So does the weight of the hoof boot negatively impact gaits? Or put additional strain on joints?
Do you have to boot all 4 to not impact gaits?
I have 2 icey’s that both move pretty big, and we are planning on going on some trails where they can move out, but will probably need boots.
And I’m totally confused as to what to get.
A friend is boarding her Peruvian Paso with me. Her gelding is barefoot, has been barefoot all his life. Owner decided that she probably should start using boots on him and would like to find a more accomplished barefoot trimmer who could also help her with boot fitting. She did have a single pair of Old Mac boots that she had tried on him but felt they were too clunky/heavy and affected his gait.
Two trimmers came out and spent a long time with her. The semi-retired and long time trimmer has experience with gaited horses and had owned several himself. He told her to always boot all four feet or none. He recommended Easy Boot Gloves. Both trimmers were really helpful. The younger person had been mentored by the older trimmer and she has taught the my friend a lot about her horses feet and boot use. She has learned how to use a rasp enough that the snug fitting boots will fit thru an entire 5-6 week trim interval. I try to be in the barn every time her trimmer is out because I’ve been listening and learning.
Yes, her Paso moves and gaits well with FOUR boots on. She has been very happy with the boots. Oh, the trimmer rasped the boots (and hooves) around the front edges to help improve breakover for the horse.
chicamuxen
My horse was pretty pacey when I got him. He also had bad front feet (WLD, seedy toe, no depth). To treat the while line disease and seedy toe, we left him barefoot and my trimmer taught me how to do weekly rasping until he came to do 6 week trims. Of course I had other things to do to his feet in the meantime too (clean out cracks, dressing with fungidye, etc).
Anyhow, just using front boots for awhile helped him break up the pace. Over time his front feet healed and he four-beats nicely (flat walk, saddle rack) now with or without boots.
I think it depends on your particular horse if fronts only will adversely affect gait. However, now that his gait has improved, I would prefer to ride with 4 boots if I need boots. One of these days I’ll get a back pair.
yeah…as of now i’m thinking fronts only will totally screw him up. he tends to be trotty.
everybody seems to indicate that for a pacey horse, extra weight on the front squares them up…for trotty horses, it just makes them worse.
measured the feet today (altho I need to wait for a ‘real’ trim)…he’s got round fronts and REALLY oblong backs. I don’t think they make the gloves small enuf for the rears, unfortunately.
renegades look like a definite maybe.
[QUOTE=tollertwins;7910670]
yeah…as of now i’m thinking fronts only will totally screw him up. he tends to be trotty.
everybody seems to indicate that for a pacey horse, extra weight on the front squares them up…for trotty horses, it just makes them worse.
This true. It’s also the foundation of the Big Lick. Start down this road and you can easily end up in a very bad place for your horse.
measured the feet today (altho I need to wait for a ‘real’ trim)…he’s got round fronts and REALLY oblong backs. I don’t think they make the gloves small enuf for the rears, unfortunately.
renegades look like a definite maybe.[/QUOTE]
Before you do anything, here, you need a SOAP:
Subjective
Objective
Assessment
Plan
Before you do ANYTHING get somebody to video this horse being ridden normally and then assess what you see. You may well find that the “pacyness” is caused by the rider putting saddle over the kidneys and then putting their butt on cantle and their feet on the dashboard (the “chair seat”). If this is true then video again with the rider sitting in a balanced seat. This, in and of itself, may alter the gait to where you want it to be. Maybe it won’t. If it doesn’t then evaluate the video, again, and try one change and see what that does.
Most horses with Walker blood pace vice running walk (an unfortunate result of 50 years of Big Lick oriented breeding). This is genetic and can’t be altered. However the expression of the gait can be moved to the center with a combination of rider technique, correct tack, anatomically based foot care, etc. It is not a simple process where one thing is going to be a Silver Bullet.
The hoof of any horse is the result of a complex process and the base of that process is the horse’s native way of going. That’s how they wear their feet 24/7. I’ve seen horses crippled by “barefoot trimmers” who didn’t understand this and came in and grossly altered foot conformation to meet a philosophy vice the reality of the horse in front of them. A pox on such ignorant schmucks.
Ideally any hoof protection should be “transparent” in that it just protects the trim and does not alter the way of going. Meeting this ideal can be a challenge.
The video camera is your friend, here. The lens doesn’t lie and has no philosophical or political or status bias’. Do the video first and then proceed. Good luck with your program.
G.
Guilherme, the horse doesn’t pace, he prefers trot. Which is why I made the comment that boots only in front were going to make things worse.
He’s a 10yo 4 gaited icey whose previous owners never bothered with his gait, and we’re just now ‘getting it’.
I want something really lightweight to protect his feet if we go out on ground that he is not used to (we live and mostly ride on pretty soft stuff). Looking (and feeling!) how they put their feet down makes me REALLY not wanna go w/o some form of hoof protection.
Tollertwins - I think you are on the right track in putting whatever hoof protection you choose on all 4 feet, whether boots or shoes.
Measure all hooves after next trim, and get in touch with Easy boot - you will probably need to order a “fit kit” which has a couple sizes of shells, and then you can see which size (if any) will fit. You can also tighten a slightly loose boot by applying some athletic tape over the hoof and/or using the “power strap”.
Or, check out Renegades and their newest boot, the Viper. One, I think it’s the Viper, is a bit narrower. Also, the fit on Renegades/Vipers is a little more tolerant (better to have the boot a little wide than tight) and they offer “cut back” for hooves that are not as long toe-to-heel as the standard model. They can also adjust fit with various captivators. I have been looking into them for awhile, but have not ordered yet.
Guilherme - my horse arrived as a poorly muscled 10 year old with bad habits of carrying himself. The last few years he was ridden, it was by non-riders just sitting on him over multiday trail rides. Then he was not ridden regularly for about a year. He is not TWH - he’s part spotted saddle horse and part kentucky naturally gaited horse - and mostly takes after the KNGH. I’ve been working with a good, non-gimmick gaited horse “coach” and rider and we’ve been building up his overall muscling so that he carries himself better - he’s actually developed a topline by now! I do understand what you mean about poor rider position - I am the opposite of a chair-seat rider, having more of a dressage seat. I have taught two arabs to “amble” (some sort of very smooth broken gait), and took a 10yo “paso X qh” who was trained only to trot and developed a lovely Peruvian Paso gait with termino! (Owner did not know if the “paso” part of the cross was Paso Fino or Peruvian Paso. When she got that termino going, we realized the mare was PP.)
However - all of that experience was with trotty horses. This is my first ever “pacy” horse and he has finally gone to a more square gait as we have done correct work. The saddle that fit him well when I first got him became very tight - and I had to get him a wider saddle to accommodate his improved back. Once we did that, he’s continued to improve - oh, and I went to totally barefoot as much as practical (like in the arena and on sand or soft trails.) I do want to get back boots so I can keep him even when we do go on rocky trails.
I boot my Tennessee Walkers on fronts only quite frequently. The only time I boot all four is when we go on logging roads with real sharp rock. They gait fine any and all ways. I use Cavello Simple boots, just got the new Trek model for his fronts, still have the Sports for his hind as they last much longer since I rarely use them. Before using the Cavello boots I’d used Old Macs, Easy boot Epics and Bares. I tried to use the Gloves but according to the fit kit Mr Crooked Legs with Wonky feet in not a candidate. Tired of busted cables and having to use a mallet to get the Bares on, I switched to the Simple Boots. They ARE simple to get on and simple to get off. They are a little clunkier than some, but for pleasure/trial, I find them to be great.
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