Hoof Boots - Any Good? Newbie barefooter struggling

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steph2479

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One of my horses has recently (a month ago) become barefoot - this is less by choice and more because she just can't keep fronts on any longer that a week or two - no matter what we do (over reach boots, no extra shoe behind the heel, you name it we've tried it.) She has good little feet, just over reaches and pings them off, so farrier and I decided to leave them off and see how she goes.
She is very happy in the field, stable and in the school without shoes, however is struggling on concrete. While I wouldn't say she is outright lame her stride becomes a tender potter the second she hits hard ground.
She is in fairly light work mostly schooling and a bit of hacking which is mainly on roads. (Not an option at the moment!)

Any body has any experience of this? Do hoof boots actually help?! Was contemplating trying to get a pair for hacking to make her more comfortable, but they are blooming expensive if they don't help.
How long did your horses take to adjust without shoes? What did you do to help?
 
Hoof boots will help during the transition period yes. The Hoof Boutique will hire them if you just want to try them out.

I have the Delta Hoof Boots which are made by Cavello which are fab and cheaper than the cavello labelled ones
 
steph2479 said:
One of my horses has recently (a month ago) become barefoot - this is less by choice and more because she just can't keep fronts on any longer that a week or two - no matter what we do (over reach boots, no extra shoe behind the heel, you name it we've tried it.) She has good little feet, just over reaches and pings them off, so farrier and I decided to leave them off and see how she goes.
She is very happy in the field, stable and in the school without shoes, however is struggling on concrete. While I wouldn't say she is outright lame her stride becomes a tender potter the second she hits hard ground.
She is in fairly light work mostly schooling and a bit of hacking which is mainly on roads. (Not an option at the moment!)

Any body has any experience of this? Do hoof boots actually help?! Was contemplating trying to get a pair for hacking to make her more comfortable, but they are blooming expensive if they don't help.
How long did your horses take to adjust without shoes? What did you do to help?
Click to expand...

Most hoof boots are the price of two shoeings, so not that much of a cost given they can last for years - I have Easyboot Gloves that are 3 years old and still going strong, and Old Mac G2s that are about 6 years old and still working as my backup pair.

You will find a huge difference in comfort for the horse.
However if your horse is tender over hard flat surfaces, it may take a little longer to adjust, and you may need to look at diet carefully - most horses when shoes removed find rough surfaces most difficult, and actually cope very well with smooth tarmac.

Cavallos are good starter boots, quite forgiving in fit, big enough to allow you to add pads to help with comfort to begin with, and good value. The Fusion boots also get good write ups.

As the feet settle into their new shape, you may want to change to a lower profile, neater boot like e.g the Easyboot Gloves, Back Country or Renegade
 
I've not used hoof boots so I can't advise, I've always liked the look of cavello, perhaps though it would be a good idea to post some pics of your mares hooves as from what I understand certain boots are more suitable for certain shaped hooves. Obviously you could use these permanently but as someone else has said, the ideal is to use these during the transition period and work at fixing what is causing the sensitivity. 9 months on, one would expect/hope this to be a non issue by now. You don't say what feed or work she gets, this could be a huge contributing factor, as could trims, how often is she trimmed, how much does your farrier take off, does he touch the frogs or leave them be? Does she seem less able to cope with concrete surfaces after her trim?

I'd definitely look at at boots, and post some pics so people can advise on suitable boots for your horses shape. But I'd also post a bit more detail on feed, work and trims and also a variety of pics of the hoof (front, side and frog shots) so that people who know their stuff on here can advise you with regards to any changes you may need to make to help her cope better.
 
I've used hoof boots for mine for 3 years and am happy with them apart from them being slippery in mud. re the price: If you are just starting using them and aren't too sure how well they'll work for your horse shop around and get some second hand ones. You can usually find ones with very little wear for half the new price if you keep your eyes open on ebay etc. Then if that sort aren't right for your horse or his feet change shape/size just re-list, sell, and try some others. You shouldn't lose much money that way. It worked very well for me.
 
I have a pair of easyboot gloves that we used a lot between 6 weeks and 6 months of barefoot transition, would have struggled without
 
Hoof boots are pretty good, and are less slippy than you fear, but they are slippy in the sort of British mud that we have! There are different "treads" some more suitable for road work and others for different terrain.

The GOOD thing about hoof boots is that because the horse is comfortable, you can do more work and the more work it does the quicker a strong hoof develops. Don't go for a long ride the first time you use them though, from experience, I think that the horse has to get used to the slightly different feel and you don't want any strains or knocks, just like getting used to any new harness or eqipment. Also, to help with comfort and hoof development start by putting soft pads inside the boot and then you can firmer ones; these provide exactly the amount of support the hoof needs.

I know people make the transition from shoes to barefoot without boots, but I think it is easier if you use them and, after the horse is used to them, you can keep on doing lots of riding and you know you are doing good.
 
I second the advice to talk to the Hoofbootique. They can offer lots of advice on fitting, as well as rental boots. If you find your horse is so sensitive over flat hard surfaces, a pad inside the boot may also help (Easyboot does a pad, for example).

As to "do they help"? Yes, they do! With boots on all fours, my pony was able to power over this track, that had shod horses picking their way carefully in walk:

donard9.jpg
 
Not many people seem to have tried them, yet, but I bought the easyboot transitions a couple of months ago and love them. They're hard to get on when new, but perform the best of all the boots I've had and stay on in gallop. Easiest to get on (and stay on) are the back country boots. These are basically gloves but with a different heel cup and fastening. I would definitely get a pair if she's struggling. As someone has already said, they'll pay for themselves over two shoe cycles.
 
Hoof Boots are bloody marvellous! Having used them I can't understand why anyone would shoe a happy hacker. My horse is better on all surfaces than her shod counterparts. The only exception is wet grass or mud which is slippery in boots. But smooth tarmac and frosty roads are no trouble. Mine have stayed on in deep mud and at all paces.
 
And mine are just cheap cavallo simples. I had EPS pads at first as she was lame but now she doesn't need them and just uses the gel comfort pads.
 
My 20yr old TB is now bf, by nature he is a wuss and really struggled on all surfaces, even wearing his new boots he thought he was struggling, fast forward 5 months and he rarely wears his boots now, striding out like a youngster, my rider passed a comment about him being shod again, I just told her, I'm not putting him through all that, just to nail metal to his feet, even my anti bf OH can see the benefit.
Go for it, I used cheap nappies as insoles initially
 
I've got some of the equine fusions as my horse is impossible to shoe behind and doesn't cope with stones and hard ground all that well. I've found them brill in all situations apart from the really bad mud we had last week so I shall be leaving them at home in future when I know the ground will be that bad (I don't think anything aside from totally unshod feet or studs would have given brilliant grip in that though, although on that note think I now need to explore if equine fusion do studs for such conditions...). They are a bit fiddly to get on and off with all the straps but there's no brute force required and *touchwood* I've never lost one (even when I used them as turnout boots for a few days when he had the fronts off for an MRI)
 
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