[member=75709]Buttermilk[/member]
This is what my friend said when I asked her about barefoot and boots.
By my choice, Monty went barefoot about 3.5 years ago, having been shod all his life, he had hind shoes off first, and was fine to ride without them. When the front shoes came off a month later I felt he needed front boots as he was very 'footy' over the graveled drive and rocky bridle paths we had to use to get onto the road. He might have managed on tarmac.
He has only ever had front hoof boots.
My previous pony had Easyboot Epics, which are not easy to get on or off, so I decided to try others.
I tried Cavallos and then Easyboot Trails, both are easy to get on and off, I thought that both rubbed his white heels, which were very pink and warm when the boots came off. I could hear his feet clip clopping inside the boots when we were on grass so they were not a snug fit.
I bought him Equine Fusion Ultimate Jogging Shoes, bit of a fiddle to get on, better if you soak them in water first, really good snug fit, no rubbing, he moved more naturally in them. I've recently bought a pair of the all terrain jogging shoes to give a bit more grip if we are working on long, wet grass, I think these are not quite as soft or flexible but they seem fine.
A friend has some Scoot boots for her riding pony, they look very easy to get on, I have known them come off in mud and at canter.
Another friend has used Old Macs very successfully after her horse had laminitis, even over shoes.
I ride and drive Monty barefoot these days, he can do as much as I want on the roads without boots, out for a couple of hours several times a week. If we are going somewhere where the going might be stony I put them on.
He did four days driving on the RDA driving holiday this year, up to four outings a day, the farm tracks were fine but the access was over about 300 metres of tracks with rubble in them so he had his front boots on. His hind feet had a few chips in the edges of his hooves, otherwise fine, I was very pleased.
He has just worn out his original pair of jogging shoes.
He has a barefoot trimmer every 6 weeks, his front feet are fine, his hind feet do need balancing due to not very good conformation. I have a rasp and rasp round any rough bits on the edges of his hooves, very few these days.
You will find that the feet break up a bit as the nail holes work down, hopefully once they are out of the way the feet will harden up, the frogs get bigger and become effective, the soles should become concave rather than flat.
It's very hilly where we are, if he had shoes on he would have to have road nails or studs to get up and down the hills safely without slipping, barefoot or boots - no problem.
I do have a pair of Easyboot Epics from my 13.1hh Fell pony and a pair of Cavallos from Monty 11cm toe to heel, both hardly worn, to sell on
Topic: Hoof boots (Read 8240 times)
