Hoof boot help please!

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dancingkris

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I have had to have my horses shoes taken off and he's now barefoot for the foreseeable. Our hacking starts on a very stoney track and he's quite flat footed so my new farrier has suggested hoof boots for him. It's like a minefield! A whole new world of horsey stuff and I don't know where to start. His fronts are wider than the length but backs are narrower. The dimensions are: (length x width in mms)

Near fore - 130 x 140
Off fore - 120 x 140
Hinds - 145 x 130 both

I am absolutely lost as to which boots will be best.

Can anyone help?
Thank you!
 
I purchased my first pair of boots this week, horse barefoot since Wednesday.

Was told to try just fronts to start with. Ordered Cavallo Simples for my horse who is wider than long, too - 143mm wide but 137 long - they fit well! (Size 4 - Nothing to compare them to, but easy to use and no problems so far). Ordered from Horse and More and they arrived the next day.

Also have a look on Hoof Boutique and the lady there is meant to be very helpful.
 
Anyone?? I have been doing a lot of googling tonight and it seems that boots just aren't available for hooves of my boys size? I hope I am wrong and that someone can give me some advice - I have had a year of not being able to ride due to my pregnancy - I really don't want another few months where I can't ride because his hooves don't fit any boots! Thank you!
 
Sorry peh1980 - when I posted my message your replies weren't showing on my phone. Thanks for your help - I did have a look at your thread and am planning to call hoof boutique on Monday. It's a minefield - I have never used boots before its a whole new world! Thanks again x
 
If he has wider than long feet cavallo simples are probably your best bet. If the correct size is too narrow you could go a size up (buy second hand to save money) put thick pads in and use some athletic tape to keep them in place. His feet will change a lot in the next year so don't despair of hoof boots. :-)
 
No worries - I know exactly how you feel, shoe shopping has never been so stressful! ;-)

The cavallo simples do seem to fit well for this shape, though the pastern wraps that I bought as part of the package are too small, so if you want them, worth trying a size up? - that said, haven't used mine as they were too small and the boots seem fine without - just getting used to the squeaky sounds of new leather instead of the normal clip-clop....! :-)
 
dancing - The lady at hoofboutique chose the boot for the fronts of mine (bad dinner plates) - unfortunately in his present condition, it's fit over beauty - and although I dream of renegades, I had to get what fit.

As for the hinds, mine is also narrower than wide and after tons of research (and not wanting to spend as much as I did on the fronts) I settled on the cavallo sports, which are designed for narrow ones. Tried them on yesterday and they fit a dream.
 
Don't bother with the cavallo pastern wraps, all the research I did said they were rubbish and to just use tubigrip or an old sock if you needed protection. I have a very thin skinned horse and she has never been rubbed despite never using any sort of wrap.
 
I have found the Equine Fusions to be very forgiving fit wise, you only need a length measurement with these. But they are not as hard wearing as some other products and if he is flat footed you might also want to get the dampening pads as the soles are fairly flexible. I also find that they do not rub and stay put even at fast work. The only time I have lost one was when he had a spook and stepped on hind hoof...and I doubt anything would have stayed put.

I found it really useful to get onto some of the FB Hoof boots re-sale exchange pages, where you can get good advice and pick up a cheaper second hand pair so you can see what fits and what works. https://www.facebook.com/groups/208708532612766/
 
Hi

Firstly thank you all for your replies and advice! I still think it's a complete minefield and I have emailed Lucy at The Saddlery Shop who has been super helpful.

The next step is to send her some pics of the hooves together with the tape measure on them and - hopefully - I can get booted up and hacking out comfortably. I will update in due course!

Thanks again xx
 
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