Shoes vs hoof boots - how long do they last?

HollyB66

HollyB66

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I have had my horse for nearly 6 months and she is unshod. As far as I know her last owners did not have her shod but possibly did not hack her out very much.

Over the weekend we hacked out 2.5 miles on Saturday and 5.5 miles on Sunday. Some unavoidable road work, and alot of the tracks were hard, although we did find some grass.

Today she is footsore on the stoney track to her field, although fine in the sand school. Her hoof wall is level with her sole and I noticed after the hack yesterday that there were little chips on the edge of the hoof walls. Obviously I cannot carry on hacking her out without doing something for her feet.

Do I go shoes (front only or front and back) or hoof boots.

If I go for hoof boots how long do they last, assuming 10 miles at the weekends?

Many thanks for any ideas/suggestions :)
 
The more she does the faster her feet will grow, though there is that lag time inbetween the two, which is what you've got now. Plus you need to be doing that kind of milage regularly, rather than one-offs to stimulate the extra growth. My barefoot boy does at least 5miles a day, mostly on the roads, and he now grows excess hoof that needs trimmed - it's taken about 6weeks for his feet to catch up.

I'd go with hoof boots, if you can get a pair to fit well. It means she's only needs them on for the longer rides and the rest of the time she can be barefoot, esp if she's normally got good feet. And you'l prob find she eventually won't needs them, if the longer riders become more frequent.

They're also significatly cheaper than shoes! You can get a pair of about £100 (bit more or less depending on type) and they will last at last a year, prob more. You'd need to shoe every 6 weeks at £40 a front set.
 
I've never used hoofboots, but i am so anti shoes at the minute, i just find them a pain in the bum, they're slippy, and then if you put road nails in and they kick then they cause lots of damage. Barefoot must be so much nicer if you can make it work. And you have the advantage of not having her feet already ruined by shoes. If my share were mine i would be trying the hoofboots. I also commented so i could keep track of this post, as i'm trying to find all the barefoot infor i can at the moment, just because. :)
 
Same as what Kallibear syas :D
I'm at your stage too, Ben's back feet are level with the soles, but he isn't sore at all. I'm gradually building up the time hacked out on the roads without boots.

Ben has Old Mac G2's I ride about 4/5 times a week for up to three hours ( about 8/9 miles) about half road half bridleways although If I can I stick to verges. Had the boots four months and only the breakover has worn.
Should last me at least a year; Have a look on ebay, mine were £97
 
my Boa hoofboots have been going over 2 years so far, and tho scruffy they are fine.

wouldnt worry about chips in hoof, barefoot hooves not always going to look perfect tippy toes, but hoof boots would be good idea if horsie uncomfy. Eventually you may be able to do without them once hooves are hardened.
 
Thanks for the replies so far guys :)

I'm being torn both ways at the moment, whether to go boots or shoes.

2 very good friends who both shoe successfully are recommending shoeing - they do know what they are doing. But, I really wanted Rosie to stay barefoot. But, I also want to do more and more with her. But this, but that, but the other!!!! I just don't know.

I am concerned about getting the right fitting boot and whether or not it will be successful.

I guess that shoeing will work almost instantly - but is it the best thing in the long run, how about shoeing for the summer and barefoot in the winter.

See what I mean about confusion!!!

£95 will get a pair of new Boa's off Ebay, £60 will shoe her all round (for 6 weeks), but (another but), money is not really the issue.

I just don't know what is best.

Sorry for the long waffle, all suggestions welcomed.
 
I wanted hoofboots for my arab and bought a pair off my vet (that didn't fit his horse) and they looked fab they fitted really well but when I went into gallop the one flew off!!

I've now gone back to shoes!!
 
if a hoofboot flies off it doesnt fit! different makes are better for different shapes of foot eg boa ones very good for flat round feet like my Haffies.

For the £30 difference you might as well try the hoofboots, esp as you can hire before you buy. Remember you can shoe any day you like, but once you do shoe its a hard transition for many horses to come back to barefoot.

Mine does lots of roadwork barefoot and has just done an endurance pleasure ride over very stony ground and is as sound as a pound. it shouldnt restrict you unless you want to do big SJ or XC stuff on wet slippy grass.
 
should also say my other horse, big heavy hunter 17 hander, was shod when I got him and is happy like that so I shoe him, so Im not an evangelical preacher on barefoot, just think its better for many leisure horses who are not in very hard or very high level work.
 
If you google 'the saddlery shop' you should find an online tack shop, which sells many makes of hoof boot. There is a form on their site which you can fill in with your pony's hoof measurements, they can then advise which type of boot would suit the hoof shape. You also have the option of trialling boots from them.

I've got G2s for my pony, and I'm very pleased with them. They've worn well, have never flown off even at speed, and have not caused any problems with rubbing.
 
There are better boots than BOA boots out there now. Have a look at the Eascare Glove or Edge.

The grip on the Boa boot is practically non-existant. I've got 3 pairs of them, to be fair to them they've done their job and they've last 7 years probably more - they are about ready for the bin now though.
 
I used to go through a set of shoes every four weeks in the summer. Since I went barefoot I use boots sometimes but not always - just when needed. In twelve months I've had to replace his hind boots twice but his fronts are the same boots I started with. I use Easyboot Gloves... and they've recently updated the design to thicken the toe which should mean they last even longer. Agree with OP if the boots come off then they don't fit properly. Properly fitting boots will stay on at whatever speed you go or whatever terrain you travel over (or through when it's muddy!).
 
I've used a pair of Old Macs G2's on my TB for the past three years, fairly hard work on stony tracks and he likes me to put them on for jumping too. I've never had a problem with them coming off and they are nowhere near worn out. I'm coveting some Gloves now they make them big enough for him so I'm almost wishing the G2's would wear out!!
 
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