Hoof boots WITH STUDS?

[Sticky's GF]

Anyone use? If so what make of boot and thoughts/opinions etc etc

Had horrible fall on the flat at the weekend and was all set to retire jez from eventing/XC, but having seen the photos his jump is just awesome. So I'm toying with the idea of maybe using boots with studs behind, particularly like the look of the easyboot glove. We were BF at the weekend so I was taking it easy, but we fell on the flat going in a straight line.

Due the problems we've had with shoeing I dont want to put shoes back on for the sake of a few events.

 

[Yann]

I've personally never liked the idea of studs in boots, and I do wonder if they might make them more likely to come off. There's also the potential issue of the mounting giving way and the stud punching into the sole, although I've never actually heard of it happening.

I have used easyboot grips behind on one of mine and they did give good traction, perhaps they might be an option? However it's worth bearing in mind that boots aren't legal under BE rules, I don't know if this would be an issue.
If so why not just shoe for the competition season?

 

[Sticky's GF]

I've personally never liked the idea of studs in boots, and I do wonder if they might make them more likely to come off. There's also the potential issue of the mounting giving way and the stud punching into the sole, although I've never actually heard of it happening.

I have used easyboot grips behind on one of mine and they did give good traction, perhaps they might be an option? However it's worth bearing in mind that boots aren't legal under BE rules, I don't know if this would be an issue.
If so why not just shoe for the competition season?

Ah, didn't realise they weren't BE legal. There goes that idea!

Am really not keen on shoeing, unless I really have to. He made such a mess of his fronts. Does anyone ever just have back shoes on?!!

 

[Yann]

There would be nothing stopping you just having hinds on. From what I've seen if you've got a good farrier and a horse with decent feet then having shoes back on for a couple of months won't set them back in any noticeable way though.

 

[Sticky's GF]

There would be nothing stopping you just having hinds on. From what I've seen if you've got a good farrier and a horse with decent feet then having shoes back on for a couple of months won't set them back in any noticeable way though.

Interesting....well his backs are in pretty good shape, its the fronts that would worry me more. I will consult his trimmer and see what she says and I can't be doing this falling off thing too often, am getting too old for that!!

 

[Yann]

Quite a few barefoot horses do event, but it seems they either adapt to the lesser traction or they don't.

 

[Sticky's GF]

Quite a few barefoot horses do event, but it seems they either adapt to the lesser traction or they don't.

TBH we've got other 'issues' going on, its not so much the loss of traction its the being unable to cope with the loss of traction, if that makes sense? We've had 5 falls now on the flat (losing the back end), never when wearing studs, but in reality we probably shouldn't have fallen. Have gone to great lengths to discover why he has a tendency to sit down but other than him being a bit weak we are at a loss. Will revert back to trimmer/physio but am loathe to retire from XC as the beasty can really jump!

 

[Iron Maiden]

I wouldn't recommend jumping with hoof boots, I've tried it & the boots turn into UFOs - all I can imagine studs doing is making them even more likely to come off in the first place because of the torque, and more dangerous when UFOs because of the pointy metal bits sticking out of them

My experience of xc barefoot is that you need to be careful about where you compete. I tend to avoid courses where I know the ground is clay because it tends to be very slippery when wet, so Mrs P has been over to Lincs a lot for xc because the ground tends to be sandy and less slippery. Also it's a good idea to do lots of work on balancing on the flat, so trying not to let the horse motorbike round the corners - if this happens it will go splat far more easily if it loses its back end than if it's got its bum under it and is bending round the corner, rather than leaning into it. This is one of the reasons why I've been taking P xc in a Cheltenham gag, she used to get away from me in a snaffle & although it wasn't a huge problem we often ended up doing wall of death round the corners & I could feel her back end starting to go.

Maybe you could try doing some show jumping on grass over the summer & see how he goes? If he can cope with the twists & turns of sj and you can get him balanced around his corners it should set you up well for going xc

 

[Sticky's GF]

I wouldn't recommend jumping with hoof boots, I've tried it & the boots turn into UFOs - all I can imagine studs doing is making them even more likely to come off in the first place because of the torque, and more dangerous when UFOs because of the pointy metal bits sticking out of them

My experience of xc barefoot is that you need to be careful about where you compete. I tend to avoid courses where I know the ground is clay because it tends to be very slippery when wet, so Mrs P has been over to Lincs a lot for xc because the ground tends to be sandy and less slippery. Also it's a good idea to do lots of work on balancing on the flat, so trying not to let the horse motorbike round the corners - if this happens it will go splat far more easily if it loses its back end than if it's got its bum under it and is bending round the corner, rather than leaning into it. This is one of the reasons why I've been taking P xc in a Cheltenham gag, she used to get away from me in a snaffle & although it wasn't a huge problem we often ended up doing wall of death round the corners & I could feel her back end starting to go.

Maybe you could try doing some show jumping on grass over the summer & see how he goes? If he can cope with the twists & turns of sj and you can get him balanced around his corners it should set you up well for going xc

Thanks Have had some time to think about the weekend and I'm beginning to think it was more a case of bad luck than bad back. I've checked with our physio who has said similar to you - we need to retrain to cope without shoes, so altho I'm not going to go XC, I'll spend the summer seeing if we can get to grips with his balance etc on grass. Altho we were going in a straight line, we were totally out of shape (following our unstylish jump!) so that wouldn't have helped.

Jez isn't the most balanced horse as it is due to his shape/size, but this is something we can work on. It aint over yet!!

 

[Daffy Dilly]

Have you had a thorough vet check done inc nerve blocks and xrays?

Daffy lost his front end with me twice, turns out he has DJD in front and OCD behind. He's not gone down again since being medicated, although he's not 100% at the minute having hurt himself messing around on the roads.

 

[Rips]

we need to retrain to cope without shoes,

Why can't he have shoes? I don't know the full story, so you'll have to understand it seems bizarre to me that your horse can't stay upright barefoot and yet you want to persist with it!
Have you tried remedial and alternative shoeing for him, plastic glue-on shoes?

 

[Sticky's GF]

Have you had a thorough vet check done inc nerve blocks and xrays?

Daffy lost his front end with me twice, turns out he has DJD in front and OCD behind. He's not gone down again since being medicated, although he's not 100% at the minute having hurt himself messing around on the roads.

He's had everything done inc a bonescan last year = clean as a whistle. He spent 10 days at newmarket, they went over him with a fine toothed comb and all they could find was some suspensory ligament changes in his hocks, one which fell under 'normal' the other was slightly above normal, but my vet assures me you would get this with any horse that has done any amount of work. His spinous processes were reported as 'close' but not kissing on having back xray, but the bonescan didnt show up any hot spots.

 

[xloopylozzax]

ditto Rips put simply

 

[Sticky's GF]

Why can't he have shoes? I don't know the full story, so you'll have to understand it seems bizarre to me that your horse can't stay upright barefoot and yet you want to persist with it!
Have you tried remedial and alternative shoeing for him, plastic glue-on shoes?

lol, ok will explain briefly - he was shod till the new year but had a tendency to pull his fronts (regardless of farrier) and this got more frequent. He was being shod shorter and shorter so no support to his heels. Then beginning of Jan he ripped off both his front shoes together with pretty much all of his 'spare' hoof and was in a bad way. I didn't/couldn't put shoes on as no hoof left so gave him time off without shoes and he has adjusted (soundness wise) really well to being BF. I am loathe to put shoes back on if he is going to do it again, considering we have come this far.

I should also add, the previous falls we've had (where he's lost his back end)happened when he was shod. I guess what i'm hoping (and my physio is thinking) is that prev falls were due to weakness, whereas this one may have been loss of traction and a heap of bad luck.

 

[Palomino Mare]

lol, ok will explain briefly - he was shod till the new year but had a tendency to pull his fronts (regardless of farrier) and this got more frequent. He was being shod shorter and shorter so no support to his heels. Then beginning of Jan he ripped off both his front shoes together with pretty much all of his 'spare' hoof and was in a bad way. I didn't/couldn't put shoes on as no hoof left so gave him time off without shoes and he has adjusted (soundness wise) really well to being BF. I am loathe to put shoes back on if he is going to do it again, considering we have come this far.

I should also add, the previous falls we've had (where he's lost his back end)happened when he was shod. I guess what i'm hoping (and my physio is thinking) is that prev falls were due to weakness, whereas this one may have been loss of traction and a heap of bad luck.

I'm in the same position as you! My jerry () is just about to come back into work after 6months off. I have boa's which i will try again but his movement is too floncy for them IMO and they ruin his paces. I like cappaldubh's new thread on the easyboot gloves - may give them a try. Another option i will discuss with my farrier next week is putting shoes back on for the summer and taking them off again in autumn - thats really only 2shoeings and hard summer ground is tough on hooves so it may well be the best option. Like you, i dont ever want him shod all year again - ive wasted 3years of him loosing shoes and half his hooves and going lame for weeks to go back down that road again.
If you told me this time last year i'd have my horse barefoot i'd laugh at you!

 

[Rips]

I dunno, I'd still be thinking about getting another farrier, let his feet recooperate while barefoot if necessary, have back shod with studs and front shod with remedial shoes to support his heels/ and or plastic glue-on shoes which won't come off/break his hooves.

Are you supplementing him with anyting to improve the quality of his hooves? Are they brittle?

 

[Sticky's GF]

I dunno, I'd still be thinking about getting another farrier, let his feet recooperate while barefoot if necessary, have back shod with studs and front shod with remedial shoes to support his heels/ and or plastic glue-on shoes which won't come off/break his hooves.

Are you supplementing him with anyting to improve the quality of his hooves? Are they brittle?

No supplements ATM, his backs are pretty good, fronts only looked hoof shaped at our most recent trim (I say trim, all she's been doing is rolling/shapping them). Prior that they have been rectangular shaped where we lost both sides. I dont think they are brittle.

I've had 6 farriers. They all struggled, he's really big moving and just manages to hook them off without ever overreaching. Dont get me wrong, I'm not totally against shoeing if we really needed it, i.e. he didn't cope soundness wise then they'd go back on. I just dont want to go down that route for the sake of a couple of day ticket outings if I can help it.

 

[Sticky's GF]

If you told me this time last year i'd have my horse barefoot i'd laugh at you!

Same here!! Totally agree tho, I have lost count of the number of outings i've cancelled/rides i've missed because of pulled shoes. He used to go so lame aswell, would only be sound in the school, so I was unsure if he'd cope. He's surprised me (and my physio/trimmer) how well he has adjusted (apart from cantering on a XC course)