hoof boots for the over reaching short-backed Arab

[Hampton_Bay]

My Arab is very short backed and over reaches pretty badly. He also has very tender feet and cannot be ridden on anything harder than grass past a walk, so barefoot isn’t an option for us. I’ve been shoeing him myself as I live in the land of self-taught “farriers” of poorly gaited horses. Think long toes, underrun heels, too small shoe held on with 8 nails at the very toe and the heel isn’t covered, then left on till they maybe fall off at 3 or 4 months.

Metal shoes don’t give him enough clearance for our horse-eating gravel so hes in polysteel with impression material. I generally use 5 nails, set the shoe back at the toe for good break over in front, making sure not to leave more than a bare minimum behind for him to step on. I use 5 nails per shoe, and I make sure to use the rearmost nail hole. Hinds are not set back. He still pulls shoes on the regular. I’ve been experimenting for a couple years now, with assistance from good farriers when its available, and no dice. He even pulls the hinds occasionally. With a 9month old human baby, I no longer have the time to play find the shoe and then put it back on to be able to ride.

However I’m worried about using boots on him due to the over reaching. He’s never stepped on himself barefoot, but he’s pulled so many shoes and even yanked off the pull-on bells without ripping them. Mostly he does this in the pasture but he’s lost shoes miles from home and I’ve had to call someone to get us with the trailer.

Do any of the boots work for horses this talented at footwear removal? I’ve seen the renegades, and while they look promising, the idea of spending $400 and then having him destroy them in a couple rides is not my idea of fun.

[ehwaz]

My mare has a slight tendency to overreach. She has never been shod, so I don’t know if should would rip off standard shoes, but I suspect she would. She is most likely to rip front gaiters from overreaching in non technical terrain- in technical spots, she watches where she puts her feet more.

The easyboot gloves(lightest), epics(heaviest) and backcountries have all worked well for me, depending on terrain. The most import thing for us has been using the same style of boots on front and back if possible, or at least the closest in weight. For example:
Epics in front+bare in back = ripped gaiter
gloves in front + bare in back = works pretty well
gloves in front+ backcounty in back= good
gloves all around= best
epics all around= 2nd best, particularly in technical terrain

I have tried renegades and they did not work well for me- I do know of others who have had good luck with them. The first time I put them on maresy to she what she thought, she trotted around the pen, stopped and tried to bite them off. I noticed that her stride was much shorter and choppier in them. She also knocked her back feet against the captivator on the front boot in them alot- didn’t pull them off, but I didn’t use them for very long.

I would recommend you try either the backcounty or gloves. Backcountries don’t need as perfect a fit as the gloves and can be easier to put pads in if needed. Gloves are very picky about fit- if you can get new ones on without a mallet, they are too big. Powerstraps are great to improve retention.

Good luck- booting definatly has a learning curve,but it can really pay off in the long run. If you can, I would try and find someone near you who has experience booting to help you fit and possibly let you try different styles without having to buy them.

[tabula_rashah]

I would look at the Easy Boot Gloves for the fronts at least. They are fairly smooth across the back with less to “grab” than a lot of the other boots. Right now I have on mare in Gloves up front and Renegades behind and another mare who is the opposite. It took a good bit of experimenting to get everything just so

[Hampton_Bay]

No one around me even k owns that hoof boots exist. I have a bit of experience, but not much. My retired mare had a set of bares, but they don’t even come close to fitting Mr Arab’s huge hooves anymore. He didnt mind being led around in them as a 4yo for a costume class, but i never rode him in them.

Does easy care still offer a trade-in discount? I can probably find 2, maybe 3 of her bares. The 4th is long gone.

[chicamuxen1]

Like ehwaz said, boots on the fronts AND on the backs. An unshod, unbooted foot will lift off the ground and forward faster and will hit those hind heels.

FYI, I used to have an Arab that kept pulling off her front shoes. the farrier I used back then did all the right things on the front feet to speed up breakover and get them off the ground but those hind toes (shod) kept grabbing the front heels. I finally took her to a vet/farrier in Virginia to see if he could help. HE DID!

He said the front shoe job was good then he pulled the back shoes and made her shoes with straightened or extended heels. He just used a slightly bigger shoe and straightened out the heels so they extended further back, not a lot but just enough. as long as she was shod that way she never pulled a front shoe.

Later I got a new horse and found with his short back and over stride that that he needed the same shoeing. Worked for him also. It slows down the hind foot upon landing and the front heels get out of the way before they are grabbed. Natural Balance shoes on the fronts made it easy to move the breakover back and speed up the front feet.

chicamuxen

[ehwaz]

I think the trade in program might only be for other brands, not their own boots.
I would check the dealer list(http://www.easycareinc.com/master-dealers.aspx) for people near you. If you can’t find anyone local, the easycare sight has a ton of blogs about fitting their products and hoofcare.

[Hampton_Bay]

I’ve tried leaving the back shoes a bit longer, I think probably due to your recommendations from a previous thread I posted. He just then pulled those too. He’s talented.

He defined Italy needs protection on all 4. We have some nasty gravel that he just can’t be ridden on at speed. Its not constant, but those stray rocks get him. I tried toughening up his hooves with lots to of slow riding on rockier roads and it just leaves him lame. Not fair to him.

The only dealer in the whole state is 2 hrs from me. I think I would do better with a fit kit and some email assistance from easy care.

[Hampton_Bay]

Oh, the polysteels he has are very similar in shape to the nb shoes once stretched out for his wide hooves and set back appropriately. He has oddly shaped hooves, the fronts are slightly spade shaped. His hoof care for the first 18 months of his life left A LOT to be desired. His hinds still just don’t grow heel, but the fronts are better.

[chicamux]

That’s another thing, a foot will stay on the ground longer with a higher heel, higher angle. Like 56 degrees versus 53 degrees. Typically,horses have higher angles on hind pasterns/hooves than on the fronts, and this works well. If his hind heels are low it would contribute to his hind feet leaving the ground sooner, tension on the tendons, and those hind feet come foward sooner and catch the front heels.

I just don’t have the patience to do the boot and barefoot thing. Also, my back and knees are to damaged to to my own trimming and I can see that doing frequent touch up trims is the way to go to have the best success with boots. I’ll stick with my very good farrier and shoes, but I do spend moremon shoeing than on feed!!!

chicamuxen

[Hampton_Bay]

All 4 hooves are quite low on him. Hinds are close to 50, fronts around 52. He’s just always been that way unless I let his heels grow LONG. In the front, that ends up with crushed heels for him. Behind, they just don’t grow. I could try wedge pads, but I really don’t like that idea.

His hinds are wider than they are long, so gloves won’t work for him. He also stepped on the bulbs of both fronts today while riding barefoot, so I’m not sure that gloves would really hold up on the fronts. When he was shod, I always rode in bells for obvious reasons, so I’m not sure if stepping on his heel bulbs is a normal thing or not. He hasn’t been trimmed in a bit, which I did after riding, and he’s still completely sound, but I don’t like him bleeding regardless.

I wish I could keep him shod, But without trying wedge pads I don’t know what else to try. And I don’t feel that I know enough to do wedges without help. And I have no one short of hauling 3 hours to Houston who is worth a damn to help with wedge pads.