Boots for horses that are toed in??

[Sexy Sietske]

It is fast approaching that time where my little boy starts to learn how to be a man and carrier a rider :) (doesn't time fly!) And I have been thinking about what to do with his feet because I like to plan ahead :)

Being a baby he is currently barefoot and I have a super farrier working on his feet keeping them as level as possible (toes in but only noticeable 2/3week pre-trim) Now, dear boys feet grow rather rapidly and will have a fair amount of hoof trimmed off every 8 weeks. I really dont want to get him shod because I feel they would pinch him as his feet grow so fast so was considering hoof boots for when he is doing lots of road/rough surface work IF he needed them, would this be a feesible idea or not? I am hoping that his excessive hoof growth will support the work load so he doesn't have to be shod OR booted.

[MelanieD]

Fast growing feet mean you have a good chance of getting away without boots, but the bad news is working can make the feet grow even faster! Might need trimming a bit more often to keep them in good shape.

I have used boots on a toed in horse before, we used old macs, the original ones since that's what suited the shape of her feet best. She had to wear them for turnout with pads in for about 3 weeks in a field with some mud, if they can survive that then normal riding should be no problem :)

[Yann]

What sort of surfaces will you be riding on? If the horse toes in a bit and screws on landing you either need something that fits really well and won't swivel or something that doesn't have too much traction, so long as that's not too much of an issue riding elsewhere. I'd personally go for easyboot epics or bares if the horse's foot shape suits them, as they combine both features. But as Melanie says you have a very good chance of managing without, a young never shod horse with good feet is a perfect candidate for barefooting from what I've seen :)

[lachlanandmarcu]

My youngster was broken last spring and has never been shod, She needed boots in the summer as was a bit hoppy on gravel etc but has been fine all autumn.winter with nothing. Dont know if we will need boots in summer ongoing but great anyway! Much easier to manage never had shoes ponio than a transition I think.

Mines feet dont grow that fast (despite the farriers formula!)but that can be the problem with her hooves in summer, so you might be able to get away without boots all year, def worth a go barefoot!:D I havent regretted it at all.

[Sexy Sietske]

When I say he toes in I mean very slightly, that the inner of his hoof grows a tad faster than the rest and it is completely unnoticed until just before trim is due, therefore I was wondering whether the boots wouldn't fit his feet during his trimming cycle as he feet grow really fast and slightly uneven. Most of the hacking around here is dirt track or field so I am quite lucky really, was going to play it by ear and see how he goes but thought I would get some advise in advance.

[Yann]

I don't see that you'd have any problem booting him if you wanted to.

[MelanieD]

Most boots accomodate growth between trims pretty well, as long as you aren't right at the limit of that size and having to cram the feet in even when freshly trimmed.

[Peter Laidely]

G’day Seitske!!!

Avoiding boots, as well as metal shoes, if you can is also a Good Thing.

Boots have many of the disadvantages of metal shoes other than the fact that they are more flexible, and you can at least, easily and often, take them off!

However “toe in” is NOT something you need to accept as it is usually caused by leaving the inside of the hoof a little too high and is really easy to fix, especially in a young horse…

Do not look for a boot that will cope with the “toe in”, rather plan to get rid of that problem…

In fact it sounds like your farrier is actually doing a good job of the trim but that they should be trimmed a little more often…

Hopefully once you get the youngster actually working on the roads the wear will keep the feet a little better balanced..

Peter Laidely

[wonkeywoody]

Why not get your farrier to show you how to rasp off the excess onesided growth in between trims? Its not rocket science!!!!