Retitled “when I become an evil dictator”

[Reacher]

...I will be banning Velcro ?...

Morning
At the weekend I lost a renegade hoof boot on a shortish hack around the village. ??Surprisingly I did not notice until I got home. Think the Velcro came unstuck . Retraced my steps straight away (late afternoon, sun was setting) and the following morning but no luck. Also asked various dog walkers and did a Facebook post.
So the question is - do I buy another - at over £100 and risk losing it too? I find the stupid Velcro straps lose their sticky ness quite quickly and find them a faff to put on with the rubber band captivators.

Or do I try and get a replacement strap made by a saddler etc that uses (shock horror) a “buckle “ instead of Velcro ? ( remember that old fashioned technology, a “buckle” , people?! They worked very well for centuries before someone decided to use Velcro for everything!!)
(As an aside i also hate Velcro because it sticks to everything I don’t want it to stick to.(the Velcro straps inside my long riding coat get stuck to the Velcro tabs on my long (not riding) boots when I’m trying to walk! The Velcro on collar of my short jacket gets stuck to my hair!) )

Or do I use different boots? I love my cavallo treks from a user friendly ness point of view though worry they might rub on a longer ride especially if wet. (For some reason the cavallo Velcro fastening on them works just fine!!)

Or a different boot - scoots don’t sit properly according to the trimmer. Trimmer doesn’t have loads of different ones to try so I’d have to do the process of hiring online which is costly and a pain.
Horse’s feet are longer than wide.

Or if anyone has a renegade original 2w single or pair they want to sell....! (Looked on FB and eBay but no luck)

 

[Reacher]

Re boot alternatives, to give you an idea of hoof shape this is his slightly wonky front foot .
I should say we do need boots for most hacking as the tracks are quite stoney and he isn’t fully “rock crunching”
i

 

[asmp]

I’m using Equine Fusion Active boots which have a “smart lock”. I do swear sometimes putting them on but they stay put. They do slim versions which suit hooves which are longer than wide (like mine)

Feel your pain at losing one - they’re not cheap. I would be gutted to lose one out hacking.

 

[Reacher]

I’m using Equine Fusion Active boots which have a “smart lock”. I do swear sometimes putting them on but they stay put. They do slim versions which suit hooves which are longer than wide (like mine)

Feel your pain at losing one - they’re not cheap. I would be gutted to lose one out hacking.

Thanks I will have a look at those. The renegades make me swear putting them on yet I find the cavallo treks dead easy.? Shane cavallos don’t have a version that don’t come above the hair line.
PS ETA just looked and realised equine fusion were one of the brands I previously tried but didn’t get on with ?

 

[Merlod]

I lost a scoot boot out hacking, I actually found it in the end and after that I had some clothes name tags made up with my phone number on to attach to the boots in case of another loss as it was actually gutting! Hope you find your boot!

 

[Reacher]

I lost a scoot boot out hacking, I actually found it in the end and after that I had some clothes name tags made up with my phone number on to attach to the boots in case of another loss as it was actually gutting! Hope you find your boot!

That is such a good idea!

 

[cauda equina]

Have you looked at Scoot Slims? They're designed for longer than wider hooves

 

[Reacher]

Have you looked at Scoot Slims? They're designed for longer than wider hooves

Thanks - we did try try some Scoots and if I recall they fitted the hoof but the strap didn’t sit right around heel bulbs. But I will ask trimmer when she comes if she still has any to try again

 

[Tarragon]

I use back country easy boot gloves on my ponies. They are such a good fit that sometimes I have to use a little wooden mallet to knock them on! They tend to stay put, but on the rare occasions they have come off I have gone back later and found them. I know some people use a bit of vet wrap just to keep the velcro in place.

 

[Annagain]

Have you got a local community Facebook group? Try a post on there, someone might have picked it up and is trying to work out what it is before they find who it belongs to!

 

[Reacher]

I use back country easy boot gloves on my ponies. They are such a good fit that sometimes I have to use a little wooden mallet to knock them on! They tend to stay put, but on the rare occasions they have come off I have gone back later and found them. I know some people use a bit of vet wrap just to keep the velcro in place.

Thanks i’ll look into those

Have you got a local community Facebook group? Try a post on there, someone might have picked it up and is trying to work out what it is before they find who it belongs to!

Thanks- yes I did post on the local FB page and it’s been shared a bit but no response yet. Wondered about putting up a few fliers too but not go around to it

 

[paddy555]

http://allthingsendurance.com/2011/12/product-review-renegade-hoof-boots/


half way down the page "my tweaks" may help re straps on rennies. I too HATED the velcro fastenings and that was the main reason I gave up on them. Just took so long and so fiddly.

 

[paddy555]

re the rest of your post,

I had a friend who put an address label on her rennies after the expensive mistake of losing one. I always bought orange ones.
You could try asking hoof boutique if they have a S/H one.

My love affair with scoots is coming to an end. I had a second one damage the back of the heels last week. Both boots that have done this have been on the hinds. I am not sure, after a lot of You tube video watching, if this is because hinds have more of an inclination to twist slightly on landing as opposed to fronts.

The other things that pissed me off about scoots was mud straps. They are a nightmare to put on, spoil all enjoyment of a ride and so expensive. You can get endurance gaitors to stop rubbing £25 a pair, mud straps another £20 a pair. In the end gloves were a lot cheaper, didn't rub and stay on in mud.

Anyway the scoots have gone and I am back to old fashioned gloves. Easy to put on, they stay put, coloured straps so I can quickly look down and see they are still in residence. They wear well on tarmac/stoney tracks. Probably the hardest wearing of just about all boots. Only disadvantage is they are not quite as good traction on slick grass as scoots/rennies.

From your pic I would have thought gloves would have a good chance of fitting.

 

[Reacher]

http://allthingsendurance.com/2011/12/product-review-renegade-hoof-boots/


half way down the page "my tweaks" may help re straps on rennies. I too HATED the velcro fastenings and that was the main reason I gave up on them. Just took so long and so fiddly.

Oh that is excellent - exactly what I need. Why on earth don’t renegade do straps like this! Thankyou if I buy a replacement I will make a strap like that!

Sadly I have already asked hoof boutique about used ones but no joy.

Hmm I think you have put me off scoots! Thanks for the detailed review which is very helpful!

I had wondered about gloves, thought his feet might be too long however now I am going to check measurements . Thanks for all the info - glad gloves work well for you

 

[paddy555]

no idea why renegade persist with the velcro nor why they haven't improved the adjusting the wires system. Nice boots but time they updated them to something more modern.

gloves have a quite forgiving fit. I have got many feet into gloves over the years. Don't be put off by measurements. The fit kit is cheap to hire and there is a video on how to fit the fit kit on the easycare site. Good luck.

 

[poiuytrewq]

I lost a scoot boot out hacking, I actually found it in the end and after that I had some clothes name tags made up with my phone number on to attach to the boots in case of another loss as it was actually gutting! Hope you find your boot!

That’s a good idea! I found a boot once and knowing they are expensive firstly put it somewhere very visible for a few days, and then took it inside and just asked anyone horsey if they knew any booted horses in the area. No one came up so in the end it was chucked.
A number would have saved that one!

 

[HappyHollyDays]

Love the idea of name and phone number tags on boots, brilliant idea. I lost a brand new Viper in the summer (first time ever) on a very long hack and had to cycle round the route to find it. It was about 50 feet from where I had been cantering and I was surprised it had travelled so far without either of us seeing it fly off. I had decided if I couldn’t find it I would try to claim on my insurance as I had only used it twice. As for the Velcro I do find after a winter of mud and grit they lose their stickiness but they do supply spare straps so I generally change them every 3 months. I really like the fit of them and although they can be a pain to get on before a trim they never rub anywhere and am loathed to try something else.

 

[Reacher]

****NEWSFLASH****
My boot has been found!!!
I am so happy!!!
Thanks for all the ideas, I am going to get some address/phone number tags to sew onto them and I am going modify the straps as per @paddy555 ‘s link so they can’t undo themselves again plus should be much less of a pain to fasten.??

 

[Reacher]

PS I took the finder a bottle of wine but she refused it as on medication. Think I’ll buy some flowers as a small thankyou

 

[HappyHollyDays]

Great news Reacher.

 

[poiuytrewq]

Yay! Nice idea re the wine or flowers. Sure they will be appreciated

 

[Brownmare]

Great news! I have a pair of 125x125 Vipers I need to sell if you want a spare pair but if you are looking for alternative boot styles I can 100% recommend Flex Boots. No velcro, really simple to put on once the initial adjustment is done, very slim fitting and don't affect breakover.

 

[paddy555]

gosh, you are so lucky Reacher. Flowers are a lovely idea. Look forward to hearing the new straps are working better (or not)

 

[pansymouse]

My love affair with scoots is coming to an end. I had a second one damage the back of the heels last week. Both boots that have done this have been on the hinds. I am not sure, after a lot of You tube video watching, if this is because hinds have more of an inclination to twist slightly on landing as opposed to fronts.

Scoots shred Mads' heels too - I've had to go back to my original Old Macs which I find a complete arse ache to put on. Fortunately I don't have to use boots very often - only on very stony ground.

 

[BBP]

I’ve got to say, Velcro or no velcro, nothing will part me from my renegades. In 11 years of use I have only lost them once, when I stupidly rode into what was incredibly deep clay (it was like the Neverending Story, where we started sinking). And only ever replaced one strap.

I will admit that cavallo treks are easy peasy though.