[Callie's Mom]

It took a little while to get in contact with the company directly (since they primarily sell through barefoot trimmers) but once I did I got my boots ordered and to my doorstep very quickly.
I received them today and am very excited to go and try them out!
I thought you all might be interested in some up close pics of them (I'll get some pics of them on Callie this weekend as well)
The color doesn't show up well in these photos but these boots are the burgundy blitz, in size 0 (Callie's feet are tiny! she was just above a 00 and just below a 0) I would say the colors on their website are very accurate!



this photo shows how easy they are to install - they open all the way up!

[Aurical]

For some reason they make me think of Robocop. I wonder if they will give your horse super powers when he/she wears them

[horse_lover231]

I am going to order mine next week. I am excited to get them. My horse is a size 1. Hope they work good for you! How long did it itake to get them? Do you mind if I ask how you paid for them?? Mine are going to be $180 I think....

[Dusty1979]

I received mine yesterday - hope you have better luck than I'm having. I was going to start another thread when I had a chance to hear back from the trimmer that I bought them from, but I might as well share my experience with you here.

My horse would have fit better in the size 0, but the heels were too narrow. The company is supposed to be coming out with wider heel versions of the 0 and a couple of other sizes.

So, we fit him in the size 1 with the heel cut down 1/4" and supposedly the cable made shorter. Out of the box, I had 4" of leftover toe strap with the cable set as loose as it would go. So I shortened the cable as short as it should go and then I could barely get the heel captivator over his heels and still had 1 1/2" of strap hanging over. So, then I moved the cable back to the mid position and had about 3" of strap extra.

After working him for about 1/2 hour in the round pen and a little bareback riding, the left boot had twisted. There was about a tablespoon of sand in the right boot and about half that much in the left.

Ideally, he should be in the wider heel version of the 0 and I wish I would have waited for the correct size. I don't see how I'm ever going to have only that 1/2" to 3/4" of strap past the contact area of the velcro. This leaves me with a shorter span of strap contact which can lead to lost boots, and probably the twisting that I'm having trouble with. I'm not seeing now where shortening the cable would make any difference for me. You can only go so short with the size boot you have to work with.

So, that's my story as it stands. Like I said, I'm waiting to hear back from the trimmer. I sent her pictures to show what I'm dealing with, so hope to hear back from her soon. I'll show you a picture of the boots with the cable set at mid position (heel captivator really snug) and what I have left for extra strap length. Very incorrect according to the website - you want to have only the 1/2" to 3/4" of strap left after tightening across the toe.

Good luck with your pair.

[Callie's Mom]

horse lover231: it took me about 1.5 weeks to finally get in contact with someone there but once they contacted me I ordered the boots and did standard shipping which was 3 day by ground to me in CA... and I had them in a little over a week.

Dusty1979: bummer I hope you can get that resolved quickly. A friend of mine at my barn is having twisting issues as well but she thinks she needs to make adjustments to her tension lines. I'm hoping mine go over well.

My trimmer measured my mare as a 4 1/4" wide x 4 5/8" long... their 00 measures 4 3/16" wide x 4 3/4" long (so just a bit too small) whereas the size 0 measures at 4 9/16" wide and 5" long. So Callie will have a little room in hers but we measured on a fresh trim and I want her to have room for hoof growth, plus she is new to being barefoot so my trimmer says it is likely her foot will spread a bit. I figured an 1/8th of an inch front, back, left and right was not much room... so hopefully they will fit well.
What do you think?

[Callie's Mom]

Originally Posted by Aurical

For some reason they make me think of Robocop. I wonder if they will give your horse super powers when he/she wears them

LOL!! sometimes she already thinks she has superpowers

[Dusty1979]

It's my experience (limited but educational) that you need to actually fit the boot on the horse to see if the size is going to work or not.

My gelding measured 4 3/4" length and width. So, he should have fit in the size 0 with length of 5" but with a width of only 4 9/16" - 3 16th's too narrow.

It also depends upon how the boot fits around the hoof wall. If there is too much gap, you'll get the dirt and sand thing going on - not to mention water should you cross a river or creek or mud puddle.

These size 1's are 5 1/4" long (that's why we had them cut the back down 1/4") and the width is right at 4 3/4", but apparently there's just too much room in the front of the boot, thus my problem with getting the toe strap to have the correct amount of contact. But, it's important to get the foot fitting down into the boot - too narrow in the heel won't cut it.

Do you also know to pull the tension equal on both sides of the boot? You should have received directions with the boots and some tinkering with them and it should all make sense. The cable lock can be a little hard to loosen the set screws on. I had to use a pliers to hold the wrench (which comes with the boots) to get them loosened the first time.

I don't know. Just my luck I guess.

[Callie's Mom]

Yea, I didn't have the luxury of prefitting her... the people who have the boots at my barn are all 1's and 2's which are too big for her and my trimmer doesn't rep for any boot companies though she recommends them... the people at my barn who got them through their trimmer tried to get their trimmer to help me but she said she only sells to her clients -whatever.
so I had to go by the sizing chart and hope it works out
Based on the shape of my mares foot I think it will but we shall see.
I did see on the directions about pulling the tension equally on each side... and I will be sure to bring the tools with me to the barn to adjust the cables, hopefully I'll have an easier time... I'll let you know - I'm going to run out there a bit later today.

[Dusty1979]

Just wanted to let you know that I used a putty knife to pop the cable lock away from the boot. You need something with a really thin edge to get under the metal.

I accidentally popped it a little too far out, but it wasn't a problem to push it back in. I always sweat bullets trying to modify things that come new and should work right out of the box! LOL

[Dawn]

I'm looking forward to your update after you use them!