Thinking about using hoof boots

[EMcG]

I struggle to keep shoes on my horse and am considering using hoof boots. I am interested in how long they might last and how they compare to metal shoes for traction. Also interested in how they affect the horses movement. I ride out on average about 5 days/week on a mix of grass, hard forestry tracks and surfaced arena with a lot of road work thrown in to get anywhere (I stick to walking on the road, only trotting if I need to get out of the way). The boots are expensive to buy and I am concerned they may not last long given the amount of road work and hard tracks I ride on. I would be interested to hear from anyone who already uses them.

 

[ester]

I have easyboot gloves, we did a lot of roadwork in them and used them all the time for 6 months, they then had intermittent use as needed over the next 2. I bought a new pair only because the rubber was a bit lax not because of the wear though they were getting there! So a bargain compared to shoes IMO.

Much better traction on road, comparable on most other stuff IMO.

Re. Movement the main thing to think about is breakover, that is why the low profile, close fitting boots, often with a wedge are better IMO. They are pricier but much more performanced based. - the shells that are the basis of the gloves for instance are glued on for a lot of endurance rides.

 

[FfionWinnie]

They are much much better value than shoes and if you use them as a tool to improve the feet so he doesn't need boots or shoes so much the better.

The main issue is getting the right ones that will stay on and are also easy to put on. So you'll need to go for a high end pair like renegades or easyboot epics/gloves in my experience. I wouldn't bother with any of the clumpier boots personally.

I have mostly bought them second hard in new condition and you can ususally sell on without losing anything if you shop around. Preloved and eBay are good places to look.

 

[gryff]

I've just had a pair of Scoot Boots fitted to mare and am very impressed with how easy they are to put on and take off. My mare hasn't even noticed they've been put on her...no reaction to wearing them like when she first had brushing boots or sports boots put on. Fitter has said to wear them as little as possible though...keep them for particularly stony or long rides. They are easy enough to put on that I'd consider taking them with me on a ride , putting them on for a stony section and then removing them for grassy tracks or road work.

 

[Puddleduck]

I'm rehabbing a navicular & DDFT injured horse barefoot. We have scoot boots in front (has always been bare behind) and do mostly roadwork in them with a little bit of grass bridleway and stony track work. I prefer them to shoes for traction and my horse has been happy in them from the first time I put them on.
We've covered about seventy miles in them so far and they're showing very little wear.

 

[Gloi]

I've been using Easyboot Epics for about 6 years now and like them. They are so much better on roads than shoes for traction as we have steep slippery tarmac in places which my horse was awful walking down in shoes. The only time I don't like them is riding on short grass, especially if it is a bit wet as they are they can be slippery. When I was riding him daily they were lasting about 6 months but he is semi retired now and the current boots are 2 years old.
I always save money by buying second hand, there are many around hardly worn if you keep your eyes open.

 

[ester]

yup wet short grass on hard ground is slippery, but I figure it usually is in shoes too

I've also never bought a boot as totally new.

 

[JillA]

I struggle to keep shoes on my horse and am considering using hoof boots. I am interested in how long they might last and how they compare to metal shoes for traction. Also interested in how they affect the horses movement. I ride out on average about 5 days/week on a mix of grass, hard forestry tracks and surfaced arena with a lot of road work thrown in to get anywhere (I stick to walking on the road, only trotting if I need to get out of the way). The boots are expensive to buy and I am concerned they may not last long given the amount of road work and hard tracks I ride on. I would be interested to hear from anyone who already uses them.

You might find it useful to have a chat to someone who knows the range, what they can and can't do etc. The Urban Horse are very helpful, as also I am told is The Saddlery Shop. You need to measure after trim and then they will advise which will be the best fit, which will be good for the work you need to do, which are easiest to get on and off etc etc. Some experienced trimmers are another good source of advice

 

[ester]

I would absolutely advise getting some help on what will work best. hoof bootique and cannock chase equine also good. Best thing is to take photos of a tapemeasure on the hoof showing width and depth (they can check your measurements and it helps if in between) and email them to people. Getting on well with boots does depend hugely on good fit

 

[amandaco2]

I used cavello and old macs...found the grip awful on anything other than dry or clean roads.
we have a lot of farm traffic and the hoof boots were aqua-planing on the mud/ stones...they were slippery on the grass ...
I didn't use the more high performance boots so perhaps they work better.

 

[Gloi]

I used cavello and old macs...found the grip awful on anything other than dry or clean roads.
we have a lot of farm traffic and the hoof boots were aqua-planing on the mud/ stones...they were slippery on the grass ...
I didn't use the more high performance boots so perhaps they work better.

They do work better! Boots are also improving all the time. I started off in Boa boots which were a nightmare and I had a painful fall when his legs slipped from under him on grass.

 

[Auslander]

They do work better! Boots are also improving all the time. I started off in Boa boots which were a nightmare and I had a painful fall when his legs slipped from under him on grass.

Interesting. I blame Alf's fall on the road on his boots - he tried very hard to stay up, but simply couldn't save himself - and my observer behind said that his hinds were slipping all over the shop. He was in Boas behind. My farrier adapted some road nails, and they were less slippy afterwards - but neither Alf or I had any confidence in them any more.

 

[Kat]

I bought a set of four Cavallo Simples over 4 years ago. I haven't bought replacements yet 😁

They are much more economical than shoes!

* disclaimer I only used them on all four for a year and since then only on fronts with decreasing frequency they haven't been in consistent use for 4.5 years as we do most things bare now

 

[JFTDWS]

I use renegades sporadically - when I'm doing higher mileage, on rougher ground, or at certain times of year. I actually think Dae has better grip in them than bare (and certainly better than when he's been shod). He slips less on the road in them.

 

[coss]

I use cavallos and old mac g2s. have yet to wear a pair out and do a fair amount of road work and hard forestry tracks. Have done grassy tracks in them too but wouldn't want to go on slippy grass tracks or downhill in them as i think the grip would then be a problem. I've had the macs on the front feet then the back feet ( horse's feet were getting bigger with age - 5-7) and still not worn out and these were second hand. For road work i don't always boot now, depends on the condition of the horse's feet at the time. Forestry stoney tracks i find we need boots. Grass and surfaces don't need boots and that's when it would be slippiest.

 

[MotherOfChickens]

Boas always were notorious for being slippy. I used G1s but the breakover was not great (I filed them down) although the traction seemed fine-in fact those two reasons were why they were phased out, increased breakover and too aggressive traction. Its an interesting engineering problem I think.
I've used Gloves and Back Countries-Back Countries are my go to boots-never had a problem with them slipping, running, letting in stones etc. They are also easier to fit than Gloves as they are a bit more forgiving. I really dislike the clumpy boots. I have very sure footed ponies/horses and they tend to let you know if they dont feel right.

I have a section of SMA that I have to go over-its lethal, I am so glad my lot arent shod and even barefoot it can be very slippy-slightest touch of frost and I cant stand up on it despite the fact its flat. they are fine booted in the G1s and BCs though.

 

[supsup]

I've used Gloves for years (and tested quite a few other models as well). Most of our hacking is sharp gravel, so quite abrasive on the boots. When in full work (hacking ~5 days a week), the shells would last about 4-5 months on the front, and about 6 months on the rear. My boy wears holes in the front boots at the toe before the tread is entirely gone. He wears them more evenly behind, but after about 6 months the tread is down so much that I feel there's not enough grip on muddy surfaces. I don't think I've ever met anybody else who wore their boots out quicker than this. But since you can replace the shells separately and I basically don't need to see the farrier (horse self-trims pretty much), I'm still quids in compared to shoeing.
In terms of grip, I'd say they are better on the roads than shoes (including when the tread has been worn quite a bit), but somewhat worse in mud than shoes, particularly if it's a thin layer of mud on a firm surface. The depth of the sole/tread simply has less "scoop" than a shod hoof. I keep a second pair of hind boots with studs which I can use when I know there will be little road work but lots of mud. I do feel more secure riding in shoes when the going is slippery, I must admit, but most of the time, the boots are absolutely fine. Compared to other boot models, I've found the Gloves to be as good or better in the grip department (this includes older style Renegades, Cavallos and Scoots).

As for how the boots affect the gaits: I have a gaited pony, and using weights (in the form of heavier over reach boots) is a fairly common method to try an alter the rhythm of a gaited horse in tolt. Mine goes just the same in boots or shoes. In fact, if anything, he stumbles a tad more when shod. I think this is due to his toes getting a bit longer than they should be at the end of the shoeing cycle (which is 5 weeks, BTW). No problems with stumbling in boots.

I would add a word of caution though: If your horse loses shoes because he regularly over reaches, you may find that he also pulls/steps the boots off due to overreaching. Overreach boots can help with that, but the cost of boots goes up quite a bit if you regularly have to replace torn gaiters.

 

[Kat]

I have used Renegades on someone else's pony, they are really nice boots and if I needed boots more frequently I would probably get some for my mare. I did a pleasure ride in the Renegades and had no issues on any terrain or any pace, including both deep mud and surface mud.

I haven't used my cavallos for a pleasure rides but they give good grip on tarmac, the renegades are also great on our badly worn tarmac hills. It is very slippery and steep round here and it is one of the best things about being barefoot to be able to descend our hills without slipping, in fact it was the main reasons for one of my friends trying barefoot.

The only times I have slipped in boots have been on wet grass or ice and the boots were less slippy than shoes on ice. I tend to go bare if I know I will be doing fast work on grass with my horse.

If only there wereally something suitable for jumping competitively on grass with studs as I do worry about slipping bare then.

 

[paddy555]

They do work better! Boots are also improving all the time. I started off in Boa boots which were a nightmare and I had a painful fall when his legs slipped from under him on grass.

I didn't get that far in boas. I got off in terror when he was even standing on grass!! he had so little traction.
However thankfully those days are long gone. Gloves/epics have excellent grip on tarmac and forestry tracks. Renegades have the best grip on slippery grass and mud. Unfortunately wear on renegades on the roads and hard surfaces is very poor, on gloves it is excellent and they last a long while.