What’s up guys?
If you haven’t already, go check out the latest hoof boot review on my YouTube channel! It’s a video review of Renegade Viper Hoof Boots guest starring my husband Max! Max has been using Renegades and Vipers for the past couple of years, and most frequently uses a set of Vipers for front boots on his horse Monkey. In this video, he talks about what he likes and doesn’t like about these boots, and he shows you how to put them on.
I have been using Original Renegades for years and find them to be great hoof boots. Max has used both Originals and Vipers and prefers the Vipers, which are a second-generation hoof boot from Renegade. When he boots all four hooves, he uses Viper hoof boots on the front and Original Renegades on the back. In this video, he also talks about boot retention on the trail and other issues associated with booting barefoot horses. We’ve had pretty good luck with these boots, even through mud, water and rocks. There is a learning curve, and you may lose a boot here and there in the beginning, but having healthy barefoot horses is worth the extra work and frustration.
Hoof Boot Measuring and Fitting Matters
What we’ve found with the Renegades and Renegade Vipers is that hoof measuring and fitting matters. If your horses aren’t trimmed on a regular 6-8 week schedule, these aren’t the boots for you. Before any big events, I like to have the horses trimmed about two weeks prior, as I find that’s the BEST time during their trim cycle to ensure your boots fit well and stay on for important rides. Fit and trim matters with these boots, because they’re just not as forgiving as some other boots when hooves grow out a little.
What’s unique about these boots is that unlike other boots, where a tighter fit is better, a looser fit is somewhat better for these boots. Obviously, I don’t mean super loose, but they definitely stay on the hoof better during the beginning of a trim cycle. At the end of a trim cycle, when they’re a little harder to shove onto a hoof, you’re more likely to lose one on the trail.
Renegade Hoof Boots Have a Lot of Parts
Don’t be scared off by all the parts on Renegade hoof boots. There is a main hoof-boot shell, a heel captivator, various straps and cables! Depending upon your mileage, the cables or straps may wear out before the shell does. Thankfully, you can buy replacement parts, so you don’t have to throw a whole boot away just because a cable breaks. With other types of hoof boots, if a part breaks, the whole boot may have to be thrown away. In the video, Max demonstrates how swiftly and easily he can put these boots on Monkey, even when she’s a little squirmy from being cooped up in a stall overnight.
***PRO TIP*** Don’t use the allen wrench (hex key) they send with the boots. This WILL strip your set screws, and you’ll have to order new ones and wait for them to come in the mail, rendering your boots useless in the mean time. Go to a hardware store and buy a decent quality allen wrench, and ONLY use that when adjusting the set screws/cables.
When We Use Hoof Boots on Our Barefoot Horses
Our horses have really strong healthy bare hooves. That being said, we like to use hoof boots as protection on demanding rides. It’s better to put on a pair of boots and not need them than to need them and not have them. Nothing feels worse than having your horse be tender-footed on a bad trail. Any time we try out a new trail, we boot. Even if somebody says it’s “barefoot friendly,” you just never know until you experience it for yourself, and not everybody has the same idea of what good footing is. Nobody wants to be five miles out on a bad trail with a stone-bruised horse. Listed below are a few situations we always like to boot for.
When to Use Hoof Boots
- At new places
- Rocky trails
- Trails with lots of gravel
- When we want to ride fast
- Rides longer than about five miles
- Trails with hard roads, asphalt or dirt
Renegade Vipers are High Performance Hoof Boots
Renegade Vipers and Renegades are high-performance boots. If you’re interested in doing a lot of distance riding or even endurance, these are a great choice. They’re a great boot if you’re really hands-on and dedicated to going barefoot. A lot of well-respected endurance riders use these boots exclusively with a lot of success. That being said, there is a learning curve when you first start using them. It takes a little while to figure out how tight to make your straps and cables. In the beginning, you may fling off a lot of boots at a canter or gallop, and that can be super frustrating. If you can stick out the learning curve, they’re definitely a great choice for hoof boots. After using these for a few years, it’s pretty rare that we lose a boot, even in mud, rocks and water.
***PRO TIP*** If your horse has never worn hoof boots before, PRACTICE in the round pen first. Make sure your horse is comfortable with bell boots and then you can try the hoof boots on. Having something covering the hoof and strapped to their pastern can be a strange and weird experience for a horse that has never been booted before, and you don’t want to be on their back for the first time, just in case they spook and bolt around! Lunge your horse in the round pen at all gaits and in both directions to make sure he or she is comfortable with hoof boots.
It’s also a great idea to strap an old hoof boot to their leg above their hoof, so they know what it feels like if a hoof boot becomes loose but is stuck on them. I have been cantering and had a hoof boot come off of the hoof and stuck around my horse’s leg. She kicked out a few times, and I knew something was wrong, but she didn’t panic, so we slowed down and I hopped off to see the issue. It was no big deal, because we had already practiced for this kind of situation.
What Hoof Boots am I using?
At this time, I’m currently using Cavallo Simples and Cavallo ELBs on my horse Bamboozal, and I have reviews of both of those boots. They’re incredibly easy to use, and a little more forgiving of fit than the Renegades. I prefer these boots for this horse, because I think they offer more support and a better breakover than Renegades. Bamboozal is 24 years old an has a touch of arthritis, so on demanding rides, I always put him in all four boots, and boy, does he really float in them!
Cavallo hoof boots are about as easy as it gets, as they’re all velcro. They don’t require the same level of fine tuning that the Renegades do, and I’ve found they hold up just as well for what I need. I’ve had good luck with these boots staying on at walk, trot and canter, and through mud, rocks and water. If you’re looking at something user-friendly and functional, these are a great boot to start out with. If you’re looking for a super high-performance hoof boot, definitely check out Renegades and Vipers.
Until next time, Happy Trails!
Loved the reviews
Thanks Peter!