A hundred years ago when the Gloves came out, they were hard to put on (you needed mallets and hoof picks and things) and fit was fussy, as I recall. It sounds like things have changed, with the boots now having a soft gaiter to help them stay on. I am not big on gaiters, but horse is not big on his Easyboot Trail boots; they are a bit too clunky and heavy. We are pleasure riders, and only need boots because of the occasional rocky patch on a trail ride or gravel road. We often do have mud at stream crossings. What do people think? I love Renegades, but don’t like fussing with the cable.
I can’t speak to EasyBoots, but I received my first set of Scoot Boots last Friday for my now barefoot Fjord. I don’t have anything to compare to, but they are easy on/off and have been working well for us. I’ve done several shorter, 2-3 mile trail rides since we’ve got them. We’ve stuck mostly to walking but I have trotted and cantered in them and all seems fine! I’m hoping he will be able to fully transition to barefoot, but for now I’m very happy with the purchase.
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Easyboot gloves originally came with a soft gaiter, I had them for years (think I got my first set maybe 10 years ago?) they were a pain to put on (I had to use a rubber mallet) but worked well. Then they switched to the hard/rubber gaiters, I hated those as did apparently a lot of other people since it appears they switched back to the soft gaiters.
I recently needed to replace my boots and decided to try a pair of Scoot Boots. They are so much lighter than the Easyboots and much easier to put on. I put 50+ miles (walking, trotting, tolting and lots of hills) on them in the first week and I absolutely love them. I won’t be going back to Easyboots…
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i was looking at the Scoots, but my hooftrimmer doesn’t care for them. I will keep my mind open to them.
I love my Easy Boot Gloves, I have a mish-mash of softs and the regulars and there’s really not that much difference. Once they’ve been worn a few times, I can’t tell which is which lol. I use them in rocks, deep mud, crazy climbs and, of course, on endurance rides and they stay put very well. I do still seat mine with a rubber mallet and I use the power straps or the taping method
I love Scoots! They are awesome - but, BIG BUT, Gloves stay on my horses better. They aren’t hard to put on - no mallet or hoof pick. My big Frieisian Sport Horse just loves to walk out of boots. Many of my friends do well with Renegades, but my guy broke or lost them. And I hate cables.
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I am thinking of trying gloves, so enjoying the relevant feedback. I like my old Epics, but wouldn’t mind not having a cable. I have used the new Fury & they worked pretty well.
I have tried Scoots & while they were a nice idea, they didn’t work for my horse at all, even after considerable effort, kept turning even with shims & I tried multiple sizes. They definitely do not work for all foot types.
I looked at the Equine Jogging Shoes page; my first question is the relevance of the study they reference, on how the boots absorb impact. It doesn’t look like the study used a control (a bare hoof, or, even better, a statistically significant number of bare hooves)? I would want to know how the boot compares to a healthy bare foot, in terms of impact absorption, not how the boot compares to shoes or other boots. I also am curious as to whether it benefits the horse to have x amount of dampening effect. Maybe too much dampening is bad for tendons, if the hoof is designed to work with x range of impact.
Always good to know about options, regardless.
@wildlifer What foot type would you say is your horse’s? I’m switching from Gloves to something easier to get on. For my Halfinger the Gloves are difficult and kill my back. Considering Easyboot Trail and Scoot boots/.
He is a TB & is a bit hi/low in front. His high foot in particular wants to be more upright. Both his feet are fairly small & at the time we tried the Scoots, they were still a “work in progress.” I think I have a fair amount of boot experience - the Scoots to me seem designed best for horse with a foot like the idealized “mustang foot”, i.e. wider at the bottom than the top, relatively round (even in the Slim sizes, which we used), with a good, aligned heel. I do wish my horse had that foot, but he does not.
I DO give Scoot credit on their website for being very clear that the boots won’t work for every horse & providing a lot of helpful information there, I recommend a thorough read. A rep also reached out to me, unsolicited, when I posted on our blog that they didn’t work for us, offering additional assistance if we wanted. Even though I knew at that point they weren’t going to work for my horse, I really appreciated that proactive offer, it wasn’t pushy or sales-y. The boots are notoriously tricky to fit, but it seems like the company and its reps are making a good effort to help people out in that respect.
I also did like the light weight & loved how easy they were to use, so I do see why people like them. If it’s not considered advertising, I do have a pair anyone is welcome to PM me about if sizes match.
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