Overreach boots? Bell boots? What to use and how to size?

My Quarterhorse has an extreme overreach… even when he's lagging along as slow as he can go, he oversteps with his back hooves by a good couple inches… when he's motivated, he oversteps by six inches to twelve inches, and I've seen him overreach by more than that, too!

I rode him the other day, and when we got home, I saw that he'd hit one of his front hooves with a back hoof and had cut it open quite badly… it's gashed pretty deeply and it's a wide injury… but thankfully it's not sore and he's not limping on it…

I think some of the reason he oversteps so much is because he's a very compact horse. Small backed, longer legs, etc… but very compact. He's also an extremely smooth ride… very easy to ride at all gaits whether undersaddle or bareback… very, very smooth. (He has much, much more of an overstep than my two Walkers).

Since he oversteps so much, I think I should probably invest in some sort of boots to protect his front legs… but I'm not sure what kind would be best or how to make sure they'll even fit him…

Jaxxon's hooves are definitely not long. He keeps them wore down naturally, and rarely do they ever need filed. My farrier is extremely satisfied with his hooves as they are, so I don't think that is the problem here. I think it's just his small, compacted body coupled with his longer legs that causes him to overreach so badly.

Does anyone have any recommendations?

I think the first thing you need to do is look at where he is causing the most damage. That is the area to protect. If it's around the coronet/heel area, you could probably get away with just simple bell boots. I would use the neoprene type that don't turn as the plain standard rubber can spin on the horses ankles and cause rub sores.

If it's higher up I would go more for something like the Legacy Sport boots because they have an area that wraps around the ankle and supports the tendon but the best part is, this part is covered in a bullet proof material and will protect from the overreach hitting there.

Or you can just go with some combo boots to give yourself more insurance :)

As for sizing. Measure around the largest part of your horse's ankle (for the sport boots) and the package will tell you what size to get. Bell Boots I think you measure the small part of the ankle, I'm not sure.

Sorry, I should have clarified...

The area he's hitting in the coronet/heel... the really soft, fleshy part

I'd probably get a pair of overreach boots for him or a high quality pair of bell boots (neoprene).

Also, talk to your farrier about adjusting his angles and making some minor changes to help minimize the overreaching/connecting with front legs.

So, you would recommend neoprene boots... I'll have to check out the tack shops around here and see where I can get them for cheapest... The boots aren't my main priority right now, anyway... I don't ride Jax on a schedule, just whenever I feel like it... but since I'm planning on working with him more (tehing him to lunge, etc...) I need to get something...

Right now my priority is raising enough money to get him gelded, lol... but if I can find some boots for a decent price, I'll go ahead and get them...

He doesn't see the farrier very often... his hooves stay trimmed down so naturally... and I am thinking about possibly starting to use a barefoot trimmer for him, since he does't require shoes... so when I get the farrier/trimmer out again, I'll talk to them... He was just trimmed a few weeks ago, but my farrier didn't do anything to his back hooves because he's satisfied with them the way they are.

I recently won a few pairs of Davis Bell boots--two of the standard type and a pair of the no turn. I like all of the, but love the no turn. When they had me measure my pony, they wanted width of hoof and height of hoof. They've been holding up very well (also won a bunch of other stuff--splint boots, head protector, cross ties, trailer tie..)

But the no turn ones are my favorite

Can you post some pictures of his overal conformation and his feet?

As for bell boots, I like the Professional's Choice Ballistic Overreach series. Most "regular" Quarter Horses and similar-sized breeds will wear a size medium.

Or some people swear by the hard rubber pull-on ones that you can leave on for turnout.

My girl lives in her bell boots (standard davis bells). They don't rub or anything but that only last a couple of months since she doesn't take them off.

My farrier specializes in barefoot horses. We tend to make sure her backs are shortened and squared off to decrease her chances of taking a chuck out of her bulb.

We had a scheduling issue this summer (farrier forgot a visit, then her horse died so she missed the make up visit, we ended up 3 weeks behind) and we learned the danger of her getting too long in the back. She has a really ugly scar now. Ugh.

I can post pictures, but it will possibly a few days, more than likely this weekend, before I get to. We're currently getting a bit of rain and I'm in college everyday until friday... this weekend, though, I will try to get some pictures and post.

Jax's back hooves aren't squared off, too, by the way.