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Hoof boot FAQ

 

What are hoof boots?

             Hoof boots are just what they sound like.  They provide temporary protection to hooves that need it but allow the horse to go barefoot when it’s not. 

             There are a number of boots on the market today but only a few really good ones. 

             The Easyboot Epic is the boot that I personally recommend, stock, and sell to my customers.  Epics are the boots for rehabilitation because the Easycare company produces a line of customizable foam pads that provide cushioning and support exactly where it’s needed.   They have also proven themselves as the boot of choice for performance and endurance riders. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Easyboot Epics are the boot of choice for

most top riders and nearly 1,000,000 official miles  have been logged by

endurance riders using Epics. 

 

Why are boots better than shoes? 

             Firstly, boots have the advantage of not having any of the disadvantages of shoes—reducing circulation, increasing concussion, reducing stimulation, etc.

             Secondly, they allow the horse to reap all the benefits of going barefoot (e.g. increased circulation, better shock absorption, proper callusing of external structures, proper toughening of internal structures, etc.) while providing protection and comfort during the times when it’s needed.

             Thirdly, hoof boots have custom traction options.  Unlike horse shoes which reduce traction on most surfaces even standard hoof boots provide great traction on every surface.  For those times when extra traction is needed standard hoof boots can be fitted with studs (just like shoes) or boots with “grip” treads can be used instead.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Easyboot Grips are identical to the Epics but

with the addition of an aggressive tread pattern designed for muddy, slippery conditions.  They’re like soccer cleats for

your horse. 

 

Are hoof boots meant to be worn all the time?

           Hoof boots are designed to be used during exercise.  They are not meant to be worn all the time.  The vast majority of horse who come out of shoes and go barefoot are pasture sound imedeately and thus do not need boots for turnout.  However, when rehabilitating horses with crippling hoof pain 24/7 boot use is sometimes the only humane way to bring about comfort, mobility, and healing.  In these cases full time boot use is usually needed on a short term basis—usually a matter of weeks.  Once a horse is pasture sound boots are only needed for exercise.

 

Are the boots easy to use?

             Yes.  Once you get the hang of using boots putting them on your horse adds less than 5 minutes to your tacking up routine.  Taking them off takes only a couple of minutes. 

 

How much do hoof boots cost?

             I sell Easyboot Epics to my clients and charge 1000 Dkr per pair.  Hoof boots last most people 1-2 years or more even with regular use  and thus provide considerable value for the money. 

 

What percentage of horses need boots?

           This question is usually a way for people to gauge the likelihood that their horse will need boots.  Horses who need shoes to be comfortable will probably need boots at first but many will quickly outgrow the need for them.  Many horses who are not in shoes but who show signs of discomfort or soreness will need boots for a time as well. 

 

If my horse needs boots now will he need them forever?

             Once a horse’s hooves are healthy—on the inside and out—he won’t  need boots for arena work or for hacking out in the fields.               Many horses can also tackle even the toughest, rockiest terrain barefoot but many cannot.  For these horses it is possible to condition the hooves for this type of riding but many people prefer to simply continue using boots for trail riding. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Any horse with healthy hooves can be

conditioned to tackle rocky trails but many

owners prefer to continue using hoof

boots for trail riding.  

 

Why the Epics?

             The EasyBoot Epics are the boot for rehabilitating hooves with pathology and soreness.  The Easycare company produces a pad system that allows me to customize the boot to best provide horses with comfort and protection when and where he needs it. 

             The Epics have also proven themselves as a top boot for performance and endurance riding even under the most extreme conditions.

 

Will boots come off in the mud?

             No.  Properly fitted hoof boots fit snugly and securely.  Not only do they stay on in the mud but mud usually doesn’t even get inside the boot.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These Epics didn’t rub, twist, or fall off

once during the 155 mile endurance

ride they’ve just been through. 

 

 

Can I gallop fast and make sharp turns in hoof boots?

             Absolutely.  Even if your horse overreaches the neoprene gator of the Epic keeps the hoof boots on and in place.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here is a barrel racing horse wearing

Epics and finishing a course in under

17 seconds just one month after shoes

were removed.

 

 

 

FAQ

Barefoot FAQ

 

Why are horse shoes so bad?

             The purpose of horse shoes is to make sore horses comfortable enough to continue being ridden.  In many cases and to some degree they can do this.  However, they have several unintended negative side effects and in fact they hinder healing of the underlying problems causing soreness/lameness. 

             Rather than improving the quality of the hoof over time horse shoes usually decrease hoof quality and most horses are more sore and lame after prolonged use of shoes than they were before shoes were applied.                       

 

My horse has weak hooves and has always needed shoes.  He can’t go barefoot.

             This isn’t exactly a question but I hear it a lot.  In many cases weak hooves are the result of long term shoeing or improper trimming.  In other cases the horse has a hoof problem unrelated to shoes or trimming that shoes seem to help.  In fact though shoes prevent honest healing from taking place. 

             Barefoot trimming techniques address the root causes of weakness and lameness and thus help to bring about healing. 

             Horses with healthy hooves don’t need protection for riding in the arena or in the field but some horse

will always need hoof boots for trail riding.

 

Will my horse be sore after shoes are removed?

             Maybe.  Many horses with healthy or mostly healthy hooves make a seamless transition to barefoot without a lame or sore step and without the need for any added protection.  Usually, however, horses are in shoes for a reason and many times trimming alone isn’t enough to bring about complete comfort.  In these cases hoof boots provide comfort for the horse.  Between trimming, boots, and pads it is usually possible to exceed the comfort level that the horse had before shoes were removed. 

 

Will my horse’s hooves wear excessively if he goes barefoot all the time?

             No.  Horses hooves grow as fast as they sense they need to in order to prevent excess wear.  Horses that work barefoot for a living on asphalt, like carriage horses, actually grow hoof horn faster than horses who work in the arena for a living. 

 

Are there any barefoot performance horses?

             There are a growing number of barefoot horses in all disciplines because more and more top riders see that the improved health and performance of bare hooves will give their horses a competitive advantage.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

See a gallery of barefoot performance

horses here.  

 

             Perhaps the most famous barefoot performance horses are the thoroughbred racing horses trained by Horses First Racing.  The first barefoot racing horse ever in the UK was Saucy Night.  Before going barefoot Saucy Night had never finished ahead of a horse in a race.  After going barefoot Saucy has been racking up the wins and both the Timeform and The Racing Post rated Saucy Night the most improved horse in the UK his first year back. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Saucy Night easily won his first race

back barefoot and has been

 consistently winning since.

 

Can all horse’s hooves be conditioned to go bare on rocky trails?

             Barefoot endurance and trail horses have proven that once healthy every hoof can be conditioned for even the toughest terrain.  The hoof is an amazingly adaptive structure.  It will toughen to the extent that it senses the environment around it demands.  For most of us though we want to be able to ride our horses on roads and rocky trails only occasionally.  “Passive conditioning” is a way for us to trick the hoof into toughening for tough terrain without us needing to ride on it everyday. The addition of gravel areas in just a few places in a horse’s paddock (like by the gate, his favorite shady spot, or around the water trough) or pea gravel in his stall are usually enough to stimulate the hoof to toughen into a ‘gravel cruncher’.

 

 

 

 

 

 

A small, well positioned area of round

gravel in this horse’s paddock (above) was all

it took to condition this horse’s already

healthy hooves to do this...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Will barefoot cure my chronically lame horse?

             Early barefoot trimmers really started turning heads when they began routinely curing “hopeless” cases of navicular disease and laminitis/founder.  Success lies in a better understanding of the true causes of these hoof problems and in techniques which remove them and allow the hoof to heal.  Barefoot trimming and hoof boots are the best tools we have for restoring comfort and soundness and producing honest permanent healing but there is such a thing as permanent damage.

 

Navicular disease

           Long term heel pain from a variety of sources (usually underdeveloped lateral cartilages and digital cushions but also from chronic thrush, vertically flared quarters, and underrun heels) causes the horse to land toe first rather than heel first.  This compensatory movement results in a cascade of events that lead from navicular syndrome to navicular disease.  Addressing the root cause of the heel pain restores comfort and results in physiologicly correct heel first landings.  (Read more here.)

             Boots are often the most important aspect of successfully dealing with navicular disease because they are often the only way we have of restoring comfort and thus correct the movement to horses with weak digital cushions and lateral cartilages.  (Read more here.) 

 

Laminitis and Founder

             Laminitis is almost always caused by a metabolic/dietary issue.  Removing the excess sugars from the horse’s diet is something only a horse owner can do but is something that I can help you to understand how to do successfully.  Solving the diet/metabolism puzzle is often as easy as removing grains from the diet and being smart about grazing management.  (Go to safergrass.org for the latest information on the subject.) Other times an underlying metabolic problem (e.g. insulin resistance)  can make finding the correct balance a bit more tricky. 

             Treating the founder that results from laminitis is something that natural trimming techniques are particularly successful at doing.  Hoof boots are usually required for protection and comfort during riding until a healthy hoof can be grown in to replace the foundered one—usually several months.  (Read more here.)

ERIKA MØRUP

 

HIGH  PERFORMANCE  NATURAL  HOOF  CARE