Renegrade Boots - Any Experiences?

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canteron

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So today the farrier takes the shoes off my horse. I know I am going to have to sort out some boots pretty sharpish, especially as the ground is now so hard.

I have measured the horse's feet previously after a trim and Renegrades seemed as if they would fit ..... am I right in that they are more tolerant than some other boots due to their fitting mechanism?

Has anyone had any experience, good or bad!

Thanks.
 
canteron said:
So today the farrier takes the shoes off my horse. I know I am going to have to sort out some boots pretty sharpish, especially as the ground is now so hard.

I have measured the horse's feet previously after a trim and Renegrades seemed as if they would fit ..... am I right in that they are more tolerant than some other boots due to their fitting mechanism?

Has anyone had any experience, good or bad!

Thanks.
Click to expand...
renegades are a good riding boot no doubt about it. However you cannot put a decent pad in them. Therefore to my mind they are not necessarily the best first boot for a newly deshod horse.
They are also a very expensive boot.

I think the best advice anyone can give you today is to ask the farrier not to trim the feet. (obviously no pics so this is very general advice) however some farriers when removing shoes have been known to trim the feet quite a lot. It may be better to consider leaving as much as possible on the feet, definitely don't let him trim any sole and just let the horse adapt for a week or so. He will feel his feet without shoes but give him a bit of time and you will have a better idea where he is going and which boots may be best suited.

If he has difficulty walking over the yard to start with you can thrown down a bit of carpet or work out other ideas to make his life easier to start with.

Presumably you have dealt with thrush? if not and there is any infection then as soon as the frogs come down nearer the ground when the shoes are off he will feel them badly.
It may be better to post some pics when they are off then someone may have a better idea what you need.
Are you talking about boots to ride in straightaway or just to live in?
 
Cavallo's really are the most forgiving boot for fit I've had experience of.
They are relatively inexpensive and will still be ok if your horse develops any flare. I have never had one come off, after breaking in they do not rub and although they look clumpy the horses really aren't bothered!
 
Lancelot, thanks for that, very interesting and good point about the pads. So it maybe best to go for some Cavellos to begin with and then progress to Renegrades if I feel we need to use boots longerterm.

Paddy555, a huge thanks for your considered reply. I have an excellent farrier who is well recognised as being the best around here, but also very open minded and happy to discuss/educate owners about horses. When I got this horse (10 years ago) it would not be shod as had been beaten up be a previous farrier, my farrier was prepared to work with me to overcome this and I have nothing but respect for his work, but I have made the decision to really try and understand feet so I will discuss about not trimming off too much and interesting point about having to decide priorities when choosing boots.

Regarding boots, the horse is a funny old thing and sometimes take a bit of time to accept new things so I am keen to use the time he has off to experiment, so when we can go out we have got through all the teething problems.

The horse always goes lame on her near fore on hard ground in the Summer. As she is needle shy (I have just about got him OK for annual injections) I don't want to put him through the trauma of a vet so am really hopefully that barefoot is a good way forward.

I would love to post some photos after the farrier has been (if I can work out how!) - I would love the benefit of the awesome experience of some of you generous knowledgeable barefooters.
 
canteron said:
The horse always goes lame on her near fore on hard ground in the Summer.
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Are you absolutely certain it's the ground? I used to think this about my boy until taking him barefoot revealed he is terribly sensitive to the sugary grass that comes through in spring/summer. I have kept him sound over summer by restricting his grass intake, he does miles and miles of roadwork so hard ground is definitely not the problem I always thought it was for him :)
 
Which boot is right for your horse depends on the hoof shape. Would recommend looking at the in depth advice on hoof boot choice and measuring on the hoofbootique or saddlery shop websites, also both offer a hire before you buy scheme.

Measurements need to be taken from a newly trimmed hoof so if leaving the hoof untrimmed initially you would need to wait before measuring for boots otherwise they will prob fall off when you get the horse trimmed :-))))
 
Lancelot said:
Are you absolutely certain it's the ground? I used to think this about my boy until taking him barefoot revealed he is terribly sensitive to the sugary grass that comes through in spring/summer. I have kept him sound over summer by restricting his grass intake, he does miles and miles of roadwork so hard ground is definitely not the problem I always thought it was for him :)
Click to expand...

No, I am not at all sure it is the ground but I don't want to do the vet investigation thing - as it would be too traumatic for all 3 of us (not to mention that expensive equipment!). It could be diet, but I don't think so as my very laminitic prone really old cushings horse is coping fine and he is a bit of a barometer. I am not convinced that the barefoot with solve anything, but I really want to try. The worse that can happen is the feet have a good break from shoes and I end up a bit poorer,

lachlanandmarcus it really is a chicken and egg thing itsn't it - eek. I have accepted I might make a couple of expensive mistakes in my learning curve and yes I plan to ask the hoof boutique for advice, but my instincts were Renegrades, until it was pointed out that pads aren't great with them.

Wow, thanks everyone, feel that I am going through a crash course and great information.
 
I would go for cavallos. They are relatively cheap, can be padded, you should be able to get a reasonable fit and they will "do" for your first set of boots. Bear in mind your feet may well change shape in a couple of months so expensive well fitting boots now may not fit in a few weeks time.
You may even be able to buy them at your local tack shop/feed store. Ours stock them. That means you can try them and probably change them if the size is wrong. Several people on here use cavallos and I know horsesfirst fits them so it would probably be worthwhile when posting foot pics to post measurements.

I know it must feel like a crash course but your main consideration now once the shoes are off are to let the horse have time to adjust to barefoot (this takes time and maybe a lot of it), to try and to make life as comfortable as possible in the meantime and then to try and learn as much as possible to work out why he could be uncomfortable. First reason will be adjusting so I wouldn't even think about it for a week. Next will be thrush so zap it as a precaution and then it will be a case of looking at the diet. Have you already got him off any sugary feeds and onto a reasonable supplement and considered magox? A good supplement does seem to make a lot of difference for many.

OTOH some horses happily sail through it so good luck with your lad.
To post pics I put the pics in photobucket and then just click on the link there to paste them onto here. Very simple, if I can manage it anyone can. :)
If you are taking a side shot then try and get the camera right down onto the ground. If taking a sole shot try and wire brush the sole and white line and really clean out the grooves each side of the frog and also the central sulchus (the cleft at the back of the frog). People will be trying to see the condition of the white line, ie if it is stretched, the depth of the grooves and the depth and condition of the central sulchus.
 
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