Hoof boot question for barefooters

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Saffron Phoenix

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So i am looking at the options in hoof boots
cavallo's seem to be cheapest, i quite like the look of them but a friend has suggested old macs are better as they have a thicker sole....?
I dont really like the loom of the easyboots (they look as though they may rub further up the leg.
So im a bit lost....!
Would love other peoples opinions good or bad...im leaning towards the cavallo's as they are a bit cheaper and i can get them in a local tack shop easily!
Budget is tight but i dont want to buy the cheapest if they are going to let me down!
Thanks in advance!
 
I think the different brands suit different shaped feet, you can take templates of the feet and send them to boot suppliers, ie Trelawn Equine or Old Mill Saddlery and they can advise as to which brand would suit best.

I like Easyboot Gloves, they fit below the pastern so don't rub and apparently stay on very well on long rides (a friend does endurance and uses them).
 
Hi I bought a pair of old macs 18 months ago and are still going strong. I pre-tested mine from the saddlery shop. I tried the easyboots first but didn’t fit her hooves properly and fell off, I then tried the cavallo's but didn’t like them. In the end I tried the old macs and they were brilliant, from day one they didn’t rub, shes jumped and hunted in them in the winter and didn’t fall off through all the mud. They arent the cheapest on the market but would say they are one of the best and even though mine are 18 months old theyre still going strong, theyre tough and durable. I have bought gaiters to go with them so they don’t rub her and they havent. So long as you buy the correct size they shouldnt rub. Now her hooves have grown strong she wears them only on the front when I know we're going on stoney ground. We ride out were out from anything from 2half hours plus and has never let me down. Highly recommended!!!!
 
I have Old Mac G2s and they have been brilliant. middle of the range and I was recommended them by my trimmer and other friends!

Found them for a really good deal and the shop was really good at swapping them when the size wasnt quite right!
 
I use easyboot gloves on my horses' fronts and easyboot bares on the back. The wraps haven't rubbed him at all and he's a sensitive soul. I've also used Marquis on his fronts in the past, which worked well until we started longer, faster work (20km) where he'd be a little rubbed by the end of a ride.

I know a horse that uses Cavallo, and they do the job nicely, however she hasn't done any great distance in them yet, and I do find them a little more clumpy than the easyboots and marquis.

It's a little hit and miss with finding which boots work best for the shape of your horses' hooves, my horse actually takes a size smaller in his easyboots than if you go by the manafacturers measurments. Also e-bay is your friend, as you can pick up some bargains, or sell them on again if they turn out not to fit.
 
I had a chap come out yesterday who specialised in fitting boots and he only charged £15 to come out and was here an hour which I thought fab value. He spent time selecting a suitable boot and teaching me how to put on and take off the boots.

He measured her feet tried on a few and we went with Easyboot Gloves. They were competitively priced as I had looked at ebay the night before to see what to expect to pay.

Thrilled with the service and the boots but wish I had taken more notice of her frogs as he pointed out she had a split in the back of her frog / heel join that smells thrushy :( Not really noticable but I feel really bad for being ignorant about what a healthy frog should look like . So I am now under strict instruction to wash her frogs with hibiscrub and syringe sudo cream in the cracks.
 
I have some cavellos for sale, size three. Only used a handfull of times. They dont suit my tbs feet and are to big around his pasterns. i have tried the easy boot glove fit kit and loved the way they sat on his feet and how discreet they were. But at £110 a pair they arnt cheap :-0
 
Beatrice5 said:
I had a chap come out yesterday who specialised in fitting boots and he only charged £15 to come out and was here an hour which I thought fab value. He spent time selecting a suitable boot and teaching me how to put on and take off the boots.

He measured her feet tried on a few and we went with Easyboot Gloves. They were competitively priced as I had looked at ebay the night before to see what to expect to pay.

Thrilled with the service and the boots but wish I had taken more notice of her frogs as he pointed out she had a split in the back of her frog / heel join that smells thrushy :( Not really noticable but I feel really bad for being ignorant about what a healthy frog should look like . So I am now under strict instruction to wash her frogs with hibiscrub and syringe sudo cream in the cracks.
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Wow, that is incredible service for that price and to get your frogs advised.
on.
The best way to select boots is to pay someone to come, show you the different types and discuss what will work best for you and your horse. Once they leave you will have a pair of boots correctly sized and instruction in fitting them.That way you save loads of money (and worry) when you buy the wrong boot or wrong size and have to buy another set.

I hate the clumpy type of boots such as G2's and cavallos. I prefer the lighter gloves but then I do a lot of riding. I also hate the time and effort of putting G2's on. Gloves are so much quicker.
 
Renegades are brilliant, don't rub and stay on even galloping over stubble, but rubbish grip.
Easyboot have good grip and can take studs, don't rub at all (nothing to rub), are discrete, but I did have one come off during a flat out tb gallop. However, I still prefer them to Renegades.
 
Old Macs are very good but I have only used G1 which I found difficult to tighten, once on they were brilliant however Cavallo's were just as good and personally I found them easier to put on and a fraction of the price!
 
I love both Cavallo's and the G2's :)

Cavallo's are easy to put on and a great price ( mine were £75 off ebay ) the G2's don't look as clumpy and have a better tread but are more expensive;; neither come off in canter unlike the Gloves I had; entirely up to you, and which ever one fits the best on your horse!
 
Thanks everyone!
Still not sure which route to go down as nothing particularly negative has been said about any! We are only hacking and arent planning on hooning around as she's getting on! will get the tape measure out again and see which look like the best fit!
 
Saffron Phoenix said:
Thanks everyone!
Still not sure which route to go down as nothing particularly negative has been said about any! We are only hacking and arent planning on hooning around as she's getting on! will get the tape measure out again and see which look like the best fit!
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If you go for Gloves, then DO get a measuring kit (from the saddleryshop) as I ended up with 2 sizes smaller ones than the measurements suggested.
 
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