Tack Guru

Recently I needed some hoof boots like yesterday.

I pulled my gelding’s shoes and found that my existing hoof boots were too large to use.

I hightailed it to the SmartPak store to see what they had in the clearance section, which turned out to be Cavallo Simple boots. I had tried them once before with another horse but hadn’t been impressed. They seemed clunky and just didn’t fit right — in this case I used them on hind feed which were more oval than round, which might have been the problem.. However, the price was right ($99/pair) and they were returnable.

I’ve had them now for a week and a half and have been very pleasantly surprised. The boots are made of leather tops attached to a plastic footbed. They have no metal hardware but close using Velcro attachments. I am using the boots on my horse’s front hooves and since his feet are fairly round, they fit nicely.

They are truly simple to put on. Simply open up the Velcro and put the horse’s foot inside. You don’t need a mallet, a hoof pick or baby powder!

I was concerned that they would rub because they come up over the coronary band. So far, it hasn’t been a problem and I’ve given these boots a pretty good test run:

• First I used them for a hunter pace. We went at a hilltopping rate over an 8 mile course that was rooty, rock and muddy for sections. The boots stayed secure without any twisting, my horse felt comfortable and his gaits were unchanged. We jumped half a dozen small fences with no problem.
• Then I hunted him in them. The hunt was probably 8-9 miles with similar conditions to the pace but also going through some water. Once again, the boots were great! No movement, no rubbing and the Velcro closures are cleaning up nicely. These boots have drainage holes in the bottom which is a real benefit if you’re going through water.

The bottom line:

I was skeptical of these boots but they’ve been a life saver. I love the fact that they are so easy to put on because when I go for a quick hack, I don’t have to spend 10 minutes struggling to get the boots on. My horse seems very comfortable in them. They are making the barefoot transition much easier! If your horse has relatively round hooves, I highly recommend these.