Boot Guide

Get the fit right

Everybody wants the best hoof boots for their barefoot horse or pony. Hoof boots that are easy to use, comfortable for the horse to wear, and protect the hooves. Our boot design does just that.

Versatile and adjustable hoof boots

Flex Boots are highly adjustable and therefore they can be made to fit various different kinds of hooves, as long as you know which part of the boot to adjust and how. Here are some common fitting issues that people experience, and our expert advice about how to resolve them.

Possible causes

How to fix it

Boot is new and a snug fit.

Tap the toe of the boot with a rubber mallet when putting the boot on, or ask the horse to take a few steps. This should move the toe all the way into the front of the boots.

The hoof is too upright for the boots.

Flex Boots are designed for hooves that are at, or very close to, anatomically correct hoof shape and conformation. If the horse has a club foot or naturally very upright foot, or the trim is leaving the heels too high, it’s possible that the boots will not fit well at the toe. To fix this, first check that the trim is done correctly and adjust the trim if necessary.
Also check if the hooves are a naturally round shape, in which case our wide version might fit the hooves better; the wide boots are slightly more upright at the dorsal aspect than the classic boots.

Possible causes

How to fix it

Hoof is flared.

If the hoof wall sits nicely in the boot at the sole level, but you see the shell gaping at the top edge, it’s very likely that your horse’s hoof is flared or the toe is too long. This is not a boot fitting issue, but primarily a trimming issue. Work with your hoof care professional to improve and eradicate the flare, through correct trim and diet.

Toe is long.

If the toe is long, the hoof will slide all the way into the boot and the shell can gape at the front.

Hoof angle is low due to a long toe and/or a very low heel.

If the hoof angle is lower than the angle of the shell at the dorsal aspect, the shell will gape.

The low hoof angle can be caused by a long toe, or a severely underrun heel, or a combination of both.

Wrong boot style.

Using a wide boot on a hoof that is not upright will cause the shell to gape at the front of the boot.

Possible causes

How to fix it

Hoof is slightly narrower than long.

Some hooves are naturally slightly longer than wide, so you may find that there’s a bit of space at the sides of the boot. Adding FlexPads into the boots can help in this situation. The pads will mould into the shape of the hoof sole and inside of the boot, and will act as padding at the sides where the hoof isn’t quite as wide as the boot.

Hoof is very narrow.

Firstly, check the hoof measurements. If a hoof is more than 10mm longer than wide, that is considered an unnaturally narrow hoof and is almost always caused by incorrect trim. Overly long hooves are detrimental to the horse, so check and adjust the trimming technique to create a more anatomically correct hoof shape.

Possible causes

How to fix it

Hoof is slightly narrower than long.

If the hoof is naturally slightly longer than wide, you may find that there’s a bit of space at the sides of the boot and this enables the boot to twist when the horse moves. Adding FlexPads into the boots can help in this situation. The pads will mold into the shape of the hoof sole and inside of the boot, creating a seal between the two and therefore improve the twisting issue.
Upper body problems in the hind end can cause hind legs to twist. In this case the priority is find the cause of the problem and try to rectify it with the help of an equine bodyworker, such as an osteopath or a physio.

Boot is too big.

If the boots are too big they may move around excessively. If adding a pad doesn’t snug up the fit enough, choose a smaller size.

Boot is too small.

If the boot is too small, the hoof doesn’t seat into the shell properly and may cause the backstrap and TPU gaiter to sit too low. This will affect how well the boots stay on.

Hooves are crooked and not trimmed for balance.

If the hooves are crooked and not trimmed for balance, boots may twist during the weightbearing stage of the stride. Adjust the trimming technique and frequency to keep the hooves in balance.

Possible causes

How to fix it

The straps are too tight.

Check that you can comfortably fit one finger between the back strap and the pastern, on the side of the boot. If you can’t, the strap is too tight. Also check if the holes on the strap are stretching when you close the strap. If they do, this is a clear sign that the straps are too tight.

If the straps are fastened too tight, they will open more easily when the horse moves. The solution is to loosen the straps to the correct tightness.

Straps are not in the correct position.

Check that the strap sits above the heel bulbs, not across it. If the strap sits too low, move the strap to the higher slots in the TPU gaiter. If the strap is already in the higher holes and still not reaching over the heel bulbs properly, you may need custom boots with one size larger TPU gaiter.

The hoof may also not be in its anatomically correct shape. If the toes are long or the heels are too high, the backstrap will not sit high enough.

Horse brushes its legs against each other.

If you find that the inside of the back straps comes undone, it might be that your horse is brushing its legs and this is causing the back strap to open. The solution is to swap the ball rivets on the inside of the boot shell to flat rivets; they stay permanently closed and don’t protrude out, so the horse cannot open them even if it brushes its legs.

You can also use bell boots over the top of the hoof boots, but make sure they are large enough to reach down close to the ground so that they cover the ball rivets adequately.

Strap ends are too long.

If the ends of the back strap below ball rivets are left too long, mud and debris can get between the strap and boot shell, and push the strap open. Cut the strap, so that you have no spare holes on the inside of the boot below ball rivets, and only one spare hole on the outside of the boot.

Possible causes

How to fix it

Strap is too tight.

Check that you can comfortably fit two fingers between the pastern strap and the leg. If you can’t, the strap is too tight. If the pastern strap is set too tight, it can ping open when the horse’s leg flexes and moves. The solution is to loosen the strap to its correct tightness.

Strap isn’t quite long enough.

If you find that you’re at the largest setting of the pastern strap, you can’t slot the strap end through the loops on the neoprene gaiter and this may cause the pastern strap to come undone.
First check that the TPU gaiter is big enough for your horse; if it doesn’t sit well at the back of the boot, you may need custom boots with a size larger TPU gaiter. This would likely fix the pastern strap issue too.
Incorrect hoof form can also cause the TPU gaiter to appear too small so check the trimming first.
If the TPU gaiter sits well at the back of the boot, then your horse may have thicker than normal legs, or lots of feather, and it may need a pastern strap extension piece added, so that the pastern strap closes properly.

Possible causes

How to fix it

The horse has long toes.

If the toes of the boots wear out quickly, and the excessive wear is visible in the outer sole of the boot but not on the inside of the boot, most of the time this is caused by the toe of the hoof being too long. This affects how the horse moves and puts excessive pressure on the toe area, causing the boot toe to wear out quickly. This is primarily a trimming issue, not a boot fit issue. Addressing the long toes and trimming them correctly is first and foremost beneficial for the horse, but it will also help the boots to last longer.
If the toes do not go all the way to the front of the shell, the pressure is in the wrong place and the boot can wear out. This is caused by an incorrect trim/hoof form, or a boot that does not fit well.

Horse is landing toe first.

Some horses, even if their toes are not excessively long, land toe first, and this will cause the boots to wear out at the toe quickly. Toe-first landing is either a trimming,  bodywork or biomechanical issue, not a fitting issue with the boots. Horses are not supposed to land toe first, so consult your hoof care professional, equine bodyworker and/or vet to find out the cause of the toe first landing and to fix it.
Also check the horse’s posture under saddle: if the horse is heavily on the forehand there is too much weight on the forelegs.

The tip of the toe wears out.

If the horse drags its toes the boot can wear out. Toe dragging is caused by long toes or upper body problems.

Possible causes

How to fix it

The hooves are imbalanced.

Excessive wear in one part of the boot can be a sign of imbalanced hooves. Show your hoof care provider the wear on the boot, and ask them to check if the hooves are trimmed in a balanced way.
Also pay attention to the trim cycle length; even if the hooves are trimmed to a balance, if the trim cycle is long (normally anything more than 4 weeks) they can grow significantly out of balance. If this is the case, shorten your trim cycle sufficiently. If the horse has crooked hooves, a four week trim cycle can be too long and it’s best to do a small weekly maintenance trim to keep the hooves balanced.

There’s an imbalance higher up in the horse’s body.

If the hooves are trimmed in a balanced way, then it’s likely that the horse has an imbalance somewhere above the hooves. Investigate how the horse moves, and find out if there’s an issue higher up that is causing the horse to land its hooves in an imbalanced way.

Possible causes

How to fix it

The horse has lots of feather or thicker than normal legs.

The pastern straps are quite long, so most of the time they fit around the leg just fine. But if the horse has lots of feather, or very thick legs, the pastern strap might be a bit too short. In this situation, adding an extension strap will help.

The boot doesn’t fit properly at the back.

Check how well the TPU gaiter sits at the back of the foot. If it’s too small, the pastern strap won’t reach around the leg either. This can be fixed either by adjusting the trimming method, if for example the trim has left the heels too high or toe too long. If the trim is correct, then the horse may need custom boots with one size larger TPU gaiter.
Also check that the boot shell size is correct, if the shell is too short then the TPU gaiter will not fit well at the back.

Possible causes

How to fix it

Wrong adjustments on the boot.

The TPU gaiter has two slots for the back strap to go through. If your back strap is in the lowest slots, try moving it to the higher ones to see if that fixes the problem.

Incorrect trim where the heels have been left too high.

If the heels are not trimmed anatomically correctly and the heels are left too high, this will affect how well the boot and back strap will fit. Check the trim technique and adjust it if necessary. Having heels at their anatomically correct height and position is primarily beneficial for the horse, but it also allows Flex Boots to fit the hooves properly.

Long toe

If the toe is too long, the TPU gaiter will not fit well and the slots that the backstrap runs through will be too low. The backstrap will not be able to sit up high in the nook of the pastern at the back of the leg.

Possible causes

How to fix it

Toe isn’t all the way in at the front of the boot.

Check that the toe is all the way at the front of the boot. If it’s not, tap the boot toe with a rubber mallet to get the toe in all the way. Then check the fit at the back of the boot again.

Toe is too long.

If the toe is too long it will make the boot shell too short. Check the trimming and shorten the trim cycle if necessary.

Hoof is too long for the boot.

Double check the hoof measurements, and make sure that you measure the hoof length correctly. If the hoof is too long for the boot, you might need a larger boot.

Heels are allowed to grow too high and not trimmed correctly.

Check if your horse’s heels are too high, and not at their anatomically correct height. If this is the case, adjust the trim to fix the heel height.
If the coronet band angle, when viewed from the side, deviates significantly from the angle of the boot shell at the top, it can be a sign that the heels are too high.

Horse has naturally large heel bulbs.

If the horse has naturally large heel bulbs, it might need custom boots where the TPU gaiter is one size larger than normal.

The heels are underrun/crushed.

If the heels are very underrun, the hoof is functionally longer than the length measurement indicates. The heel bulbs should fit into the boot shell, so choose a larger size boot.

Possible causes

How to fix it

Wrong size boots.

The boots might be too big for your horse’s hooves. Double check the hoof measurements and compare them to our size charts.

Wrong style of boots.

If your horse has naturally round hooves, the classic Flex Boots (which are oval in shape) might leave too much space at the back of the boot. Measure your horse’s hooves and if you find that the width and length measurement are very similar, then the wide Flex Boots (which are round in shape) might fit your horse’s hooves better.

Hooves are significantly wider than long.

Although round hooves occur naturally, hooves that are significantly wider than long are not normal and often have morphology, such as flaring at the sides of the hoof, in them.
Check your horse’s hooves and note any issues that should be corrected by adjusting the trim technique, trimming frequency or both.

The heels are contracted.

If the heels are contacted there will be space on the sides towards the rear of the boot shell. Using pads will usually snug up the fit sufficiently.