Hoof boots for hunting?

Chamfrom

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Hello there - I wonder if any of you may be able to help me.
My lovely IDx boy was diagnosed with impar ligament navicular a couple of years ago now. We have gone through the stage of remedial shoeing and tried glue on shoes which he dispatched after a couple of weeks. We tried the Old Mac G2 hoof boots and he is now only .5 lame in one foot and sound in the other.
These boots have lasted around ten months which has been great.
He is hacked out for an hour 5/6 days a week and is working at a good level of fitness but he is bored and needs his life back - we have taken things so slowly but are ready to do a bit more so he has cubbed out successfully. The only issue I find with the Old Macs is that when they get wet and the straps stretch, they can turn around his hoof so it doesnt matter how hard you tighten them, when they get wet....
I am needing to find some boots that dont have such an issue with stretching straps in the wet and ideally one that you can bolt on bolt off parts as he has just gone through the toe in these and I am needing to buy some more now. I also need some that can go in mud and heavy going plus dont slip on the road.
I have been looking at Boas or Marquis...
Any advice is most helpful.... thanks
 

Noodlebug

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My mare wears Boa boots in the field. The wire do break and can be a pain to refit but they are good. You can get studs for them but I think if you look on the Saddlery Shop website they have all sorts of new boots including sports boots!!
 

Brightbay

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You know, I'm not sure the boot has been invented that will deal with hunting or challenging cross country conditions.

I use Gloves (we graduated from the Old Macs - which did turn on my horse too as he dishes). if you get a good fit with the Gloves, they are pretty good... they sort of suck on to the hoof, and will stay on once properly attached. I would say from experience you need to treat them like a saddle and girth... put them on, walk horse around for a while, then check gaiter tightness and if necessary tighten up... when I've not done this, we have had a boot come off during a rather challenging scramble up a very steep hill, but otherwise they're pretty good. I wouldn't put my money on them staying on after e.g. a
stream crossing followed by a gallop... Having said all that, they don't twist, and you can buy individual parts to replace, and there's no left and right so you can just swap things around. In fact, there are only three things to replace... the shell, the gaiter and the screws that fix gaiter to shell, so that's quite straightforward.


But I think I would want to be bootless for hunting, tbh, even having
said all that!

Pic of Gloves..
DSC00415.jpg
 
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criso

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I used to use boa boots for turnout and while they were good for dry and stony conditions, I found them incredibly slippy on wet ground. Not sure they would be my first choice for hunting.
 

lornaA

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I use easyboot trails, I dont hunt so i cant comment on that but i use gattors with them and have never had a problem with twisting or coming loose. They are basically old macs but with different fasteners. Instead of straps with buckles they have velcro which is very easy and quick to put on but very secure.
 

Chamfrom

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Thank you all - this is really helping with my decision making. I dont really want to re-shoe him as, touch wood, we have not had a lame day since him going BF in front - but still want him to have a life...
Thanks again :)
 

paddy555

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the only boots I would even consider would be the gloves or renegades.

The boas are terrifying. I got off and led my horse as I was too scared to ride at a walk on wet grass. The traction was that bad.
 

MerrySherryRider

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Interesting post OP. I was wondering about boots grip on wet grass/mud. I bought the Easy Boots RX for turnout but the horse slipped so badly I had to remove them before she injured herself.
How do boots for riding in deal with slippage ?
 

Chamfrom

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It does not sound like many are very good on grass or heavy going - hmmm, starting to think we need to stick with what we have after all! :-/ thanks guys....
 

Clava

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I've hunted quite a few times now in hoofboots, never had a problem :D even though the going was very boggy on Sunday in places. I use athletic tape under easyboot gloves and boy are they hard to get off then!

I wouldn't hunt in Renegades (too slippy on grass) or Boas or Cavallos though.

Here is a thread about Sunday's Bloodhounding :) and a few pics of us and our first time jumping. :)
http://phoenixhorse.myfastforum.org/about2369.html
 

Brightbay

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bought the Easy Boots RX for turnout

These aren't intended for riding - it's like us going out fell walking wearing slippers :)

The tread on the Gloves (and actually on the Old Mac G2s) is actually pretty good, and I have never had any slips at all in either of them. That's in Scotland, where it's mud 80% of the year :D

The grip on the sole isn't - IMO - the main issue, since it's pretty good. The issue is more the confidence that the boot will stay on the hoof, and in challenging conditions, to be honest, losing a boot and losing a nailed on shoe are probably both equally likely (e.g. Zara Philips XC at the Olympics ;)). You can do things to make sure the boot stays on better as Clava suggests. I wouldn't bother doing that for day to day riding, but it would certainly be worth looking into for something like hunting.
 

Clava

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You can do things to make sure the boot stays on better as Clava suggests. I wouldn't bother doing that for day to day riding, but it would certainly be worth looking into for something like hunting.

Exactly, I only use the tape for hunting :)
 

Brightbay

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Has anyone tried the Marquis Supergrip Hoof boot? Just curious as remember reading somewhere that someone had done XC in them? They are expensive but claim that all parts are replaceable?


http://www.all-natural-horse-care.com/marquis-supergrip-boot.html
http://sports.ciao.co.uk/Marquis_Supergrip_Hoof_Boots__Review_5565380

I've seen a pair - a friend's horse uses them. I wouldn't say the sole has any more tread than my Gloves, but the fitting of the Marquis is faffy, the pumping up business would drive me crazy, especially as I don't have clean yard conditions and have to fit my horse's boots in the field before we ride out. However, I understand you can get studs to fit in them.
 

Zerotolerance

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Would be interested to know which glue ons didn't last very long? I've been using Sound horse technologies glue on shoes from the USA on one of mine for 5 years now. They always stay on a minimum of 6 weeks, usually 8. A couple of my others have had them occasionally if their feet needed a rest from nails. Mine have been hunter trialling in mud, turned out in mud and gone aff showjumping in them. One of my friends had them on her new horse a couple of years ago as his feet weren't great and she liked them so much she never went back to conventional shoes.

http://www.soundhorse.com/
 

spookypony

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I use Gloves with athletic tape under for endurance sometimes, which does involve terrain and speed, albeit no jumping. On the hooves where the fit is good, they won't shift, but on the dodgy-shaped hoof, it likes to come off at inconvenient times, so I'm having to think about it again...lots of people around here trialling Renegades at the moment, which look to be very flexible in terms of moving with the foot. Early reports suggest they are a bit less likely to come off if the fit isn't perfect.

At the moment, I'd rather go bare, unless it's incredibly stony.
 

Fransurrey

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Just to update on my post. I decided to convert my gloves to backcountry boots by buying the gaiter and comfort cup. Whilst buying them I did notice that Easyboot do studs for their range of boots, so might be worth looking at for your boy, OP?
 
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