Hoof Boot Help - everything falls off

[fermecinqsens]

I’m trying to find a solution for my mare with very sensitive feet (feet which also crumble easily when they hit rocks). I don’t want to shoe her.
She is a Lusitano with a very short back and very flamboyant movement. She over tracks like crazy and her legs are flying everywhere so she pulls the boots off with her back feet.
I have tried many brands over the last four years and have had little luck and wasted a lot of money on broken boots !!!

Swiss gallopers - fell off
Easyboot Epics - clips opened and fell off
Cavalo boots - stayed on, but clunky and rubbed her heels
Easyboot gloves - work reasonably well but she rips them off at canter

I wonder if anyone has any ideas for a horse difficult to boot. What about Glue on shoes ?

I have had no help from brand customer service or hoof boot shops, who all tell me i must not be measuring correctly because the boots should not fall off. But I am absolutely measuring properly (I have other horses in hoof boots who NEVER lose a boot). The problem is that this horse is ripping the boots off with her back feet.

[Scribbler]

@fermecinqsens

I’m trying to find a solution for my mare with very sensitive feet (feet which also crumble easily when they hit rocks). I don’t want to shoe her.
She is a Lusitano with a very short back and very flamboyant movement. She over tracks like crazy and her legs are flying everywhere so she pulls the boots off with her back feet.
I have tried many brands over the last four years and have had little luck and wasted a lot of money on broken boots !!!

Swiss gallopers - fell off
Easyboot Epics - clips opened and fell off
Cavalo boots - stayed on, but clunky and rubbed her heels
Easyboot gloves - work reasonably well but she rips them off at canter

I wonder if anyone has any ideas for a horse difficult to boot. What about Glue on shoes ?

I have had no help from brand customer service or hoof boot shops, who all tell me i must not be measuring correctly because the boots should not fall off. But I am absolutely measuring properly (I have other horses in hoof boots who NEVER lose a boot). The problem is that this horse is ripping the boots off with her back feet.

Clipping is often about the horse being on the forehand so the front feet aren’t moving out of the way fast enough. That is apparently why horses lose shoes in muddy turnout. It’s not that the mud sucks the shoe off but rather that the front feet are mired down and get clipped.

That said, the lowest profile hoof boots I’ve seen are Scoots

[NaturallyHappy]

We’ve used Woof Wear Medical Boots successfully. Big Dee’s carries them. The description says not for turnout or riding, but we’ve done both.

[NaturallyHappy]

@Scribbler

Clipping is often about the horse being on the forehand so the front feet aren’t moving out of the way fast enough. That is apparently why horses lose shoes in muddy turnout. It’s not that the mud sucks the shoe off but rather that the front feet are mired down and get clipped.

Agreed.

[Zigzag]

I don’t know if they would work in your specific situation but I have had good luck with Equine Fusion hoof boots. I bought mine from equine-jogging-shoes.com and they were very helpful with sizing.

[fermecinqsens]

I have scoot boots for my other horse and they work great on him. But my mare has round feet which don’t work for scoot boots. I also think she’d just rip them off.

This horse is anything but down hill. The problem is more the opposite: her hind legs come so far under her (especially at canter) and she has a lot of hock/knee action so I think it’s something unique to her movement because her legs go more up/down than out.
My gelding also over tracks and is even more short-coupled than her, but he has more traditional sweeping movement so even though I can hear him clipping the back of his hoof boots, he never pulls them off.

[openspace]

I’m not sure if this will help, but if the Easyboot Soft Gloves were passable save for the canter they make a “power strap” that goes across the front and helps secure them that you could try if you haven’t already. My mare has them on her hind boots as otherwise she also rips them off at the canter, but she does not have significant action, just a lot of verve.

I use the Versa Grip Octo glue ons on the same mare and she has not yet lost one with three tabs on each side (only one year of data: 6 months in fronts only, 4 months in all four). There is a lot less to catch on the back of the hoof versus a boot with gaiter, but there is still a small “ledge” at the very back and bottom of the hoof. They could theoretically still be clipped by a hind hoof that comes right against the front heel with force, but it seems like it would be more difficult to do this. The glue ons have been a godsend for my mare with thin soles but they are rather pricey, so possibly the $10 power strap could be something to try first.

I can send a photo of my mare’s hoof shape if that’s helpful.

[GreyDes]

Maybe Renegade boots with the cutback option? It’s a special order where they will take 5-10mm off the back of the boot. It was very helpful when I had an Arab with round hooves.

You’d still have the heel captivator though, so it would depend on exactly where she’s striking.

Renegade® Viper Shield™ Hoof Boots - Black Knight

[RedHorses]

@fermecinqsens

Cavalo boots - stayed on, but clunky and rubbed her heels

Was the “clunky” an esthetic description, or something that affected your horse’s movement?

I ask because I’ve been running my senior in Cavallos for fifteenish years with two lost boots in that time. My senior has a scar on the back of his right front pastern/heel bulb that gets rubbed to blood easily and the neoprene pastern wraps keeps that from happening. Even with weeks of full time, muddy, wet turnout. I did bring him in, mostly dry off his heels and put dry wraps on almost every day under those conditions, but that was all.

[Christa_P]

Have you tried bell boots over the hoof boots?

[Snowdenfarm]

Easyboot Flip Flops

[fermecinqsens]

Thanks for all the ideas so far.

I do have power straps on the Easyboot gloves already. I wish I knew exactly where she was catching herself but it seems to be about bulb level because she isn’t just pulling the boot off - it ends up ripping in half so the gaiter stays on her foot and the boot is ripped off the gaiter.

I did try the pastern wrap with the Cavalo boot but the pastern wrap just moved around. I like the idea but I don’t understand how it’s meant to stay in place? From memory it just rode up.
I think the reason the Cavalo worked the best was because it’s so robust and covers the entire foot. So there was nothing that could rip or break if she catches it.
I had to change them though because I was competing in a bit of endurance at the time and couldn’t have her boots rubbing. They’re also heavier and I preferred the low profile and lightness of the Gloves.
I had the Simple boots. Maybe there’s another style that could work ?

I have tried bellboots over the hoof boots. I don’t remember what happened with that. I think she ripped the bellboot and the boot off? It also made everything more bulky which means there’s even more for her to catch and pull off.

I’ve been interested to try the Renegades but wasn’t sure if that big heel cage would be something that could break. And considering the price I would cry if she broke them.

[anonevent]

Steel glue ons are great if your farrier is experienced with hoof prep, and if your horse is tolerant of all of the preparation. They’ve been a life saver for my horse.

Have you tried Scoot Boots? After your horse’s next trim, you can take measurement photos and send them to Scoot. They’ll pick the size for you.

[DiamondJubilee]

@zigzag - these are what I purchased for turnout for one of my ponies who had laminitis. They are amazing! They stay on and are meant for turnout. I highly recommend this brand and type. I got the All Terrain and 2 thumbs up (or 2 hooves up!)

[RedHorses]

@fermecinqsens

I did try the pastern wrap with the Cavalo boot but the pastern wrap just moved around. I like the idea but I don’t understand how it’s meant to stay in place? From memory it just rode up.
I think the reason the Cavalo worked the best was because it’s so robust and covers the entire foot. So there was nothing that could rip or break if she catches it.
I had to change them though because I was competing in a bit of endurance at the time and couldn’t have her boots rubbing. They’re also heavier and I preferred the low profile and lightness of the Gloves.
I had the Simple boots. Maybe there’s another style that could work ?

I buy a size up in the pastern wraps (size 3 boot with size 4-6 pastern wraps) as I find the “correct” size too tight. I also use the Treks. I started with Simple boots and I find the Treks more durable. The footbed is the same as the simple boots.

[GreyDes]

The Renegade heel captivator is pretty tough. It’s more likely the attachment cable would break and those can be replaced, although it’s a major pain.

[Incantation]

I have had a similar issue with the cavallo gaitors, so I use old athletic socks under the boots instead. The work great to prevent rubs but do hold water and need to be replaced frequently.