Which hoof boots do you recommend?

rcm_73

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I have an ex-racer that constantly pulls her shoes off in the field, have tried fronts only and aluminium plates with no success so have decided to try and go without shoes.

She is currently rather footy in front although but her hinds are fine as they have been shoe-less for nearly a year so I know in time this will improve. I'm supplementing her with a barefoot seaweed & rosehips mix but am considering getting some hoof boots for her fronts for when she goes out on hacks.

Can anyone recommend the best ones to get? I know she would have to be measured etc but is a typical TB with small feet, one that is bigger than the other so would probably need to buy two different sizes?
 

rcm_73

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Ok thanks for that, will take a look. Yes we need some hoof boot experts! There seem to be a few different ones about so need some recommendations :)
 

Jinete12

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Cavallos! They're fantastic. I also have a TB x racer who kept pulling shoes off. He also has small feet with one being bigger than the other in front, but the same size boot somehow fitted both. We've never looked back since getting ours and have used them successfully over all terrains! Can't rate them highly enough.
 

pines of rome

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I also have cavellos on an ex racer with small feet lovely boots did try old macs g2s but they would move round as he walked and i didn,t like the buckle on the back. cavellos are incredibly easy to put on too.
 

Cluny

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I think it really depends on the shape of your horses feet, I found that the Old Mac G2's fitted my lad really well, and stayed put, even in heavy going. I used to use Sole Mates pads in them as well to help with the foot conditioning, recommend them.
 

Spot_the_Risk

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Trelawne are very helpful. Go onto the Easyboot website to find out how to measure and therefore which boots will fit. I use Old Mac G2's but will be moving to the Easyboot W when it's available later this summer - the G2's have been excellent though just not quite the right shape for my horse.
 

paddy555

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leaving aside the question of whether they would fit your horse the only boots that I would use are easyboot gloves and I use them on all 4 feet day in and day out. I have used them for around 18 months. They fit tightly. They are the lightest boot and have the best grip. They are also the quickest to put on and take off. I hate the G2's as they are time consuming to put on and very clumpy and heavier.
I haven't tried the Cavallo's as I am very happy with the gloves which fit like a second skin.
I have tried other boots but the gloves are the only ones that I completely trust to stay in place, not cause problems and allow me to do exactly the same as I would on either a shod or unshod horse.
The gloves are sold individually so you can buy different sizes. I think the G2's are sold in pairs.
 

frankie8

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Paddy555, I was thinking about getting the easyboot epics, which look very similar to the gloves. Would you say there is much to pick and choose between these two designs?
 

AngieandBen

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Another vote for Cavallo's, you can get them easily off Ebay. I've had the G2's and liked them too, but a little more tricky to put on/off.

I even bought the gloves, but my pony overeaches and he kept pulling them off, so I sold them.
 

brucea

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I have bares for the driving pony.

But for my big lad, I like to go fast and the Bares pull off - so I got the Gloves.

The best thing to do is to get the Glove fit kit from saddleryshoponline and then make sure you read the instructions! The shell must be tight. Best to fit after a normal trim as well.

The Gloves haven't come off at any pace. But he is on the biggest size.

I hear a lot of good thing said about Renegades - but they are hard to get I believe.
 

jm2k

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out of curiosity, what about competing?
what, if any restrictions are there, and does anyone use them to compete?

following this with interest as my new TB arrives next week :)
 

Fransurrey

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I have the Epics and the Cavallos. Hate the epics. They're a bad fit for Henry's small feet and they're really troublesome to get on and off for me, especially when I've gone through lots of mud and the stuff clogs up the fastening mechanism. Not a biggie, but one of those little PITAs that add up!

I love the Cavallos. They are too big for Henry (I thought they might be and I bought the smallest size they did), but getting them on and off is soooooo easy. Am very tempted by the Gloves if I need any more, but Henry goes naked these days. If he goes footsore alarm bells ring and I change his management accordingly, rather than reach for boots.
 

frankie8

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My only worry about the cavallos is that my mare has quite upright back feet and thought they may come off in muddier conditions due to them not fitting further up the legs like the gloves and epics. Do you think this would be a problem?
 

BBP

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I have the Renegades, ordered from US but be aware that I got charged tax on them when they arrived, which adds to the price and meant I had to collect from depot.

Easy to put on, nice fit for little round feet but I haven't given them a really good road test as ponys feet have been so good I haven't needed them! One did rotate on his foot when he was being a spanner one day, which has put me off slightly but i think that was my fault for not fastening them tight enough.

I would possibly try the gloves next time as they are easy to get hold of in the UK and there is less to break. If the wire in the renegades breaks it sounds like it will be a pain in the backside to fix.
 

paddy555

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Paddy555, I was thinking about getting the easyboot epics, which look very similar to the gloves. Would you say there is much to pick and choose between these two designs?

this is leaving aside the question of what fits your horse but the first thing to look at is grip. Is the horse going to remain upright in mud and on slick grass. It gets a bit pointless if he cannot move for slipping :D
The gloves have the best grip (followed by renegades) The grip on the gloves is far superior to the epics. If you just wanted to go around the roads and stony tracks the epics grip would be OK. Slick slightly downhill grass is a very different matter and IMHO you need the grip of the gloves to keep your horse safe.
The gloves have no ironmongery on them the epics have a fastener. This is something else to go wrong, to adjust or to have to fasten. The gloves provided they are well fitted stay on just as well as the epics.
The gloves are lighter than the epics. Important if you are clocking up the miles.
One advantage of the epic and the bares over the gloves is that you can use a thicker pad if you want to. The pad thickness is limited in the gloves and having tried all of these boots over 5 years I would say the bares and epics with thicker pads are great for initial conditioning on the roads. The grip on the bare is poor on grass. I would never ride on grass or mud in the bares without dremmilling more tread into the soles.
If your feet are not too bad and don't need thicker pads or if you are like me and don't want to shoe the horse but simply cannot put in the mileage you want over longer distances and difficult ground then I think the gloves are the ones to have.
I would regularly ride on a Saturday with the gloves on for 8 hours or so. We would then do it all again the next day. I would expect no problems with them.
I have in fact found the tread on the soles of the gloves wears better than either the bares or the epics AND the gloves are one of the cheaper boots. :)

Can I just add that boots are very expensive things if you get it wrong. There is so much info on the easycare site ie www.easycareinc.com
It will probably take you an evening to get through it all but it is well worth a read. It is obviously best if you can get help fitting your first set of boots but if not then there are videos on that site for fitting/putting on of most of the boots. There is certainly a video showing someone fitting a fit kit for the gloves and explaining how to choose the correct size.

If you cannot get the gloves to fit then my 2nd choice would be either renegades or the easycare edge. The edge has the same grip as the gloves but it can accomodate problem sizes more easily as it has a fastener.
Apologies that this is a bit of a long winded post!!
 

frankie8

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Thanks very much for your reply Paddy. I will measure up my mares feet tomorrow to see if the gloves will be suitable and if they are, I think they wil be the ones I will go for.
At the moment Pippa isn't doing an awfull lot workwise as she is just coming back into work after a ligament injury but I do hope to get back into her original workload in the future. We are stabled on the bottom of the south downs so it is very important that the boots can cope on grass, so the gloves sound like the best option here.
 
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