# To boot or not to boot hooves



## Oreos Girl (May 24, 2011)

I had to put shoes back on my boy's front because he was stepping on the fronts with the backs. Unfortunately, he has thin soles and a pretty flat foot so he has to have something. If she does fine without any boots, don't put them on. Maybe carry them on your saddle for times that you hit a trail that you may need them?


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## missyclare (Sep 14, 2011)

Boots are supposed to be temporary, unless you know that extreme trail demands some protection or you are re-habbing a horse. Development is key to being able to leave the barn without boots and not look back and not worry about every stone on the trail. You can do this by putting down gravel in gateways, around the water trough, places where he loiters. Getting a horse to do his homework on rocks when you are not riding him, will give him rock crushing feets.....problem solved.


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## SorrelHorse (Apr 9, 2009)

My farrier is the one who really gave me my opinion on boots, that and a fair amount of experience with them myself. He always told me, "boots only work if your horse is made for them. If your horse doesn't fit into that mold, they will do more harm than good."

I have always kept my horses shod, but the few I have kept barefoot got ridden just like everyone else did. I used to put boots on any horse I took out, but after running into similar problems as you I stopped. I never had any problems.

When I started working for a man who ran cattle, I would take his young horses out to gather on as experience. We were up and down steep hills with rocks, wire, mud, trees, anything you could think of. We were there all day, from light until dark. I don't recall any of those colts ever taking a wrong step or being sore footed afterwards. They were barefoot. Sometimes they would be shod in the back (We were preparing them to show in the cowhorse so they needed the shoes to stop.) 

I wouldn't worry about it if she is displaying discomfort in the boots.


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## Eole (Apr 19, 2013)

Maybe look into the new Viper boot from Renegade, not as bulky as the original and lighter. Although I think if your mare stumbles with Gloves, she might do the same with any boot. If she trips with boots, she might benefit from some dressage training to help her shift weight on the hinds and lift her front better?

I boot the fronts on rocky trails. Gloves or Vipers. I ride barefoot on forest trails and dirt roads. I ride rocky spots barefoot sometimes to toughen the feet, but if there's any sign of discomfort, I boot. I don't believe in letting a horse have pain for the sake of making the feet stronger. 



> Boots are supposed to be temporary, unless you know that extreme trail demands some protection or you are re-habbing a horse.


 Not really. Boots can be a permanent option, or temporary. Some horses will never adapt to rocky footing, especially if not kept 24H/7 on a rocky environment. It doesn't have to be about extreme trails.


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## Painted Horse (Dec 29, 2006)

I went 5 years with no shoes on young horses just under saddle that had never had shoes. I could ride any where for a day. But I could not ride rocky trails 2-3-4 days in a row with out some kind of protection. So I would use boots. Originally it was the EasyBoot and toward the end I was using the Easyboot Gloves.

I live in Utah and ride Utah and Wyoming. Our trails can be very rocky. I destroyed boots on a regular interval. Often joking I was the sole reason that easyboot was making a profit. 

You can't chase cows, bushwack thru downed timber or pick your way thru rocks and not tear a boot, rip a gaiter or just plain damage the boot so that it needs repairs at the end of the ride.

If you do mellow trailrides, meaning pretty much straight following a trail or road. Yes boots hold up very well and do a great job. If you will be doing lots of lateral moves ie chasing cows. bushwacking where the horses are dragging their legs thru branches and other tangles orriding in rocks where the boots get squished between rocks. They just don't last. 

If your trails look like this, Boots are fine. 








If your trails look like this, No boots just won't last. Put some shoes on.









Or if you horse is having to pick his way thru deadfall. He will tear the boot off, either loosing it or tearing the boot itself


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## carshon (Apr 7, 2015)

We use boots every ride. My gelding has spent most of his life barefoot and did have a pretty crappy farrier until about 14 months ago. He hooves look really good now and there is some concavity but he is so tender footed on any type of rock he barely moves. He was even tender footed with shoes on! Some horses have naturally thin soles - we even put gravel in the run in front of his stall to help toughen his feet- it helped with concavity but did not really roughen them up for all day rides. If your mare rides well without boots take them along just in case


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