My horse tends to get rub marks with all his bell boots, except when I used Eskadron with fleece. But I can’t spend that kind of money on bell boots for turnout since they don’t last all that long. I can use them for riding, though.
Are there any alternatives for turnout that don’t rub the ankles? The fleece tops in turnout, too, get all kinds of stuff stuck to them. Also they attract the shavings in the stall.
I’ve tried cheap rubber bells, neoprene, etc.
I live in wet muddy South Florida and left the pro choice no turns on 24/7 for the 7 yrs I owned my masterful shoe puller. He NEVER got a rub.
I use the arma fleece topped ones and somehow they haven’t gotten gunked up or torn up but that might have been my only point of luck this year
KL Select Italian rubber pull on. Leave on 24/7. My last pair I used for 7 months. I just started using them again. They are expensive but IMO worth it.
Like, rub rubs? Or hairless-but-not-raw spots?
He’s had both. 
Hm. My young mare has hairless spots, but no real rubs. That’s with the pull on KL select boots @SonnysMom mentioned.
The professional choice fleece top ones are great.
My horse has been wearing the Equus ribbed Made in England pull-on bell boots 24/7 except for a few trips in the show ring for the last 14 months. He lives out in a paddock 24/7. No rubs. A few other types have rubbed him in the past. Note that this is the same pair and they weren’t new when I put them on last February. Meanwhile a lease horse who lives in a stall has destroyed two pairs of the Italian ones in under two years.
Sometimes even the expensive boots will rub due to being too long. The top of the boot rubs against the pastern with each step. So you might consider experimenting with a cheap pair of Davis boots and cutting any excess off. For one horse I only had to scissor off a quarter inch of length; for another a whole half inch.
Going through this as well. While the rub (raw) was healing I wrapped duct tape around bulbs and under heel of shoes. I have just found HKM brand: fuzzy tops, soft (like moleskin) inner, strong velcro, light, same price as fuzzy top rubber velcro (score!) Been a week and no rub… I did buy them 1 size too large though, so I’m not riding in them- I change to regular rubbers or just more duct tape.
Hope this helps!
Thanks, all. Lots of good info here, as always! BrownDerby, I’ll definitely take a look at the size. I do have some cheapos I can play with.
Hey, there. I looked online, and HKM has many varieties of bell boots. Do you have a link you could post?
Thanks. 
HKM bell boots
These are the ones I got. Mine have black fuzz though- although for the price I would have taken the white fuzz if I had to!
A friend of mine says the Equifit ones are great
After cheap rubber with velcro turnout boots lasted maybe a few days and fleece Walsh ones lasting longer but not long enough for the price for turnout, I tried Davis bells on one of mine, thinking there is no way he could be more sensitive than my redhead (who does fine with Davis), and we had bloody raw spots. Pull on KL Select/Beval ones have been fine and he’s had the same pair on 24/7 for months now.
Definitely depends on the shape of the foot/ Pastern IMO. I’ve had great luck with both the Nunn finer rubber pull on bell boots ( and they are inexpensive) and also the arma shires brand Velcro bell boots for 24/7 wear.
I use the professional choice no turn for xc/ jumping. I’ve never left them on 24/7 so have no experience there
My recommendation as well. All I will use on my big mare.
I don’t know how well these actually work, but have you tried putting those “compression socks” on underneath the bell boots? I think there’s only so much you can do with the boots themselves, since they naturally just move around so much.
Something like these? There are also some that come in a roll and you just cut off however much you need. Depending on how long they last, they may or may not be cost effective.
I’ve not tried this, simply because every time I looked for compression socks they were always very expensive. These are super reasonable. Thanks for the tip!
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