Testing, testing!

After much anticipation, the hoof boots have finally arrived!  It's taken a lot of saving up, equal generosity from my husband and much deliberation in choosing them.

Once I knew that we had the funds necessary to purchase the boots, (which nearly entailed taking out a second mortgage!), I emailed Liz Hapgood from Hoofbootique, (Hoofbootique), for her expert advice.  I can't recommend this service highly enough and Liz is very generous with her time and detailed suggestions and explanations.

The first thing that she noted was how much our measurements had changed from when I had first given them to her.  I can only attribute this to the ponies being on the Paradise and our three week trim cycle.  As it's quite interesting to see these changes, I have recorded them below.

Alfie - old 140mm wide x 135mm long; new 130mm wide x 130mm long.

Wish - old 130mm wide x 130mm long; new 130mm wide x 125mm long.

Dougal - old 150mm wide x 150mm long; new 150mm wide x 145mm long.

Skylark - old 95mm wide x 95mm long; new 100mm wide x 100mm long.

Based upon the new measurements, here are the boot choices that Liz recommended for each horse:

Alfie: Renegade - a 2W cut-back in length to 130mm. Other options would be Equine Fusion size 13, Back Country in 2W, Trail in size 5, Cavallo in size 3.

Wish: Renegade - same as Alfie, 2W 10mm cut-back. A Trail in size 5 or a Back Country in 2W.

Dougal: Renegade 4WW 6mm cut-back or size 9 Trail. Only other option size 6 Cavallo but possibly too big.

Skylark:  Renegade size 00 cut-back to around 105mm, Equine Fusion size 10, Back Country size 00.

Liz then gave me some advice and info on each boot to help me decide what might be the best choice for us.  I have put some of this below to help anyone else who is trying to make hoof boot choices at the moment!

Renegades are the most adjustable and tweakable, so with a difficult horse or one that might twist, these can be a good choice. All other boots are an unknown when it comes to twisting, but what we can do is go for the best fit possible to limit any issues. Renegades are pretty tough but the tread wears fairly quickly if doing lots and lots of roadwork.  If doing a mix of on and off road work they will last extremely well.  The cables will most likely need replacing at some point. Very quick and easy to put on and off, (once the initial adjustments are done), and definitely quickest to wash and dry.

Equine Fusion - good boots but fiddly and straps, and take a while to dry, so possibly not ideal for us.

Back Country - This boot is very similar to the Trail but with a Glove shell at the bottom, so it is a little more hard wearing. Over time the material part can go a little 'saggy' if doing lots of off-road riding, much like the Trail, but it can be replaced. There is a need to break these in gently so they don't rub. They can be blasted off with a hose and the drying time is not too bad - quicker than the Trail, longer than the Renegade.

Trail - Very easy to use, lasts fairly well but not as long as the Old Mac. The fabric will most likely go before the tread and then you need a whole new boot!

Apart from fitting well, our main criteria were that we wanted boots that were easy to put on and off and easy to clean.  We also wanted boots that could accommodate some hoof growth as we begin to stretch out our trim cycle. 

Based upon this criteria and Liz's advice, we decided to hire Renegades for Alfie/Wish and Skylark and to get Trails for Dougal and a pair for Alfie/Wish.  We got the Trails for Alfie and Wish, (who are the same size), because we felt that Wish would probably be fine in them but also wanted to try the Renegades on her.  The hire service at Hoofbootique is a brilliant idea.  You basically pay the full cost of the boots plus a £40.00 hire charge which gives you two weeks to hire the boots.  Should you decide to keep the boots, Hoofbootique will discount the cost of the hire to £25.00 and refund you £15.00.  If you send the boots back, you will be refunded the cost of the boots.  I would really recommend this to anybody trying out boots.  It doesn't matter how carefully you measure the feet, each boot is very different and a mm here or there can make all the difference.  Not only can hiring help you in obtaining the correct size but also in trying the boots out and seeing how your horse goes in them.  Practicalities like cleaning and ease of use can also be assessed without having made a full commitment.  

So, the boots arrived and we couldn't wait to get them out of the box.  When we opened the Renegades, we all gasped at their beauty!!

Conversely, when we opened up the Trails, we couldn't believe how cumbersome they looked next to the sleek Renegades!

We have actually already seen the Trails but in a much smaller size.  In both the size 5 and 9 they just looked really clumpy and primitive.  We had been using Old Mac G2s for Dougal and had decided to try something different as these were rather heavy and restrictive.  Their leather straps also drove us mad when clogged with mud and they consequently took ages to get on and off and to clean.  The Trail is based upon the Old Mac G2 chassis but has been stripped down to be lighter and more user friendly.  So, despite the less than appealing look of the Trails, we were still sold on the fact that the Trails were really easy to put on and off and that the Renegades looked a little complicated.  How wrong we were!!

We tried the Renegades on Wish first and couldn't get over how easy they were to put on!  You simply peel back the heel captivator at the back of the boot and slot the base of the boot on the hoof.  You then tension the cables by pulling the strap on the toe of the boot.  To finish off, the pastern strap is done up but not tightly as this is not the primary means of holding on the boot.  Due to it's clever design, the tension cables run from the heel captivator which sits on the heel bulbs through to the strap on the toe.  So once you've tensioned the toe strap, the boot stays put even with the pastern strap undone.  The pastern strap is just there as a fail safe incase the horse overreaches and thus keeps the boot even more securely in place.  This set up also means that unlike some other brands that have a low profile design, the boot can accommodate growth because it doesn't have to be too snug a fit.  It is the cables that provide the security and thus some wiggle room in the boot itself.  As an added bonus, the base of the boot can also be cut back to offer further flexibility when fitting and so these boots really can accommodate a wide range of sizes.

Wish has never worn hoof boots before and having seen how the others walked when introduced to Old Macs etc I expected a similar performance.  However, not only did she not do this, her movement actually improved when trotted up!  We couldn't believe how obvious this was.  Having seen this, I decided that pending further testing, I would not even open the box of the Trails for her.  The Renegades were so easy and allowed her to move so naturally, even enhancing her movement that the Trails suddenly seemed very outdated.

The same thing happened when we fitted the Renegades to Skylark, they were easy to fit and she moved beautifully.  The 2w Renegades were a little small for Alfie but foreseeing this as a possibility, Liz had included a 2ww Renegade fitting shell.  This proved a better fit and we'll be ordering him a pair in this size.

So to Dougal.  We'd been really unsure what to order him between the Trails and the Renegades.  On the one hand Issie fancied the ease of the Trails but worried about all that velcro amongst his mass of feather!  The Renegades seemed like a good option but again the feather loomed large.  In the end, we decided to give the Trails a go just because we were familiar with them and had used them fairly successfully in a smaller size.

Oh boy, what can I say?  Velcro and feather really are not a good combination!  It was really difficult to wrap the Trails around Dougal's rather large legs, battling to get his feathers out of the way.  The Trails in a size 9 just look massive and are really restrictive around the pastern.  We did get them on but Dougal seemed distinctly unimpressed.  When he tried to move he looked as though he was wallowing around with wellies on that were a few sizes too big!  Not exactly chuffed but determined to see the test through to the next level, we got the tack out..............

We decided that in order to fully test the boots we would have to go on roads, through deep mud, canter, gallop and jump!  If the boots stayed put and the ponies moved well throughout these tests then we would be able to declare them a success.

As we set off, Wish strode out in her usual enthusiastic fashion.  Dougal, on the other hand, was decidedly sedate and looked as though he was walking through sinking mud!  He even put on his best 'I'm terribly neglected' expression!  Things didn't get better for Dougal when we came off the tarmac.  He struggled through the mud, tripped over roots and generally seemed to have lost his ability to connect with the ground. Actually, the Trails are so large that we wondered if they were interfering with Dougal's proprioception.  They did stay on but I think Dougal would have been more than happy if they had slipped off!

Wish, meanwhile, was floating on air!  She felt amazing, moving better than ever and negotiating all the obstacles uneventfully.  The deep mud could have been an expensive arena surface and the roots and ditches went by apparently unnoticed!  The Renegades did not falter, staying firmly put whilst allowing Wish to move freely.  I kept looking down expecting them to have fallen by the wayside due to their low profile but was greeted by their reassuring presence on her feet.

We then tried a canter with Wish bouncing forward and quickly progressing into a flat out gallop!  The Renegades did not budge an inch which was impressive as the gallop had been in fairly deep sand.  Again, her movement remained completely unaffected by the boots and again she actually felt more springy and sure footed.  Issie tried the same on Dougal and although he managed a canter he was much slower than usual and Issie said that he felt like he was labouring with the boots on.  When they came to a stop, it was obvious to see that the left boot had twisted about an inch to the outside and Dougal consequently was dishing on that side.  

I then went on to jump Wish, again without any dramas and with the Renegades staying put.  We decided not to jump Dougal as he seemed so compromised with the Trails on that we didn't think it would be fair on him to ask him to jump or particularly safe.  Below is a little video showing some of these tests!

When we got back and took the boots off, both were pretty muddy.  The Trails took a while to clean off with mud being stuck to the velcro and time consuming hosing mud off the fabric part of the boot required.  the Renegades were much quicker to clean given that most of the boot is constructed from plastic.  A quick hose off soon had them looking as good as new whereas even after washing the Trails remained a little grimy.

The Verdict

I'm sure that by now anybody reading this will be able to guess our favourite boots!  Yes, the Renegades were our overwhelming favourite in terms of ease of putting on and off, ability to fit a wide range of feet, a design which not only doesn't interfere with a horses' movement but appears to enhance it, ability to stay put through demanding terrain and ease of cleaning.  The Renegades may take a little adjustment out of the box when first fitting but this is well worth it for the performance they offer once this is done.

We can see the thinking behind the Trails, design a lightweight boot that is easy to put on and off at a competitive price point.  However, in making these factors a priority, too much has been compromised.  The fact that these compromises appear to result in less comfort and freedom of movement for the horse mean that for us the Trails wouldn't be an option we would ever consider again.

Seeing these two boots perform side by side has actually lead me to come to what some might consider to be a rather controversial conclusion, (darn it, why can't I steer away from controversy, it seems always to find me!).   Boots that wrap around the pastern such as the Trails, Old Macs, Cavallos, Equine Fusion and Boa are more likely to interfere with the natural biomechanics of the horse or at least mean that optimum freedom of movement is unlikely to be achieved.  Boots such as the Renegades that permit freedom of movement whilst providing some shock absorption set a new standard in what barefoot horses deserve to be wearing.  We spend so much time caring for our barefoot horses and this is what led most of us to make the decision to take shoes off/not put shoes on in the first place.  Why then would we compromise in what we choose to put on their feet when riding/exercising them?  As a result of our testing, we would now not put our horses in anything but Renegades, feeling that even similarly designed boots from competitors do not offer the same levels of comfort to the horse.  So, it's hire boots back and Dragon Fire Reds for Skylark, Sport Orange for Dougal, Jade for Alfie and Burgundy Blitz for Wish.  I'll be writing further posts on what we get up to in our Renegades and making any observations that might be of use to those who might be considering using them.  In the mean time, Happy Easter everyone and I hope you are all enjoying this fabulous dry weather!