Endurance Horse Basic Training: Hoof Boots

If you choose to use ride in any type of hoof boots then you need to prepare your horse for the eventuality that one or more may come off during an endurance ride.  Many horses will react adversely the first time that happens to them.  Even more-so if it happens during an actual competition; your horse is excited, and there are other horses going by!  It’s not fun to be stuck on the side of a narrow trail with a horse that is jumping about, bucking, or trying to out-run a boot that is still attached to his pastern.

For training purposes, I highly recommend exposing your horse having a boot come off of the front as well as a hind hoof in an arena or other controlled environment without a rider.  Most horses will react the strongest the first time or two this happens.  If you can get that behind you then when it happens while you are mounted it will usually be a non-event.  Notice I said “most horses”.  There will always be some horses that will never get over having a boot come off without having a fit over it.

Along with saying “my horse never kicks”, one should also consider never, ever saying “my hoof boots don’t come off”.  Any horse can kick, and any brand or model of hoof boot can come off.  It may not happen frequently, and for those that are fortunate enough to have a horse that happens to be easy on their boots as well as also having a great fit–may go years without having a boot come off.

Glue-on hoof boots typically come off and the horse often will give no sign that a boot is missing.  This is never good, even if the horse keeps going without alerting you to the fact that the boot is gone the chance is high that continuing on over rocky or hard packed footing at endurance speeds will result in a sore or bruised hoof later.  In my experience, horses will not slow down and will often keep going along quite happily barefoot especially if they are tough footed to begin with.  For short periods, this is no big deal but like I said – in the end the chance of bruising or soreness coming out later is high.

When a strap-on hoof boot comes off, it will typically have the base of the boot that covers the hoof come off leaving the boot hanging and still attached to the pastern.  In some instances, the horse may have stepped on the base of the boot and it has completely separated from the rest of the boot.   The horse is more likely to alert the rider that something is amiss when a strap-on boot comes off either partially or entirely.

I’ve been pretty lucky this last ride season as far as boots are concerned with both horses.  I did quite a few rides on Bo with strap on boots and they stayed on 100% of the time.  I rode him on multiple multiday rides with strap on boots in all kinds of conditions – wet, slick mud, steep hills, mud bogs, water crossings, etc.  It really was a great year for us boot-wise.  The previous year we weren’t as lucky and every so often when powering up a steep hill, or after crossing water Bo would slip out of a hind boot — which always stayed attached to his pastern.  This has probably happened to Bo less than a handful of times total, so the frequency is pretty intermittent and even when it did happen, it wasn’t a common occurrence.  The first couple of times it happened Bo got really annoyed and would start trying to kick the boot off.  As soon as I’d hop off to fix it, he’d stand quietly.  Fortunately, we have been able to work on improvements both with Bo’s hooves, but also with fine tuning his boot fit as well.

I am so not amused! Chief's "Yoda" impersonation!

Chief on the other hand, has been around the block where boots are concerned, so he is much less reactive.  It’s not an exaggeration to say that he has used various strap on boots for more miles of AERC competition than any other horse.  When Chief has a boot slip off, he will simply stop and stand.  If the boot is in a position where he would be standing on it he’ll hold the leg up so as to not cause any further damage.  If a boot slips off more than once on a ride, then I’ll get the Yoda look.  There is no mistaking Chief for being annoyed when he is doing his Yoda impersonation!

At the Death Valley Encounter last month, Chief’s left front boot kept twisting on the first day I rode him.  The boot wasn’t coming off, but it was twisting.  He stood quietly for me to hop off on a narrow section of trail and I was able to replace the boot before any other riders caught up to us.  The problem?  I had put a size O on him, and he needed a size 1.  The “O” was too small, even though it went on the hoof.  The size “1″ stayed put, did not twist–problem solved!

For an actual lesson on training your horse to deal with a lost boot you’ll need the following:

1)  A safe enclosed area to work

2)  Preferably a used, worn set of strap on hoof boots.  If you don’t have an entire set, 1 will work.

To get started:

1)  Put the boot(s) on your horse properly.

2)  Longe  your horse for a few minutes with the boot(s) on.  Preferably on a line so that you can control the speed and gait.

3)  Now, loosen the boot so that it will come off.  Leave any straps attached around the pastern so that the boot will stay attached to your horse.

4)  Continue longing your horse, asking for more speed.

5)  If the boot doesn’t come off on it’s own after a few minutes, stop your horse and remove the base portion of the boot, leaving it still attached to your horse’s pastern.

6)  Ask the horse to trot again.  If your horse stops, praise him and remove the boot.  If he hops about stay out of the way and let him get it out.

7)  Make sure you do this on both the front AND hinds.

Yes, you may need to sacrifice a boot!

I recommend using an old, worn boot if you have one.  If not then consider that this lesson is worth the cost of the parts that’ll be needed to fix the boot after you are finished.  I’ve seen some serious injuries occur on rides to both horses and riders due to boots coming off.  The cost of boots or parts is fairly small in comparison to injuries or damage that can occur if your horse panics and bucks you off at a ride.

Boots will come apart when a horse steps on them.  This is actually a good thing for safety; otherwise it could lead to some serious crash and burns.

What you SHOULD do.

Do the above lesson in a controlled environment, allowing your  horse to get used to having a hoof boot attached to both a front and a hind pastern.  Proceed slowly and carefully during the initial break in process with any kind of boot.  Some horses take much longer to get used to moving in boots.  Others take to them right away.  It has taken most of my horses anywhere from three to eight months to get used to moving proficiently in four boots at all gaits. Progress slowly and methodically, working from a walk to a controlled trot and stay at that level for at least a couple of weeks before working up to an extended or fast trot and/or canter.

All of my horses have damaged or ruined a hoof boot or two when they were started in them.  That is to be expected; while it may not happen the odds are high that you will have to repair or replace one or more boots in the process of getting your horse used to using hoof boots for hoof protection.  Keep in mind that horse’s new to barefoot may also be hard on their first set or two of hoof boots and they will wear much faster than subsequent sets of boots will.

What NOT to do.

Do not get a brand new set of hoof boots, put them on your horse and turn the horse out into an arena or field to run and gallop about like a yahoo.  If that happens, the predictable outcome is that the boots will be damaged.  When that happens, it’s not the fault of the boot.  It’s not the fault of the horse.  It’s the human’s fault.

Additional things to work on.

Having a boot come off of your horse and stay attached is just the start.  Next, you’ll need to work with your horse so that he knows that he is going to have to stand quietly while you hop off and replace the boot.  This can be quite the challenge if it happens during an actual endurance ride.  Practicing ahead of time with friends (or even alone) while out on a training ride is a great way to give your horse this type of experience.  Even if you remove a boot and put it back on it’ll help your horse learn the process and also help you become more proficient as well.

One of the things I like to do with my horses is walk out to them when they are turned out and pick up a hoof, pick it out and install a boot.  If you practice this often enough your horse will become more and more familiar with the process.  Plus, like I said – you will also get better and faster and putting boots on, and taking them off.  Practice on all four feet.

If a boot comes off at a ride.

The first thing to do if a boot comes off during a ride and you need to replace it is to remove your horse from the trail.  It may help your horse to stay calmer if you move a hundred yards off trail, far enough away so that any other riders going by won’t get your horse excited.  You may be able to find a tree to tie your horse, or perhaps have a friend or other rider hold your horse for you.  If it appears the boot may be damaged or needs some fiddling with to get it back on then replace it with a fresh boot out of your pack.  ALWAYS carry at least one, if not two spare hoof boots.  You don’t want to be fiddle-faddling around on the trail especially if you are holding others up – get the boot put back on as quickly as possible.  This is why it is important to practice this ahead of time.  Trust me, it becomes much more difficult when you are in competition and have the pressure of getting your horse soundly through the ride within the allotted time.

Boot failures – NOT!

With a little preparation and practice you can learn how to deal with any type of situation that might occur during an endurance ride involving your hoof boots.  I personally don’t consider a boot coming off to be a big deal.  It might become a big deal if I haven’t prepared well by carrying a spare in the correct size that is in good working condition.  Or, if my horse is out of control and makes it difficult and time consuming to try and replace a broken or damaged boot.  We who use boots need to realize that we have made the choice to put our horse’s hoof care protection needs into our own hands -  making us solely responsible.  It is up to us to be prepared and plan ahead to deal with situations that are sure to happen.  If not to us, then certainly to one of our friends.  I can’t emphasis enough how important it is to do some of the training lessons I have covered so far.  Doing so will go a long way to ensure your safety, your horse’s safety and the safety of other riders, horses and trail users.

Disclaimer: These lessons I am covering are meant to be for endurance horses or for horses that travel that already have some training and conditioning base on them. They reflect my experience and opinions and are not guaranteed to be effective in the hands of others nor are they meant to be the only method or means of training a horse in order to accomplish the same things. Working with horses can be incredibly risky and dangerous. You should only try these methods with proper supervision or assistance from an experienced trainer or horse person that you trust. If you have any questions or comments feel free to email me or comment in my blog. Happy trails, Karen