How to pick a boot? (sorry more boot questions!)

[paintedtrails]

Ok, so my horse is barefoot and we ride mainly on grass, dirt and sand. There aren't too many rocky areas, other than the driveway and short area on the way to the trail.
I'm getting my trailer (yay!) and plan to take him out to get some miles on him, but I don't want to make him too sore, or worse, from the rough/different terrain.

How do you pick the right type of boot? I'm not doing endurance racing, but have hopes for CTR later on (so I can buy different/more expensive boots later). I was thinking of using boots to protect him for most of the ride and do small spurts/end of ride on the terrain barefoot to toughen up his feet (is that a good idea?:confused:).

Suggestions appreciated!

[saratoga]

Unfortunately, as far as I know, the only boots allowed in CTR is regular easy boots without gaiters, because they only cover the actual hoof. Those are very unlikely to stay on bare feet so you'd have to foam them on, which is a pain.

Anyhow, my first choice would be the Renegade boots, mainly because they are very easy to put on and take off. Also, less likely to rub. I've found those and the Easy Boot Epics both stay on well. Using them for part of rides is fine but with Epics, it would be a pain to take them on/off on the trail.

[matryoshka]

For a starter boot, Cavallos are a decent boot and less expensive than some other types. They go up around the coronet and need some break-in time, but they are easy to put on and have a decent tread for grass. If his feet are as wide as they are long, original Old Macs will fit the best. You've got a lot more choices if your horse's feet are longer than they are wide. I haven't tried the Renegades yet, but I believe they can be shortened a bit if necessary to fit your horse's feet.

Conditioning for barefoot: I've got a barefoot horse that I am currently legging up for a 30 mile CTR in September. He has been barefoot for 3 years, and I'm conditioning his feet so we won't need boots on the ride. Nothing can go above the coronet in CTR, so if I rely on boots, I'll either have to foam them on or risk them coming off on the trail. These would be the plain old Easyboots. I'm trying to get his feet conditioned so we won't need boots at all.

In my case, it is the horse's frogs that need conditioning. He was in a wet environment and had contracted feet despite my best efforts (as his trimmer) to get his heels opened up. My place is drier, and his heels are starting to decontract now, but the frogs not thick or tough at all. He has beautiful, thick hoof walls and great concavity. But those frogs!! So I find myself riding with an eye to footing and how best to bring his feet along. Sounds odd, I know, but the mileage should be easy for this horse.

We are training over a combination of footing--we walk over rocks (large, small, rounded, and pointy) but don't avoid them, and we pick up the pace on the easier footing. I'm hoping that if we train that way, his feet will toughen up so that walking over rocks will not be necessary by competition day. I also want to avoid an abscess. If my horse is still not wanting to trot or canter on rocks, I'll be booting him for competition--otherwise he's likely to try to run over the rocks in the excitement of the day and possibly hurt his feet.

Your Plan: So this post is a long way of saying that IMO your plan is a good one, and not to forget to try the trails barefoot so you know how he handles it. If he's got good feet (not flat, not shelly, good walls, etc) he's got a good chance of doing the same trails totally bare down the road. But you've got to think about it just like you think about conditioning his heart, muscles, and bone to do the distance.

[paintedtrails]

Wow, thanks for the info matryoshka!
I have to measure his feet and see what we've got in sizing to choose from.

And as I re-read my first post, I may not have been clear. I only want to use boots for part of the ride during our training/conditioning; I do not have a CTR ride in the plans yet, just someday:) (my job situation makes it more difficult to plan these things)

[paintedtrails]

One more thing...when is the correct time to measure their hoof in relation to trims?

[matryoshka]

Measure right after a trim. If you wait until they are due again, the boot will be too large. They need to be snug so they don't turn on the hoof.

I had an OTTB who had been barefoot for 4 years and still was not comfortable on rocks without boots. That's why I mentioned the conditioning. No amount of conditioning was going to make his flat feet handle rocks. He gimped badly when walking on rocks with a rider, even with nice thick soles. Other horses go fine on rocks, and need little if any conditioning. My new horse is somewhere in between, which is why I mentioned conditioning. He walks on rocks just fine, no gimp, but he doesn't want to trot on them. I'm using his comfort level to tell me how/where to ride.

I'm sure you'll be careful of your horse's comfort level. With luck, your horse will be great on all surfaces. A heel first landing is important for his hoof health, and if he short strides or lands toe first on rocks or hard surfaces, you'll need the boots. If he short strides or lands toe first in the boots on rocky surfaces, you might want to put pads in them.

[JLR1]

Renegades are worth every penny because they are easy to put on and are durable! I have never had rubbing problems with these boots either. You can get them directly from the manufacturer now.

http://www.renegadehoofboots.com/index.html

[marta]

i'm sure you know that glueing the boots, whether bares or marquis shells or the new easy care glue ons, is an alternative. it may be a better alternative than foaming.

[matryoshka]

I had not thought of gluing on boots. Partly because of moisture being trapped. I'm not sure how to handle that if the boot is glued on.

I'm going to a glue-on shoeing clinic (hosted by Brian Purrington) in October. I hope to learn more about the whole process then.

I also purchased Sole Guard to try on the Arabian I'm leasing for distance riding. Unfortunately, he got kicked in the pasture and had his splint bone on the RF leg fractured into several pieces, which caused a puncture. He had 4 fragments surgically removed on Thursday, and I have no idea what his prognosis for soundness will be, nor how long it will take to heal from all of this. :no: Right now, infection in the bone is the biggest concern. He's handling everything well so far, and was almost immediately more comfortable following the surgery. One of the fragments was large and shaped like a shark's tooth. That had to be excruciating.

So the Sole Guard remains unopened and untried. I had planned to apply it on Monday, and the accident happened the previous Friday. I'm willing to try the Sole Guard on another horse, but all of my other guys are fine totally barefoot. I hate to try something new to me on a client's horse!

[marta]

they always find a way to change up our plans;)
i know most of the folks who do the glueing on are on west coast but i'm pretty sure don houston competed them in all types of terrain, wet, dry, etc and he's had no issues w/ moisture.
kim (irishcas) tried them on her gelding and she liked the results.
good luck in recovery!

[matryoshka]

Thanks for the good wishes!

I'm hoping to learn a lot of useful info at the glue-on shoe clinic. I'd love to find a way to make boots more breatheable so they could be glued on without worry of providing a moist environment for yucky stuff to grow. Since I'm not sure about it, I don't want to take a chance. As more information becomes available, I might change my mind. I always reserve that right. ;)

[marta]

are you familiar w/ the barefoot endurance group on yahoo? don houston posts there and i believe other folks on there have tried gluing boots on.
i really don't think the moisture is as much of a concern as you believe. don even posted photos of what the foot looks like after boots come off.

who is this person who is giving the glueing on clinic? whose product is he going to use for the demonstration? don uses vettec products.

[paintedtrails]

Wow- I hope the horse gets better soon!

He got trimmed 2 weeks ago, but not a great job so we are hoping a different farrier can touch them up next Friday. Then I can get a chance to measure and see which boots will be the right fit.

How long does glue last?

[matryoshka]

Here's a link to info about the clinic: http://www.horseshoes.com/forums/showthread.php?p=124490&posted=1#post124490