Thank you OP for this thread. Has helped me lean toward glue ons. I haven’t tried any yet just therapeutic clouds and see the pros and cons. Have read a lot and was leaning toward Scoot Boots but I don’t know if we have the luxury to tweak them and possibly lose them. The issue of fitting between trims also weighs heavily as a con. I know my Ol man’s feet need something and until recently I was between shoes (I don’t think his hooves need anymore damage) and boots (where to begin /how much will it really cost) but now have glue ons to discuss with new farrier. Hope you find your right answer for happy riding.
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Sometimes traditional horse shoes are like tennis racquets. If you really NEED a tennis racquet then there’s really nothing else that will do.
The Golden Rule of Equine Husbandry is that You Give The Horse What It Needs, When It Needs It, And In Appropriate Quantity And Quality. (Emphasis provided).
Note that it’s the needs of the HORSE that govern, not the needs driven by external philosophies selected by the owner.
And how do we know what the horse needs? They tell us. We just have to be attentive enough to listen. No words are spoken, no written communications made, no majical mind connections made, or any of the like. They tell us by their performance in the tasks we set for them. If after a year of following various philosophies aimed at accomplishing some goal and you’ve not accomplished that goal and your horse is in pain during this time then go look in a mirror and tell the person you see that they have screwed up. Give them a “dope slap” and then go do something else.
Ego has no place in equine husbandry.
So if the OP’s horse needs shoes to stay serviceably sound and they don’t provide them then they are engaging in some form of neglect and maybe even abuse. That 10,000 other horse owners say that have been able to maintain serviceable soundness in their horses without shoes is completely irrelevant to the problem facing a person whose horse DOES need shoes to accomplish the same goal. You ride, and manage, the horse in front of you, not the horse in somebody else’s book, video, or social media post.
So, now the OP has to go look in that mirror and decide what they see.
G.
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I use both boots & shoes depending on horse needs. I’ve used Epics & Cavallo Sports in the past, really liked both, used at all gaits, including jumping. I had similar problems with Scoots, even slims with shims would twist despite technically meeting all the fit criteria, they just didn’t work for my horse.
I just got a pair of the new Easyboot Fury, similar design but much more adjustable (& a little cheaper ) . I got the sling style, I didn’t like the look of the big metal heart on the front for work over poles /jumps or even out in trail/brush. I haven’t had a chance to do a ton of work in them yet but my initial impressions are favorable:
-fits our hooves extremely well, better than anything I have ever tried.
-similar design to Scoot, so very easy to use, no cables, velcro etc.
-material including pastern strap, is significantly heavier duty than Scoots & fastens more securely, feels more like my Epics, which I am still using on another horse even though they are 10 yrs old
-nice clean profile
-in test ride, no twisting & horse stepped out with the most energy & confidence I’ve felt maybe ever
I expect we’ll need to break them in - he is a sensitive skinned TB & will need to get used to the heel straps. They are padded, but it’s still pressure.
I watched the easycare videos on initial adjustments (you can change both length & heel height), which you definitely need to do. They were thorough & very helpful. One of the things I like about easycare is that they aren’t afraid to include practical modifications - like taking hoof nippers or a band saw to the back of the boot if it’s a short foot to get rid of overstep issues.
Time will tell, but I’m impressed with them so far. This horse is one who would tell me immediately if his feet, especially heels, aren’t quite comfy, so I’m very encouraged that he hasn’t. We’ve only done walk trot so far, but included small circles & hills. We’ll see what happens at faster gaits, but I can’t budge them even twisting with both hands.
I have been using renegades on my 24 year old OTTB for about a year now. I had some trouble with twisting due to me not putting them on correctly. My barefoot trimmer (who fitted them for me when I wasn’t there) gave me a lesson. It turns out you need to pull on the cables on the inside to get the boot centered. They don’t cover this on their website. No problem since. As an aside, he wears a size 2 on the left and a size 2W on the right.
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Well, I just saw that this old thread has popped up again! The pony is very happy in her traditional shoes with pour in pads. The farrier & I had thought she could benefit from going a cycle or two without shoes but she can’t, so the barely-used scoots are in the closet.
Last fall she did some very demanding trails & her shoes stayed on, she stayed sound, and handled all the tricky bits like a pro so I’m happy. We’re conditioning now for more camping trips.
I’m glad that this turned into such an informative thread.
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Thanks, wildlifer, for info on Easyboot Fury boots. The Easyboot Epics fit my atypically flat footed, thin soled Arab nicely, and I call them my $2000 boots, since I have had them for 3 years and they save me about $75 a trim over the cost of front shoes. I also love that he can be barefoot in my sometimes soft and soggy paddocks and not tear them up as much as a shod horse, that in summer he can stomp flies without losing shoes, and when I’m ready to ride we are never stopped by a missing shoe. They have lost some of their aggressive tread over the years, but with 4 titanium quick studs in each, traction is never a problem, and the studs seem as resistant to wearing out as the boots.
However, if you do a lot of work at speed, overreaching can rip them off, which has happened to me once or twice. And the gaiter is a weak link. The newer Easyboot Gloves have a much sturdier gaiter, but my horse’s feet have flares, and the Gloves do not fit him ideally. I have spent the morning trying to put a new gaiter on an epic boot and going a little crazy getting the screws back into the holes and nuts. Replacing the cable is even more daunting. I used to send boots back to Easycare to get this done, but they no longer provide this service. If anyone knows anyone who does this, please let me know!
I tried scootboots, which gave my delicate boy a pastern rub and I sent them back; I thought I was breaking them in gradually, but probably should have gone even more slowly. But the Easyboot people say the new Fury Sling with neoprene is unlikely to rub, and I’m eager to try it.
How are you liking them now?
I would say the jury is still out. Work + minor injury has reduced ride time, but so far:
-remain easy to apply & pastern strap has stayed hooked with no breakage or issues there
-applied Loc-Tite to all screws as recommended & all hardware has stayed put
-traction feels pretty good (I ride in my field, so grass/slopes/uneven surfaces)
-have gone through water/mud, just walking so far, but everything stayed put
-have not had any rubs anywhere (I’m pleasantly surprised, as this is an OTTB, heh), longest ride so far ~6 mi, have worked W/T/short canters/small jumps
A couple issues:
I did have one side strap break where the heel strap attaches to the boot itself, within the first 30 days. That’s where that strap is thinnest. However, since I bought them from Riding Warehouse, I notified them of the issue & sent it back & they replaced it under their 1-yr guarantee at no additional cost to me. We’ll see how it holds up in time, but doing ok so far.
His higher heel had some bruising around the top, where the back strap goes around the top of the bulbs at the coronet band/hoof line. This was during the initial couple weeks of use, this is a white foot & his high foot, which made it visible, his other front foot is dark, but lower heel & I’m 99% certain it didn’t have this problem. I’m watching it closely, that bruising is now growing out in the hoof wall & I don’t see any signs of new bruising behind it, so I think I had that strap too tight. I have since made some very small adjustments in the height of that strap, which seems to have helped. This is also a very sensitive skinned/bodied OTTB & I’m fairly certain I wouldn’t have seen that with my tough old Appendix. Nonetheless, I would recommend breaking in slowly & in increments & keeping a close eye on things as they acclimate.
It looks to me like what keeps the boot from twisting is actually the length adjustment front to back. If I have that snugged up against the back of the foot, they stay in place fairly well.
Adjusting is definitely a bit fiddly & they send you this horrible little spanner for the lock nuts which is impossible to hold on to unless you have tiny leprechaun hands (I don’t), it’s like those ridiculous “tools” you get with assemble-your-own-furniture that I’m fairly certain are designed by evil demons to make you hate life, LOL. You also need a phillips head screwdriver, but it’s not difficult. So far, I have not readjusted for trims & they’ve done ok. I suspect it depends on how much growth your horse puts out.
I plan on keeping them in use. The adjustable parts seem to be doing their job well & horse is definitely more comfortable with them than without. We’ll see how they hold up to more challenging work.
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