Hoof boots help!

[littlen]

Hi,

Today I trialled a pair of old macs from a friend. They fit perfectly and did not move even through my horses impressive crazy horse impression.
He floated with them on and was not lame for an instant, normally he is crippled.

I am seriously concidering shelling out a small fortune on a pair however one thing is worrying me. He is very close in front and has been known to overreach quite abit. I noticed he occasionally brused the boots together when he walked. He does this with his own feet so with boots it was inevitable. I am worried that the boots will wear down very quickly with him doing this.
Has anyone else had this problem and is there anything I can do to protect the boots. I assume I cant put overreach boots over them lol?!
Will putting overreach boots on his backs help (I know nothing about boots and only own one unused pair of brushing boots!)

Any ideas please?!

 

[mrdarcy]

What are your horse's hoof measurements? Depending on his sizes he might fit into alternative brands of hoof boots which are less bulky than Old Macs.

When you say he's usually crippled I'm assuming you've only just taken his shoes off? Generally once a horse has their shoes removed their action improves - one of mine used to overreach very badly but hasn't overreached once since I took his shoes off.

 

[littlen]

Thanks mrdarcy,

He is a size 4 in old macs, not sure what measurements exactly. Another livery has 3 horses all in size 3,4 and 5 old macs so I was able to try 3 sizes. The size 4's were a snug fit without rubbing and he felt fine in them. My friend who has also used old macs for years said they are as close to perfect as you can get fit wise.

He has been barefoot a year now. He has fantastic feet but he has very sensitive soles and is sore on gravel and doing road work, although is fine on anything softer. By sore I mean I can feel him flinch on every stone, and he walks slowly carefully lifiting his feet instead of walking along normally. I was reluctant to shoe as he does have such nice feet otherwise and is not ridden often enough to warrent shoes. In winter he is not so bad, but in summer his soles seem to soften and he often gets stones lodged in his feet which leave holes and im scared infections/abscesses could come from this.

I dont like boa boots and I have tried easyboots but personally I dont like them. I have heard so many good stories about the g2 that I wanted to try them. I wondered if there was a way to protect the boot from his brushing/overeaching to stop it wearing away too quickly?

 

[AngieandBen]

MY pony is a size 8 in the Old Mac's!!! They do look a little clumpy, but as mrdarcy says, their way of going usually improves;

Ben is quite close at the back, I put some overeach boots over the top, after 8 weeks he's stopped brushing.

I love the G2's the're about the only boot that fits him really well, and as you say they don't move even through thick mud.