McGrools
Well-Known Member
No not at all. The straps all loosen off so its just the clipping on of the shell to the hoof then 3 simple straps to tighten
Scoot Boots or Explora Magic
- Thread starter Red-1
- Start date
McGrools
Well-Known Member
Not all horses need boots. I have never needed to boot any of my previous horses. Its just this little tb mare i currently have that needs help as she has delicate little feet.
The cavallos are a bit clumpy for riding in i find. I prefer closer fitting sportier boots ie the explorers
MuddyMonster
Well-Known Member
I use Cavallo Treks in front and have done for years on and off. I really like them although they are clumpier than the newer, sportier boots I'm still a fan.
I've lost a boot once when pony spooked & launched himself up a bank going through a deep boggy bit (I didn't realise it was so boggy otherwise wouldn't have attempted it). Otherwise they've stayed on through various canters, gallops and log jumping hacks and rides.
I've had to replace the straps once, which they sell separately to the boot for around £10 or so.
bouncing_ball
Well-Known Member
I find them difficult but doable. I find quite a tight fit on all four feet, and I use pliers to pull two of the three straps through and over the hooks. I also find you need to put boots on, leave on and let horse walk a bit or move about a bit and the re-tighten straps. But the upsides that have good grip, dont rub, and dont move and have decent breakover are worth the downsides of being harder to put on.
cjwchez
Well-Known Member
my horse gets sore on his fronts in summer with the hard ground so going to opt for some boots instead of shoes. do the explora magics have a bit of give to allow for hoof growth between trims?
bouncing_ball
Well-Known Member
With shoes just coming off, I would measure feet and source some second hand cavallo treks (need to measure feet for sizing). Should be £45-55 and can see how you go / if you need them. Are popular but fairly basic boots. Velcro will be fine if they fit your horse. Can upgrade later. Feet are likely to change shape a fair bit in first 3-6 months. And there is a good buying and selling market for cavallo treks. Only think I would say is if you horse has big sticking out heel bulbs - feet that are heels sticking out behind hoof capsule, then cavallos will rub / squash heel bulbs.
paddy555
Well-Known Member
Without seeing your horse's feet it is difficult to know how much they will change shape. Some change a lot so these are just general points.
Your soles may be thin. I would always use a boot with a good thick sole on most newly deshod horses ie those with less than perfect feet I wanted to ride straight away.
Thick soles are renegades, gloves, cavallos. Cannot comment on the explorers sole. Anyone??
Thin soles I wouldn't use (at this stage) would be flex and scoots.
If your feet change shape in the first 3 months or so you will need another set of boots and boots are expensive. Unless you are very rich may be better to go for a cheaper basic boot to start with such as cavallos. I don't like them and wouldn't want to ride in them very much, (I like a performance boot) but they will do very well for basic riding for a couple of months
choice will be limited to foot size. (plus of course they have to fit) no good looking at some of them eg renegades if you have shire sized feet. So measure first and see what you have the choice of.
surprisingly velcro is fine. Just get a dog brush and clean it sometimes.
with performance boots ie renegades, probably explorers, flex, scoots they fit more tightly and most people get a rasp and learn to trim a little between trims to keep the feet in shape.
FitzyFitz
Well-Known Member
My ponys front exploras twisted after a few hours of riding initially, I ended up contacting Explora themselves who were SUPER helpful and marked up a photo of her feet to show that her inside wall was more vertical than the outside which was what caused it, they told me where on the inside of the boot to do a small patch of silicone to even them up and tada! No problems now. Competed 50km in them recently and stayed on perfectly with no rubs or twists.
Of course I did try several different boot types as shells before picking explora, it may be that the YO has a similar issues, or it may be that exploras just aren't well suited to their particular horse.
FitzyFitz
Well-Known Member
Exploras arent too hard once you've got the knack. Much snugger fitting than many boot types so need a firm push on. BUT don't panic if you cant get your horses foot all the way in by hand, I used to half kill myself wrestling them, now I just jam them all on most of the way and walk pony around the yard for 10 secs. Does a perfect job of settling feet in them ready to do up straps. Just standing them in them doesnt work, its the walking that wiggles the toes in. Very occasionally one pings off when I walk up the yard if i did a particularly bad job or they hit a strap with opposite foot, but 99% of the time its no hassle. I find doing the keepers on the viper renegades our others have way more annoying.
cjwchez
Well-Known Member
thank you! i might opt for the exploras then as I would rather have something thats a bit more difficult to put on than buy something that might rub my horses feet/bulbs like people are finding with the scoot boots.
Widgeon
Well-Known Member
Scoots don't rub if they happen to fit your horse properly though.
I would contact Urban Horse or the Hoof Boutique and get some detailed advice (email them and they'll tell you what they need - some good clear photos and specific measurements) and a fit kit for a few different boot types - boots are so blooming expensive, you don't want to buy the wrong ones, and the "right ones" are the ones that fit!
I think that once you've got the knack of your particular make, most boots are not too difficult to put on.
cauda equina
Well-Known Member
Cavallo Treks come with spare velcro fastenings but I've never needed to replace the original ones, just clean the velcro with a brush like this
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I have never had Cavallos come off, nor front Scoots, but occasionally hind Scoots ping off with a spook
Cragrat
Well-Known Member
From what I've heard, Cavallo's are a great introduction to boots. As has been said, they are quite forgiving in fit, and hooves usually do change dramaticaly when first barefoot. They are reasononably priced and easily available 2nd hand. I wouldn't like them long term, as they are a bit clumpier than modern sportier models, but they have stood the test of time, and are easy to use, and most horses go well in them. Easy to put liners/padding in if needed too.
expanding_horizon
Well-Known Member
Not a lot of give imo. I tend to tidy weekly between 5 week trimming appointments. I don’t think last a full cycle fitting if you didn’t.
expanding_horizon
Well-Known Member
Not much space for pads as a close fitting boot. I have got the thin scoot pads to fit cut down. I’m using to add a bit of cushioning as ground hard.
FitzyFitz
Well-Known Member
definitely check shells and send pics to the shop/explora themselves, like any boot, sometimes they just don't suit your particular horse, although exploras are one of the most adjustable types. Mine have never rubbed either pony even before i silicone shimmed the one with asymmetric hoof angles that made the boots twist on long rides. Done miles in them and very pleased but know a few people who struggle putting them on. I find them alright tbh so long as I use the walking round trick.
FitzyFitz
Well-Known Member
Not much, mine is on a 5 week cycle and fits with no interim trims or rasping but I don't think they would if I did 8 weeks or something. They do have side windows which will take a bit of hoof edge but there shouldnt be gaps between hoof and shell and the plastic osn't soft or stretchy like flex boots or something. If you have a longer trim cycle, either shorten it, or get less close fitting or stretchier boots like flex, cavallo or old mac which wil allow for the growth
cjwchez
Well-Known Member
I've sent the measurements of my horses hooves and have unfortunately been told that Exploras wouldn't be suitable as his hooves are 140mm wide and 130mm long and have been recommended scoot boots instead. I'm on the fence about the scoot boots due to so many people saying that they rub, does anyone have exploras on horses where their hooves are longer than they are wide?
Gloi
Too little time, too much to read.
Scoots fit well if the horse has standard height heel bulbs. Really high or low ones are what cause them to rub.
cjwchez
Well-Known Member
thank you. I'm stressed about it but I guess its just a case of trial and error.
SEL
Well-Known Member
Do you know what size scoots? They often come up 2nd hand so worth trying to track some down on FB and see how you get on with them.
paddy555
Well-Known Member
the problem with that is you find out when you have a very deep and bloody groove in the back of the foot even though the boots appeared to fit fine.
if your shoes came off yesterday then with those measurements you feet may well change shape pretty quickly and without pics it is difficult to see how much flare is there
do you have a trimmer or farrier? did they trim and did they give any indication as to how much your feet will change and how quickly.
Presumably the boots you are getting are solely for riding?
Peglo
Well-Known Member
I got scoot shells to try on mine. I took pictures and Liz at hoof boutique said they wouldn’t work on my horse. I thought they looked ok so her knowledge was invaluable to me. I’m so glad I got some shells to try before buying.
I would contact hoof boutique or urban horse to see what they’d recommend. Boots are so expensive it’s worth getting the right ones first time.
cjwchez
Well-Known Member
My cob is only shod between June and September as he gets sore out on hacks depending on which route we take - we hack on a mixture of tarmac, bridleways and 'stoney' streets. The boots are only for riding and only for his front feet.
He's only had one set of shoes on this year, had them on for 6 weeks and they got taken off on Wednesday (as he pulls them off in the field, I'm fed up of searching for them in 12 acres hence the reason for switching to hoof boots
) so he's not one of those horses that has been shod 24/7 for years and years - he's mostly barefoot apart from the summer months. My farrier trimmed him on Wednesday so the photos I sent over with measurements are of him freshly trimmed. His feet grow evenly (dont flare) and don't grow very fast, there is never much length to take off (he gets trimmed every 6 weeks.)
Widgeon
Well-Known Member
Same here, I got shells to try on. Based on the measurements my horse was a dead cert for the 6S, but when I tried them on he was actually a 5S. So well worth it to avoid an expensive mistake.
I used Urban Horse but both they and Liz are super helpful - lovely people who genuinely want you to get it right. I gave them photos and info and they suggested a few brands that would be worth trying.
paddy555
Well-Known Member
apart from a bit of postage there is nothing to stop you from buying boots and sending them back (obviously unused)My cob is only shod between June and September as he gets sore out on hacks depending on which route we take - we hack on a mixture of tarmac, bridleways and 'stoney' streets. The boots are only for riding and only for his front feet.
He's only had one set of shoes on this year, had them on for 6 weeks and they got taken off on Wednesday (as he pulls them off in the field, I'm fed up of searching for them in 12 acres hence the reason for switching to hoof boots
My farrier trimmed him on Wednesday so the photos I sent over with measurements are of him freshly trimmed. His feet grow evenly (dont flare) and don't grow very fast, there is never much length to take off (he gets trimmed every 6 weeks.)
If I was to buy a pair of boots I would buy 3 sizes and send 2 back for example. So you could order 2 or 3 makes and see what you think. Postage to return a pair is usually only a fiver and RM collect from your doorstep.
you could try say renegade classics (I think I had one with similar size feet) a pair of explorers, scoots or even gloves and return them. I always find it better to have the boot to try on the horse because so much rather than the measurements on a web site affect the fit.
Just a suggestion .
personally I don't go down the shell route because I find I get a better idea with the real thing.
cauda equina
Well-Known Member
I agree about the shells - when I tried Scoot shells on one of mine they seemed completely wrong but the actual boots were fine
expanding_horizon
Well-Known Member
Yes to longer than wide, I’m using Explora 3s for 140mm long 130mm wide.
But I think you actually meant wider than long?
expanding_horizon
Well-Known Member
I found scoot shells different size to actual scoots I then bought. VERY annoying
expanding_horizon
Well-Known Member
apart from a bit of postage there is nothing to stop you from buying boots and sending them back (obviously unused)
If I was to buy a pair of boots I would buy 3 sizes and send 2 back for example. So you could order 2 or 3 makes and see what you think. Postage to return a pair is usually only a fiver and RM collect from your doorstep.
you could try say renegade classics (I think I had one with similar size feet) a pair of explorers, scoots or even gloves and return them. I always find it better to have the boot to try on the horse because so much rather than the measurements on a web site affect the fit.
Just a suggestion .
personally I don't go down the shell route because I find I get a better idea with the real thing.
Agree but you need to be very careful trying on. I put sandwich bags over clean feet, towels on floor. You can’t scuff tread on ground.
And if I can tell trying on, don’t put foot on floor. Eg size 4 Explora rotated on foot on smallest setting, so never let horse stand with foot down.