Not an eventer, but I feel like you guys must know which brands of bell boots are actually effective at preventing horses from losing shoes while riding out across country? My dressage horse has recently taken up hunting, and two weeks in a row has come home with a missing front shoe! We’re working with the farrier of course, but in the meantime, would love to hear what bell boots you like. I feel like my neoprene dressage-y ones are not actually helping the situation. Thanks in advance!
I have a pair of Dalmar bell boots I really like. They’re a no-turn style (which truly don’t turn/spin) and they have a strike plate in the back of each boot. They’re also more shaped/contoured around the back of their feet, so they hug the heel area a little more than a regular rubber bell boot.
The only downside is they’re kind of expensive. Back when I bought mine, they were around $50/pair, and I saw them online recently for way more. I want to say $70/pair or more.
The main thing is that they need to be long enough to actually work - think brushing the ground in back if the horse is standing. The downside is that the horse can catch the bell boot and trip… my husband’s horse is hunting in bell boots all around, and last time out he caught the front boot, tripped fairly dramatically…but came home with all his shoes…
we use the Davis bell boots. I’ve never had them rub, even on horses who wear them 24-7. They are sturdy enough to last a while, but have Velcro and will fail eventually (I think this is probably a plus in terms of safety - like a breakaway halter), and aren’t so expensive that it makes me cry when a horse comes home without one…
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This is critical! We have had excellent luck with the pull on style. They last 6 months of 24/7 use and we haven’t lost a shoe since. They are a bugger to pull on. I soak them in hot water and that helps but it’s one and done for 6 months.
No bell boots will help with shoe loss. They are designed to move on the foot and don’t stay over the back of the shoe. I have a horse that used to pull a shoe on grass whenever it was even a little wet, and after many many shows spent using quarter bell boots and tessa tape and pull-ons over all of that, one of the grooms for a BNT in the FEI barn tipped me off to these:
https://www.equusport.com/product/quarter-bell-boots/
These are literally the only boots I’ve ever found that help keep shoes on.
Oh, I also love ShoeSecures (www.shoesecure.com) for the same reason, but I haven’t ever tried riding/showing in them.
Thanks all!
I love my old school petal bell boots and use them for our combined driving pair on marathon days. They have held up well and do the job safely 
This is where I ordered mind from last year:
https://www.westropphorseboots.com/product-page/westropp-over-reach-boots-mkii
I’ve tried ALL types of bell boots and the $12 Nunn Finer pull on bell boots last FOREVER on my guy. He destroyed the expensive ones in no time flat.
It’s a funny thing though, we all use them to try to keep shoes on, but that’s not what they are intended for.
