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rubber/gel like horse shoes?

14K views 56 replies 12 participants last post by  greentree 
#1 ·
Okay so my arab gelding has awesome feet. Does not need shoes normally for normal riding. I normally dont have anyone to ride with. I dont like riding in the grass alongside the highway by my house because the drivers are very ignorant and do not like to slow down at all. My gelding doesnt spook at them, it just scares me. So I cant ride in the grassy areas. My house is on a dirt road. Well, a gravel road. Cars rarely ever travel down it and if they do they are going about 20 mph. Much safer! I would really like to condition my gelding but I do not want to trot him on the gravel roads barefoot for fear of stone bruising, abcess, etc. I do not like the idea of aluminum shoes because I do ride on the paved road sometimes and I dont want to take the chance of him slipping. I have heard good things about rubber horse shoes, though. Does anyone know about them? Are they good for protection from gravel? Which shoes are the best? Are they better nailed in or glued on? I like the idea of a flexible horse shoe that absorbs shock and gives cushion much like our sneakers. Like I said he has great hooves, but they would need protection from the gravel and rocks I would be riding on constantly. I have peeked at Epona shoes and others. I am looking for something that will last awhile, can be reset, offers great protection, but doesnt drain my bank account. :) I am interested in beginning endurance and also am starting showing (just open shows). Thanks
 
#2 ·
I don't have a personal opinion on them, but a farrier that I have the utmost respect for thinks they're a joke.
Studs or borium can always be added to aluminum shoes to allow for pavement riding (what Donald is planning on doing with Super this year).

I also know some people who I don't have as much respect for (if any.. ;; ) that swear by them.

To he shod correctly, the rubber/silicon shoes need to be rasped to the correct size and trimmed down in some spots depending on the horse's feet and they're apparently h*ll to try and nail on. And personally, I just don't trust glue..lol.

But, only things I've heard.
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#4 ·
I think it's the epona shoe. I don't remember. They have things where the nails kind of push up in it so they don't come out? Something like that. There's another shoe that is one size fits all and I don't understand that.
I don't know anyone that uses flex shoes.
Do normal aluminum shoes with borium protect the feet against gravel well? Or can he still get stone bruises? I've seen small rocks get stuck between the shoe and hoof. I've never had a horse that needed shoes.
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#3 ·
Have you ever considered hoof boots? They cover the entire hoof (including the frog) and I believe you can even put cushions in them (though I don't know anyone who does). I'm an endurance rider, so I condition on all sorts of terrain. I use easy boot gloves, as do many of the other riders I know. One of my favorite things is that you don't have to worry about the boot being worn down or thrown when you're not needing to use it (i.e. in the pasture or in the arena. etc). They usually last about 500 miles or so.

If you're going to be on gravel, you do run the risk of getting a piece in the shoe and getting a bruise that way, but you can take precautions so that doesn't happen.

What are you conditioning for?
 
#6 ·
Yes I've looked at hoof boots. I really like the renegades. But I heard they're hard to size. I've also seen the glue on hoof covers. I don't trust those though. My parents have a friend that uses cavallo boots. I've thought about boots seriously but I'd have to save up the money to get them. All if my money has been going towards feed and hay lately. Would aluminum shoes hurt (not pain wise) his good hooves?
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#5 ·
A horse can still get stone bruised in any shoe because a rock can hit the frog or anywhere else on the shoe - the feet are just raised above the ground some. I think there are pads you can put in between the shoe and the hoof to protect the inside as well, but I love my hoof boots for this reason.
 
#7 ·
Oh and I'm wanting to condition for endurance or limited distance. I wanted to a long time ago but it's hard to because the gravel is the only place I have :/
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#8 ·
You're going to get 100 opinions on this. Personally, I think my horses are much better and healthier barefoot and their feet had been excellent since switching to a barefoot trimmer. I do believe that shoes would weaken their hooves and be less healthy for them. My barefoot trimmer, who used to be a farrier, actually won't buy a horse that "needs" shoes (though they do exist, there are actually very few horses that need them). Renegades are actually easier to size than Easyboots. Easyboots have to fit exactly, but they are cheaper and I like them better - you do have to get used to putting them on, though. If you think about the money you'll spend on shoeing, the boots will usually be cheaper. I expect my boots to last at least another year or two, making it cheaper in the long-run to boot rather than shoe each year and then maintain the trimming and shoeings, not to mention if they throw a shoe.
 
#9 ·
Yes I've heard of pads that go between the shoe and hoof. What are they called so I can look them up?
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#10 ·
Okay which easy boot is easiest to put on (but hardest to accidentally come off lol)? If I wasn't on gravel i wouldn't use anything. But I don't think it'd be good on the hooves to trot on gravel for extended periods of time.
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#11 ·
I usually only use my boots at rides since I am lucky enough to have good trails to condition on. I had a friend that tried to compete barefoot, but even in the "barefoot ok rides", I've been much more comfortable using my boots and I do so at all rides since I'm not always familiar with what might come up on the trails and because I don't want to come up lame during a ride and waste all that time and money :(

I like my easy boot gloves and they're pretty popular. I've also heard of the epics and glue-ons being used a lot, but I trust my gloves quite a bit. You'll need to keep up your trimmings, and I recommend getting a rasp to trim on your own in between trimmings. I also recommend a rubber mallet - they often make a world of a difference in putting the gloves on.

And I'm with you on the gravel thing ;)
 
#12 ·
Personally, I've seen quite a few horses w/t/c on gravel if they're trimmed appropriately. I was taught to take out enough sole to get it off the ground, yet not get near/into the sensitive tissue. None of the horses ever went lame from abscess or a stone bruise unless the gravel was extremely large.
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#13 ·
Okay I will research on easy boot gloves. See we don't have our farrier trim the frog or sole. He leaves those alone. He just trims the length. But it's still not enough for riding on gravel. If I had my own trailer id just haul to trails but I don't. :(.
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#14 ·
Okay I will research on easy boot gloves. See we don't have our farrier trim the frog or sole. He leaves those alone.
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This is the basis of a good barefoot trim - balance the hoof and leave the frog alone. My trimmer has only touched the frog on my horses once, and that was because of thrush. He sounds like he knows what he's doing - hey may know about using boots if you ask him.
 
#15 ·
Our gravel roads are terrible. I've ridden him on them for 3 years now and we still can't trot on them long before he kind of tiptoes then I stop him. I've tried conditioning his feet on them and its not working. According to many farriers he has nice hard feet. Our gravel roads have rocks. I shouldn't say gravel like pebbles like they put on playgrounds. More like ping pong sized rocks. Not fun to drive on either. That's why everyone goes 20mph :p. that's considered gravel around here unfortunately.
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#16 ·
Yes I love love love my farrier. He's awesome. I love the square toes he does. The trims seem to last longer that way. I will ask him next time he is out here. We are about due for trims!
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#19 ·
It seems to me he moves differently with round toes but my imagination runs wild hahahahahaha
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#22 ·
My experience with glue on rubber shoes was they were a huge pain in the butt. Now some of that could have been the horse in question (rescue with horrible feet and the glue ons were an attempt to help protect the walls, which chipped and cracked if you so much as looked at them), but those shoes were always coming off. The owner eventually started using boots as they would at least stay on some of the time!

There are some people who endurance around here using the glue-on gloves and they seem to have more success, but the application process is certainly complicated and the boot is then on all the time.

I have uses Easyboot epics and more recently the gaitered gloves as my just-in-case flat tire fix on trail. The epics are entertaining to get on, thus my changing to the gloves. Haven't lost a shoe on trail yet with Dream since changing (*knock on wood*), but George lost one and happily went another 6 miles over rocky trail and it stayed put beautifully.

And just as a side question, you keep talking about aluminum shoes.. Is there a reason you would use aluminum versus the normal steel shoe? Aluminum is pretty soft and is going to wear a lot more than steel would over any sort of rough terrain.
 
#23 ·
Yeah I figured the glue on ones come off easy. And it seems like a pain in the butt because dont you have to completely clean the hoof so the glue will stick? Well I know aluminum is a lot lighter than steel. Does that matter when conditioning? The flexible shoes seem like they'd absorb the most shock but as someone said, rocks can still find their way in. :/. Would shoes be a good temporary thing until I can find the right boots?
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#25 ·
I wish there was just an easy answer! Lol. His feet grow nice barefoot so with boots I would be insane to not buy a rasp and have my farrier teach me how to do it. Would probably save me time and money that way. How long does it usually take horses to get used to boots?
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#29 ·
Other than having the boot on for 3 seconds for fitting, Dream never wore a boot until the first time she pulled a shoe on-trail (about 5 miles into our first 100 - go figure!). I applied the boot and on we went. I never noticed her have any issue with it, and we did about 9 miles to the hold.

Maybe if your horse doesn't deal well with its feet normally (are they weird about mud or anything like that?) s/he might need some time to adjust.. But assuming the boots fit, I would just slap them on and go.
 
#27 ·
Wait ignore that those are rehab boots. Oops.
Cavallo boots look really easy and I read good reviews. Anyone here use them?
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#30 ·
My Arab, "Corporal" (1982-2009, RIP) was the same way--shoes were wasted on his feet. I would also suggest studs or borium. Your farrier can melt the borium directly on the shoes before nailing them on. The only horses that shouldn't, IMO, have borium are those QH's who like to plant their feet and turn on them bc they might pull a tendon. Shouldn't be a problem for your Arab, and his "happy feet."
 
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