Two topics! Boots and night riding!

Has anyone used cavallo sport or simple boots? Do they stay on through mud, water, rocks, etc? I will be conditioning on gravel (bigger rocks. Not pebbles) mostly because that's all I have :/. Will the cavallos hold up to the conditioning plus the actual endurance rides? Would it be wise to put boots on the front and shoes on the back? Or just leave the back alone? His feet are great. But the gravel is brutal. If cavallos suck, then is there a better boot that's still wallet friendly and easily applied?
And night riding. I work the useful hours of the day (usually.). Our nights are warm and when the moon is out its not hard to see. Does anyone here condition at night or maybe just night ride for fun? I used to have a horse that rode better at night (he was...strange) than in the day. I live on a gravel road that rarely sees a car. So not really any risk for vehicles not seeing us.
Posted via Mobile Device

If you're going to shoe anything, do it on the front and then put boots on the back when necessary. Since the shoes will always be on, they should be on the front, and I imagine it could actually be unhealthy to shoe the back and not the front. You could shoe and then have a spare pair of boots for when a shoe gets thrown (I recommend Renegades if you do this since they're a bit more forgiving of fit than Easyboots). You already know my preference is not to shoe at all and use my Easyboot Gloves, but I have not heard about cavallos except here and there and hesitate to use a boot that isn't popular amongst the endurance crowd.

As for night riding, it should be a problem as long as you know the area and take appropriate precautions like reflective gear for both you and your horse and possibly a head lamp. I've heard of other people conditioning at night because of the cooler temperatures. Just make sure you can see decently well (i.e. Good moonlight) and get used to your horse at night. Of course, night conditioning will also get you ready for those EARLY morning rides and late-running 100-milers that begin and end in the dark!

Okay so if I was to go the shoeing route on the front and carry a spare boot, there are flexible shoes that are nailed in. Apparently people like them and they're better than metals. I've seen some neat ones like GROUND CONTROL HORSESHOES (877) TRACTION and Happy Hoofwear (I am a sucker for colors!) but I've never known anyone that uses them. I know someone that has cavallo boots and they like them. It's hard to find honest opinions on the makers site. :/.

I'd be riding on our gravel road in the dark. I know it very well. It seems like fun!
Posted via Mobile Device

I have no experience with those kinds of boots, so am no help there.

I love night riding though! Assuming you have a safe area, it's a great way to get out without having to worry about crowds or heat (or pesky things like work).

Have you ever known anyone who uses poly or flexi shoes? I think they're cool but I don't want to order them the regret it!
Lol yes work gets in the way all the time! Darn work! If only I could win that pch thing where you get $5000 every week for life lol. I'd be set!!!!
Posted via Mobile Device

Ground control shoes are horrendous on gravel, don't use them.
Could go into great detail, but cavelos are not suitable for endurance or endurance conditioning. They are ok for casual walk only short distance riding.
You will have to look long and hard to find an experienced endurance rider that uses boots that isnt using either easyboot gloves or renegades. With many using glueons at the rides themselves.
Honestly though if your doing all that gravel riding just put steel shoes all around. There is a reason they have been around a thousand years.

Our gravel is ping pong ball sized rocks. Would the gravel still bother him and make him sore with steel shoes?
Posted via Mobile Device

I would use boots. No reason to shoe a horse that doesn't need them for the gravel road, imo.
I actually go out on the road and canter my mare, along with edges of hay/corn fields and a dirt road the hay guy uses to haul the hay.
Posted via Mobile Device

See the only grassy areas here I can ride on are on the side of a highway. People aren't too wary of horses around here and don't care to slow down and keep goin their 70 mph past us. It scares me really! On our gravel rd there's barely any cars so that's why I want to ride on it. The gravel is terrible and the size of ping pong balls. I liked the cavallos because they're friendly to my wallet. I like the cavallo sports better than the simple though. On cavallos website there's endurance riders who use them but I don't trust what the makers site says too often! I wish I could get trial boots lol. But I love the renegades too its just theyre expensive! The easy boots seem to cost less and I am going to have to measure his foot to see if he will even be able to wear either.
Posted via Mobile Device