I do think Scoots are for horses that already have a good barefoot shape and functionality, and just need a little extra protection on unaccustomed rough ground. They are not a boot for transitioning from run forward toes and heels.
I’m not sure any boot can support a hoof. The hoof is always harder than any boot. For a person, a hiking boot is much more rigid than a bare foot. Indeed, so is a sneaker. But there is no hoof boot that is more rigid than the hoof inside, and a boot that rigid would likely cause injury.
A hoof boot exists to give protection from gravel and rocks and also prevents wear and chipping. A traditional horse show obviously prevents wear and chipping to the wall, and lifts the sole what? A quarter inch? Giving more clearance to gravel. Both work efficiently for this purpose on horses with normal concavity to the sole.
In both boots and traditional shoes, a horse with a pathologically flat or very thin sole can still be uncomfortable on gravel. Or everywhere. The solution may be a boot with a thicker sole or a pad in the boot, or a pad under a traditional horse shoe. But any hoof boot might still exert pressure on a very flat sole, on both even and rough ground.
I haven’t used any of the more therapeutic (and clunkier) boots, but I do know Easyboot Clouds get recommended for recovering from laminitis.
But on the end I’m familiar with, the performance oriented boots, they do seem built for the horse that really only needs a little extra protection. From what I’ve observed on camping trips, if my mare lived up in the dry belt interior on a sandy rocky field, instead of on the wet coast with a hog fuel runout, she’d likely adapt to not need boots at all. That makes her a great match for Scoots and Renegades, and we have weeks between trims where she is fine on our local park trails barefoot.
So if your horse has a more compromised hoof, I’d look at boots with thicker soles and a more forgiving or adjustable fit.
