Hoof boots for hind feet: Explora Magic v. Renegade v. Floating boot

Caol Ila

Caol Ila

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I think some of you have used these.

Hoof Bootique said either is likely to fit my horse. We know Renegade Vipers well -- both my horses wear them on their fronts, and we have lots of bits for them lying around. Mr. Caol Ila is a Renegade repair expert.

Do any of you think Exploras and Floating Boots are better? Worse? Easier to fit/use? Harder?
 
I've got a pair of explora magic's on hinds, they are good in that they have not rubbed but came off a couple of times when mare had a spinny moment with some daffodils :) and an argument over a puddle but I did hate putting them on compared to her fronts which are renegade vipers. They wear a lot better than the scoots.
 
I have been using explora magic on all four feet for about 18 months. Mine never move / come off. Are hard to put on and I use pliers to tighten straps. I have only ever heard good about the stickability of explora magics before this thread.
 
Have only had experience with Exploras and they looked great. We are currently using Evo hoof boots which are even better (more adjustability).
 
Sorry to hijack - does anyone successfully use boots on hinds which twist, and thus twist the boots? My lad ends up with them at 90 degrees after a few yards up the hill.

OP - we successfully use a variety of boots in front, with no loss issues, and my daughters horse uses Scoots behind sometimes with no issues.
 
Narrowed it down to Evo v. Renegade.

I hate making choices.

Advantages of the Renegade is that we know them.

Advantages of the Evo is that seem more adjustable.

Help.
 
A friend of mine has exploras and can’t stop them twisting in trot / canter. I think they’re an interesting design but it’s put me off ever wanting to try them

I’d say stick with what you know already if you’re happy with their performance on the fronts
 
Fieldlife said:
My horse can lose Evo boots, but not explora. But evos are easier to get on, and have more adjustability.
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I did have to buy the next size bulb shield up, but my horse does have exceptionally big heel bulbs (that's why I couldn't use the Explora, as he was in their largest size, so there wasn't a bigger sized bulb shield to buy! I loved them, otherwise!).
 
It's never easy, aye!

Got the 125X115 Renegades in the post today. Stuck them on pony. I see that she has between 5 and 10mm of heel overhanging the back of the boot. But the width is perfect.
:rolleyes: FFS. I use my wee radial rasp (she's about 3 weeks into a cycle) to see if that does anything. It doesn't. I put one of her front boots, which are 130X120 Renegades, on her back foot and the length looks right, but there are gaps on the sides no matter how tightly I crank it.

I don't think there's a world where 5-10mm of heel hanging off the end of the boot is a workable situation. We can lengthen the cable, so the heel captivator has more movement, but you can't make the plastic shell longer.

I've gone back to the size charts, and the Evos look our best bet.

Our main issue is keeping up with shod horses over rocky bits. I hacked solo today and let her choose her own pace (so long as she felt in front of the leg, which is a feel thing more than an actual speed thing). Over the rockier sections, she was slower but didn't feel lame or anything. Felt forward, just careful. She's just very lightfooted and mindful, whereas our shod hacking buddies just storm along.

On our really long hacks, the sharp rocks get relentless. The West Highland Way is a rocky mess.
 
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I have just had hoof boot shop fitter out for my tb mares hinds and she said only boot that will work is the equine fusions. Tried them out last night and success so far! Mare is very bouncy in them and they didn’t move.
Excited to see what the future brings with them!
 
I was saying to a mate of mine at the yard yesterday that it would be great if someone went round to yards with a pile of hoof boots in a van and provided a fitting service. I can't be the first person who's thought of this. Clearly someone does, somewhere. But as far as I know, there isn't anyone around Glasgow.
 
A friend had a chap out and she bought boots he recommended. Fusions. Well they spun round and she’s sold them on. It’s trial and a lot of error it seems.
 
Caol Ila said:
I was saying to a mate of mine at the yard yesterday that it would be great if someone went round to yards with a pile of hoof boots in a van and provided a fitting service. I can't be the first person who's thought of this. Clearly someone does, somewhere. But as far as I know, there isn't anyone around Glasgow.
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The hoof boot shop! They have fitters all over xx
 
I've used both exploras and vipers on hind feet with mostly success, but the odd failure. Such is the way of hoofboots! Even if they fit by the size chart theres often a minor tweak needed, I like contacting the boot companies themselves for real fine tuning advice, not always needed, but theres the odd one!
 
After faff with the Hoof Bootique's fit kit, it came down to a choice between Floating boots and Evos. Neither were perfect, but they were a lot closer than everything else. Took a shot at the Evos, as they seemed like a marginally better fit than the Floatings. We have them on hire from Hoof Bootique.

Rode in them today.

The good: they did the job I wanted. They stayed on. I didn't do much trot or any canter since we ended up accidentally babysitting someone on a young, inexperienced horse, but we trotted in hand a bit before we went out and they stayed put. Hermosa moved out a lot better on rocky sections of the trail and walked less like a drunken sailor dodging rocks. She did not seem to mind them. OH took a video and when slowed down, you can see she's landing heel first.

The bad: I don't like the design as much as Renegades but there's not a lot I can do. Renegades just don't fit her hind feet unless they make a less roundy boot at some stage in the future. You have to pull the rubber thing over the wee bolt, which is a pain in the a*rse and I hated doing that on Scoot boots too. We also had to tie down the sticky outy bit of the rubber thing on the inside of the both boots (you can see what I mean on the photo) with mane rubberbands because they stick out a lot and were catching. If we decide to keep them, I guess we can cut off the excess?

It took my husband, an engineer, over an hour of faff to adjust them.

I don't know if Floating boots have a less irritating design. They might not work since the fit was more borderline than these. @pistolpete, you said you hated Floating? Why?

But if they fit, they fit. It doesn't seem like there is a lot of choice for long, narrow hooves. Maybe I should write to Renegade and ask them to make a 130X115 one, lol.

The sticky outy thing is on the outside of her foot. There is an identical thing on the inside that we've tied down with a rubberband. It has a slight gap but it's the closest fit of all the boots we tried.

Apologies for her weird face in the second photo!

IMG_2530.JPGIMG_2531.JPG
 
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Ride #2 today. Just ourselves so avoided other people’s faff and could go where we want and test trot and canter.

She was lot more forward over sharp rocks. Trotted in a forward manner over bits of trail where I sometimes struggle to maintain trot. Canter was normal and forward and boots stayed on.

I still don’t like them as much as the Renegades but probably have to suck it.
 
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