I have a 10 year old OTTB Mare that is a bit sensitive on harder footing and rocks. I would like to make her a little more comfortable but dont want to keep shoes on her. I like that I can take boots off. If she was REALLY uncomfortable I would put shoes on her (Im not against them!).
She is in moderate work. I dont have a ring so the weather plays a role. I trail ride a lot and am gearing towards low level eventing.
So my question is what are your boot suggestions? Something that I can go through the mud with, water, rocks, and fields. But something not so heavy duty I cant use it in the ring and cant jump with.
I like my Renegades and I leave them on for flat work in the ring after a trail ride.
But I’m not sure I’d jump a horse in any boots. I feel that they are just not quite that stable. Also a horse that can go barefoot ought to be OK on good stadium footing, either hogfuel or sand. Or on the grass cross country.
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I tried Renegades, Cavallo and one other brand. None stayed on past a walk. I would start with Renegades since they are the least clunky.
I’ve heard good things about the renegades, but they didn’t come big enough for the horse I was booting at the time. Got the Cavallo Big Hoof Boot and they were ok, actually a pretty good fit for her very round hooves. I have a friend that likes the scoot boots but they are fussy to fit and I don’t know how they wear since we haven’t caught up in a bit.
Fit is everything when it comes to hoof boots. Take measurements and pictures of you taking the measurements and get a tracing of each of the hooves you want to boot and send all of that to the mfg before ordering. Maybe get front and side pics too because often the long toe/low heel hoof conformation many TB’s have makes them hard to boot. In my experience they will all be pretty straight forward if their boots won’t work with your horses particular hoof size/shape/angles. Sounds like a lot of work, but trust me that you don’t want to be pissed about buying a $300 pair of boots that you can’t use.
I like the Easyboot gloves. They’re not klunky and easy to get on and off. You can put studs in them in winter and then take 'em out come spring.
Renegade has boots with studs in them but I think they’re permanently in. I think there’s more flexibility with the Easyboot Gloves.
Renegades will not stay on if the horse doesn’t have a really good barefoot trim. That means no flare, no under run toe. And if the hoof is too big for the boot, like later in the trim cycle, they will pop off at speed.
Renegades are IMHO very good for fast trail riding on horses that are already going well barefoot. They were designed for endurance riders.
But they aren’t necessarily a great choice if you are still working on getting the right angles on a newly barefoot horse.
Scoot Boots! They are the lowest profile boots out there - theres not much on them to catch on a jump. Check out these photos of people jumping in them: https://scootboots.com/search?q=jump - and I mean JUMPING! I’m a Scoot Boot rep and can help with fitting boots remotely using photos. Happy to answer any questions. Check out my Facebook group Scoot Boot Adventures (https://www.facebook.com/groups/191421184909626/)
I evented in Old Mac G2’s without any issues. I tried Renegades but they did not fit my horse’s foot properly and would come off. I just pulled my horse’s shoes off so I am going to try Scoot Boots. I see they are made by the same man who invented Old Macs. The Old Macs are a little clunky but they stay on without turning and my horse never got any rubs.
