Hoof boots spinoff -- temporary boots for the normally shod horse

[FrittSkritt]

My dear, lovely (eventer) TB gelding has been blessed with relatively good feet. He’s shod on all fours year round (when he was younger I could get away with no shoes behind during the winter, but alas no more :winkgrin:).

He’s pretty good about keeping his shoes on – when he does lose one it’s usually from overreaching at an event or in the paddock and snagging one of his heels.

Unfortunately I’m not always able to get my farrier out right away (especially if the shoe itself got sucked into the Bermuda Triangle of Shoes in the paddock), so I’m stuck with letting him have several days off work while I wait… and wait.

Here’s my question: what hoof boot would you recommend that I use for light flat work in a sand ring? I’m worried that using one of those heavy-duty hoof boots will cause too much of an imbalance and make him sore. I just need something to give him enough cushion that he can be ridden in on good footing.

FWIW, he’s OK in a regular Easyboot for turnout, but I’m not a huge fan of them for riding purposes… they don’t seem very comfortable.

[Melissa.Van_Doren]

The problem with using only one hoof boot for riding is the balance difference from the boot to the remaining shoe. IME, if the horse can tolerate it, it’s best just to ride lightly on soft footing with a missing shoe.

[GotMyPony]

If I were you I’d go to the Easy Boot site (www.easycareinc.com) and look at their easy boot trail - it’s the easiest to put on/take off, no cables to deal with, and you can buy individually. And I’d call their toll-free number and ask them what the weight differences are on their various models of boots. They’ve always been very helpful and have probably heard every question in the world about hoof boots. They may not end up suiting you but at least you’ll have gotten some info about the boot weights.

[gothedistance]

Here’s my question: what hoof boot would you recommend that I use for light flat work in a sand ring? I’m worried that using one of those heavy-duty hoof boots will cause too much of an imbalance and make him sore. I just need something to give him enough cushion that he can be ridden in on good footing.

Probably an Easyboot Glove would work best for you since you are only in an arena and doing light flat work. The Glove slips on relatively easily and offers sole protection within a very light framework. It also has an ankle gaiter to help hold it on and prevent shifting.

The weight of a Glove is pretty much negligible - I believe I hand weighed one against an aluminum shoe once (when I was comparing weights of various boots) and it was only a bare fraction heavier. Since you didn’t specify what your horse wears (aluminum, steel, light steel, etc) you’d be perfectly fine using the Glove. If your horse is shod in heavy steel, however, I would suggest a slightly heavier boot to balance/match the weight of the shoe on the other foot.

[Candle]

I think your issue is going to be that the front feet are going to be unlevel. The glove is very low-profile, but you will need two sizes depending on where your horse is in the trim cycle, and if he has any sort of foot shape that’s long/low, they won’t fit. The Old Macs are very easy to use and you can rasp in better breakover, but they’re considerably thicker than a horseshoe. The Trails don’t fit as tightly as ones with gaiters, but they work well for mine for turnout. The soles are still pretty thick, though. I use a combination of Gloves, Trails, and Old Macs depending on what I’m doing, but I also trim myself and can size appropriately because I trim every 1-2 weeks to keep my boots fitting well.

[FrittSkritt]

Thanks all! He wears steel shoes. I’ve been told not to ride him with one missing shoe on front because of the weight imbalance. Fortunately he has nice round feet and tends to pull off the same side (left front).

That being said, since he wears steel, I’m guessing the Gloves will be too light unless I add some sort of pad or sock or something to add a little weight to it…?

[SonnysMom]

I had tried to use Easyboot Gloves instead of shoes on Finnegan. I eventually had to give up and go to shoes. That left me with 2 Gloves that I don’t use. I do keep them around just in case.
Finnegan pulled a front shoe and I was able to use the Glove for a couple of rides. He did fine. I use steel shoes.
I did have to rasp his hoof a bit as he peeled up the edges a little when he pulled the shoe. It was just enough rasping to smooth the edges so I could get the boot on but not enough my farrier would kill me.
The Gloves fit pretty tight so you don’t have as much leeway at the end of a cycle or if the shoe didn’t pull off cleanly.

[Simbalism]

I have two TB’s and I use the Easy Boot Epic for their spare tires until farrier can come out. I have not had any problems with tripping or notice a difference in their balance using these whether in the ring or trail riding.

[tbchick84]

Renegades work best for acting as a horseshoe. I’ve used mine a few times when my TB has pulled a shoe and he doesn’t notice the difference. The Renegades don’t have that clunky fit that most other hoof boots do.

[Simbalism]

I.

[Posting_Trot]

You might go with the Easy Boot Back Country: it’s a Glove on the bottom and the top is taken from the Trail model. Because of the top, it’s a little more forgiving in terms of sizing than the basic Glove, so you might not need two different sizes.

There will inevitably be some difference for the horse between the shod hoof and the booted hoof–either in terms of weight or balance. If it’s just to ride on trails or do light work in the arena, it would be fine, but I’d be hesitant to do much more than trot in a straight line with one shoe and one boot.

[Bogie]

I have used hoof boots many times while waiting for a farrier – in fact, I once had a horse step on his shoe in my trailer on the way to a hunt. I slapped a hoof boot on and hunted him. He was fine!

Most of the time when I’m waiting for my farrier, I will just take my horse for a hack but I don’t sweat it. It has never made my horse sore.

I’ve used easyboots in the past and more recently, Cavallo simple boots.

[Hermein]

I prefer Cavallo Simples (for round feet) or Cavallo Sports (for narrower feet). Easy on, hard to lose. you can add a little padding, cut to fit inside your boot so the boot has the same thickness of your shoe. They have a thin gel insole available, and I’m sure you could put two layers to bring the feet pretty much level.

I haven’t tried easy boots for a long time because I hated the cable stuff, but the new styles look easier to use.

[DJohn]

I highly recommend the Cavallo TREK boot. They’re sold individually so you could always have one as a spare. They’re light and very flexible so the horses don’t feel restricted.

The only problem I can see with using ANY hoof boot to replace a thrown shoe is that the hoof will be uneven, so the boot may spin.