Cavallo Simple Boots

[LuvMyNSH]

I bought a pair of the simple boots for the QH mare today. I had used the little card to measure her, and according to that she was a size 2.

I put them on tonight and they look tight, I got the velcro cranked as tight as it’ll go, and they stayed on for 10 minutes of lunging at a trot and canter but…

They have got to to be the stupidest looking things ever. Her pasterns look like toothpicks. They make noise when she moves, flop, flop, flop. And those things are heavy! I am really not happy about the weight at all. Her stride was affected far more than it ever was with shoes.

I tried undoing the first two straps and seeing if I could turn the boot or even fit my pinkie between the boot and her hoof, and it was a no on both. When I took the boots off I noticed there were small rubs towards the outside of each heelbulb. Does that mean the boots are too big, or do they need to be broken it? Should I try the cavallo hoof pads with them? The info that came with the boots was amazingly unhelpful, as is the website.

What does a well fitting simple boot look like?

[Bank_of_Dad]

I didn’t like them. They were too tight like yours and also rubbed the bulbs. I switched to Old Macs, which also looked clunky but worked ok on the trail.

[pines4equines]

Hay

You might need to get some sort of pastern wrap but I have not tried the Cavallo.

I use the Easy Boot Epics. THey fit my guy well and don’t flop around like the Old Macs. I had the Old Macs before and I have to say my horse looked like he was waiting for the short bus in those…

[gallop-dq]

Sounds like they are a little too tight. Going up a size and adding a gaiter (I like the Old Mac/Boa gaiter) should prevent the rubs.

I’ve been using the Cavallos for a while and am satisfied with them, but like many hoof boots, they seem to work better with accessories like gaiters and pads.

[winona]

I just tried mine this weekend as well. I tried with out the gaiter and had rubs after 1 1/2 hours. He wore them some before that. I have the gaiters, but they are pushed up when I put the boot on…I’ll have to see what I can do. One thing I likes is that they were good in mud, which I find a downfall of the epics and bares. Seems like if you buy a bigger size, they will flop more and rub more…like sneakers that slip around and cause a blister.
I don’t know…getting to the point where I think shoes are easier. i spend too much time trying to find something that works.

[LuvMyNSH]

[QUOTE=winona;3429714]

I don’t know…getting to the point where I think shoes are easier. i spend too much time trying to find something that works.[/QUOTE]

I think I’m already there. I’m not a “barefoot person” - it’s not a religion for me. If I don’t need to shoe the horse, great, it’s money saved, but if I do that’s fine too. This mare isn’t worked very often and it wasn’t worth the $$$ to keep her shod, but she’s ouchy on rocks so I wanted something on hand for when she does go out on those type of trails.

I’m thinking the boots need to go on ebay.

[SlobberHound]

Sometimes you need to break in the cavallos. What I did with my horse was put them on him for 15 minutes a day 3 days in a row before I took him out on a trail ride. It kept the blisters off of him. They might be a little too tight for your horse. Sometimes a trim of the hoof might help. They are a little bulky, but I never had a problem with them, I rode for about a year and a half with my two horses in them. They never fell off or rubbed them raw, but sometimes the velcro would come loose. I switched to renegade hoof boots earlier this year with no looking back:)
The renegades are more streamlined and lighter in weight. All three of my horses are in them. (I just put them on the front hooves for extra grip and protection on the trail and roads). I love them! They are more expensive,but I think they last longer.

Maria

[pines4equines]

Hay 2

Before throwing a set a shoes on, could you, as the previous poster said, let the horse break them in a bit? Maybe use just 1 small piece sheet cotton and vetrap then put the boots on? Just a thin piece of protection.

I’m neither a shoe person or a barefoot person but might be worth it to try to break the booties in?

[cloudyandcallie]

Go to a human orthodics store or order online, and get a stump sock or some of the other products to prevent rubbing.
They work on dogs and horses as well as they do on humans who must wear orthodic devices. I had a dog who went thru 5 surgeries to keep his leg and he wore human orthodic devices and stump socks to prevent them rubbing.

[LuvMyNSH]

I tried them on the QH mare again, and it’s a no go. I’m glad I checked them after 5 min, any longer and the rubs would have been bloody.

I tried them on the MFT (measured out to a size 2 also) and they looked much better, but the cavallo pads I put in there were destroyed.

The downside is that they’re heavy enough and she’s trotty enough that she’s essentially non-gaited with them on. I’m looking at the pictures I took and she’s got a more extreme toe-flipping, heel first landing than she does barefoot or with non-weighted shoes on.

Boots on:
http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2036778540100167444FPQJYE

Pads, after 10mins.
http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2514928980100167444EMOvNV

Front feet at a medium speed trot.
http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2477196940100167444xBXlAi
(as you can see I was playing with boots when I should have been picking up poop in the yard!)

I’m not sure what the pads are telling me. Her feet are a bit narrow but still within the range for the size 2 boot.

[ASB_Stars]

I haven’t used those pads- I bought some that were not Cavallo brand- and they have been fine.

I use a pair on my recently foundered stallion, and he has really come to love them. I put them on him before AM turnout, and goes clop-clopping out to his paddock- very happily, and he is quite comfortable in them. I am not sure I’d work him in them.

If your mare has a tendency to get a bit sole-sore, I’d try some of Vettec’s Sole Guard- GREAT stuff, and lasts up to three weeks.

[cdalt]

I had a pair of the Cavallo simple boots for my trail horse and did not like them at all. They seemed to flop around (even though the sizing measurement was correct) and he was incredibly klutzy with them on (he is NOT an athlete!). I feared for my life when I tried trotting and cantering in them. Since no farrier has ever been able to keep shoes on my horse (has been known to pull them off 3 or more times between trims) I have ordered the Renegade boots for him. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that they will work - if not, I’ll be trying the Easyboot Epics next.