts, as they're too big now, and I had to blow the airbag up a long way to get them to touch her heel bulbs with her feet being so short length-ways, the G1's are better on her.

Even though the have both got good feet, they wear down faster than they grow when we ride them a lot, so we have to use boots. HTH.
 
I have the easyboot epics and would definitely recommend them. They are much easier than the old macs I had previously to put on - if you have a look here:

http://www.easycareinc.com/education/whatboot_working.aspx#shape

This gives an indication of what boot is best suited to your horse's foot shape. ALso gives you an idea of closure fittings on the boots.

Can definitely recommend www.thesaddlershop.co.uk for ordering - very quick service and helpful staff

Would also agree with above - you would need to have a pair of boots on - I don't think you should put one boot on front and one boot on hind as you will make the horse physically unlevel. However, it is the front feet that usually take most of the wear, and if your farrier tidies up her feet, most horses would be fine with just boots on front.
 
Thankyou to all of you for your help so far. I'm going to wait until the farriers been and then measure her feet, they appear to be quite wide.
Will def get in touch with the saddlery shop.

To haffiesel - I,ve checked out the boas online, i,ve got a feeling that these will be the ones I buy, her feet are quite disc shaped. They also look quite easy to put on.

I think that I will go with just front boots for now, as I've got to build her fitness up most of what we will be doing for the first month or two is road work.

I'm a newbie to barefoot horses (can you tell), is the cornucrescine the best stuff to use on her hooves at the moment, or can anyone recommend anything better?
 
I never found Cornucresine any good, and vet said it was the massaging stuff in the coronary band rather than the stuff itself that stimulated the growth!

If shes a good doer, I fed farriers formula as a supplement but have found Dengie Healthy Hooves to be just as good and much much cheaper! Lovely moist feed with chaff and nuts in it and mint and lots of biotin for the hooves. Liesel doesnt get any other feed, and its lami trust approved too. Dont like Spillers Happy Hoof tho, v dry and sawdusty in comparison.

The Boas are cool to put on, a bit stiff at first (and also human needs practice at first too) but they break in like shoes and then they are easy, mine have lasted 18 mths so far and have never come off or twisted thru streams bog rocks road or anything even in fast work. I will probably get some new ones soon but the terrain here (Cairngorms) is quite tough so reckon 2yrs+ for normal ground.

Mine only has a farrier trim and up here with lack of farriers that can be as long as 8-9 weeks apart, and she does fine.

good luck and let us know how it goes!! with pics of course!
 
Thanks for your help, I'll give that food a try. Sounds Yummy!

She's not on any hard food at the moment as she has been out of work over the summer, and the grazing is good, but I am going to start her on some soon as her fitness levels build up some more and obviously as the winter comes in.
 
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The Saddlery Shop rents the boots out if you only need them for a short while
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Yeah, I saw that. But from what I gather, you have to pay for the boots in full first, then when you give them back they refund you the difference of the rent from the boot.
I found an american seller on ebay that's selling a pair of boas for £70 inc p+p, so I might just go with that.
Thanks for your help though.
 
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