This past ferrier visit revealed that my app has soft soles. So my question is, shoes or hoof boots? I’m leaning toward boots because I don’t really want shoes on him… But which is best? Thoughts, opinions or recommendations please!!! If you have had success with the boots then which do you prefer? Looking forward to everyone’s feedback!
Some people don’t mind putting boots on daily. Not my favorite thing and since my kids can’t put them on themselves and my husband doesn’t know how it was easier to have my pony shod. My pony wasn’t a big fan of hoof boots either, so I went with shoes on the front and a coating product on the rear. Does your horse need to have protection in the pasture or just when ridden? If just when ridden, then I would go with boots. If the horse needs protection 24/7 I would do shoes instead.
My ponies feet were just wearing faster than he could grow them. As soon as we change to a new barn with a different footing, he will go back to being barefoot.
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Why does your horse have soft soles? Is this a new problem in a horse you’ve had a while, and if so what has changed? If a new horse, what can you change in his care?
What symptoms if any do these soft soles cause? Is the horse unsound on his normal footing? Is he only unsound on unusual footing?
What do the soft soles look like? Are they soft or just thin? Are they thin or has the coffin bone dropped?
IME soles are soft during damp weather, and harden in dry. You can use products to dry and harden like iodine or Venice turpentine. Soles can also seem soft if they have a lot of dead sole to exfoliate. Once it wears off the soles will be harder underneath.
If you can tell us what the symptoms if any are and what you are seeing, it might be easier to advise you.
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At the moment, it is from all of the rain we are having, or so I hope. That is the only thing that has changed in the year I’ve had him. Using the same ferrier and he just noticed it. Using Venice turpentine to help toughen the soles but if that doesn’t help them then the possibility of protection while riding is there. I just like to do my research so I know which way I want to go before hand! He has shown no symptoms of this bothering him, it was just found during a routine ferrier check.
If the horse is sound on all his regular footing then there is no need to change anything.
If the horse is going short on some but not all of his footing, for Instance ok in arena and paddock but not trail riding down a gravel road, boots are a great option. I love my Renegades but you need to have a good barefoot trim without crushed heels for them to fit.
Perhaps you are in a normally dry area that is getting unusual rain? Here in the PNW we have rainy and dry seasons, hooves look and feel rather differently in dry summer, rainy winter, and snowy or frosty winter, but horses stay sound.
I would make an effort to let the feet dry periodically put on some VT but not worry unless horse is going short.
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Use Durasole on him it will harden his soles. When wet out i durasole my horses feet really helps plus it takes care of any possible thrush. I use hoof boots renegades easy on easy off. Can’t have underrun heels though or the boots won’t fit properly. This is my 3rd summer using the renegades there holding up quite well.But i don’t use them a ton maybe a few times a week. Horse is pretty much fine on all surfaces riding barefoot. Use boots when i haul out to different trails that are real gravely. Mostly use them after horse has been trimmed for a few rides.
I prefer to keep my horse barefoot and use boots,more natural then nailing on steel shoes. Boots can be removed after riding.
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I’ve had good luck with cavallo boots. Renegades have little room for error on fit and replacing parts can be a pain. IME easyboots didn’t stay on as well. I use boots and studs for traction as I ride on grass. Much easier than dealing with lost shoes.
Shoes or boots, even for the short-term, really depend on how often more protection is needed. If all he needs is some extra help while you ride, then boots all the way, assuming you find boots you can acclimate him to (some need a bit more than others) and that fit well and you’re ok with putting on and taking off.
If you don’t want to deal with the on and off, then shoes, with pads, because the goal is protection, not just raising the foot off the ground 1/4".
I would make sure you also know that if the soles are now soft enough to be impressed with fingers, they are also likely fairly thin as well.
I have one horse who does not have much cup to his foot, and is more tender than my other horses. He went to the trainer for 60 days this summer and we put shoes on him just to make it easier for the trainer. He gets around fine in the pastures here at home barefoot, and I boot him to ride.
I prefer boots, but that does not make it right or wrong. I also believe in being a good client for the trainer, and don’t have an objection to shoeing if it is needed. You need to figure out what works best for all involved.
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if this is temporary supplement, durasole or keratex rather than either boots or shoes. I would shoe rather than boot.
If this is just to get through seasonal.changes in the hoof, boots make it easier to return to barefoot with little transition time as soon as horse is fully comfortable again.
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I did just shoe one of mine up front because he had soft soles from all the rain we’ve had here. He was struggling with the stone dust area in his paddock and it is too hot for him to wear boots all day - thus my decision to go with shoes.
Had he been fine in his paddock I would simply have booted him for other surfaces as needed. I have in the past booted him for turnout for short periods of time (a few days) when he needed it. It is just too hot right now.
I agree that if this is a temporary problem due to weather, or if it’s just a problem under saddle, then boots can be a great option. I have personally had the best luck with Cavallos, and they are super easy to put on and take off. I’ve also used Renegades and Easyboots, but they are both more of a production to put on/take off and require a more precise fit than the Cavallos.
I will say that I thought Cavallos were old school and tried the other brands first. The Cavallos looked clunky and I thought sleeker would be better. I tried the Cavallos due to several recommendations on this forum and I love them. They are also reasonably priced.
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For me too it depends on which horse. I have one that just hates boots. And any of mine on 24/7 pasture don’t get boots. Mine are usually barefoot but I generally shoe one mare in the wet season. She has a very shallow foot and when she was doing barrels she was shod all the time because she is quite tender footed after a trim no matter who does her feet.
What you decide to do will largely depend on your personal preference and what works best for your horse.
In my area, we ride a lot on gravel roads - ours are fairly rocky, so most horses need some protection. I have no desire to wrestle with putting boots on and taking them off every time I ride - not gonna do it - I’m not a spring chicken any more and it takes up more time than I have. But I also have a fabulous farrier who does a beautiful job of fitting and balancing shoes, so my horses are shod.
That said, I do own a couple of sets of boots for those in between times - early spring, when they are still barefoot but need some protection, or fall, when shoes have been pulled for the winter but the weather/footing is nice enough to ride - or in the rare event a shoe is lost (but that’s truly rare - maybe three times in the past ten years).
The thing about boots - they have to fit correctly and this is easy after a trim but after a few weeks of growth, the fit isn’t quite the same any more. I find that a nuisance.
He has never had much foot so his sole is naturally thin. I have had him for a year and we have kept a check on it just to see if it was because he was so young and we didn’t know much about his background as I got him from a rescue. I am doing his training and we work on dirt only, however he does get turned out to pasture for a lot of his day and there are a few areas that have roots sticking out of the ground because of a little erosion as the property has some downhill spots. There is more non-muddy space in the pasture than there is muddy spots but the spaces that they all want to congregate in get rough. We try to work the area to help it dry out but then it rains again and it’s back to being muck. I will eventually have to get either shoes or boots due to his thin soles but I am not really riding yet beyond training. I like to keep everything with him as natural as possible with him so I am leaning toward boots, but now I’m wondering if they would work on his feet because he doesn’t have much to work with…
And yes, with the rain softening his already thin soles, you can feel them give when pressing with your fingers
OK, this is a whole other level of problem with a hoof. I’ve heard about this (on COTH) but never seen it IRL. When my horse gets soft soles in the winter, the surface gets a bit chalky but you could never feel it give.
You will want to check that your farrier is not taking off any sole when he trims, other than cutting out the bars.
Other folks that have dealt with this problem might be able to give you advice as to whether the sole will get thicker over time with correct loading.
I think that if he is not coming out of the pasture visibly lame, I would leave him barefoot out there as his feet will strengthen somewhat over time with use. He can also choose how fast to move on the various terrain. Then put boots on him for riding, which will protect his soles like pads on a shoe would.
Boots will work just need to measure feet after a fresh trim. My one horse doesn’t have much hoof and I use hoof boots. But having a farrier who doesn’t carve out sole really helps. Current farrier/trimmer I have only carves bars down.
Plus he doesn’t do shoes but in very knowledgeable in measuring and fitting hoof boots.
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Chalky soles aren’t the same as soft soles.
Sole material exfoliates. Certain conditions make it such that the dead sole is accumulating rather than rubbing off. That’s the chalky stuff you see. The sole can still be very hard underneath.
You will want to check that your farrier is not taking off any sole when he trims, other than cutting out the bars.
Well, you don’t want to cut out the bars either 
Bars are extensions of the wall, and need similar trimming. If they aren’t trimmed, they will break off, or lay over and potentially bruise sole. But they have a purpose as well, and ideally, should ramp up to being more or less level with the sole at their end, which is halfway down the length of the frog, and ramp up to be level with the heels.
Scraping out dead sole at certain points has to be done to determine how much wall height should be removed. Farriers/trimmers who never remove any sole, too often end up creating an unbalanced foot because they are trimming to an inaccurate landmark.
Other folks that have dealt with this problem might be able to give you advice as to whether the sole will get thicker over time with correct loading.
often a thin sole is caused by a stretched foot, so when that’s the case, correcting the trim allows sole to build to its genetic potential. There’s some work that can be done to stimulate more sole growth, usually with boots and a variety of textured pads, but it can be done with a variety of natural terrain as well, but those take purposeful conditioning which most people don’t have or won’t do.
