What is the Best Hoof Boot: 3 Boots After 32 Days on the Trail

We reviewed Cavallo, Renegade and Easy Boot hoof boots. Here's how they held up after 32 days on the trail.
We reviewed Cavallo, Renegade and Easy Boot hoof boots. Here’s how they held up after 32 days on the trail.

What is the best hoof boot for your horse or mule? My wife Julia and I spent 6 weeks riding from North Carolina to Virginia and back with three brands of hoof boots. This post is what we learned about these hoof boots after 32 days on the road. The 3 boots reviewed are Cavallo hoof boots, EasyBoot hoof boots and Renegade hoof boots. Prices and specs as of the test date are:

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We’re going to compare Cavallo, EasyBoot and Renegade hoof boots. We used the optional pastern wrap with the Cavallo boots to reduce chafe. This is reflected in the price per boot.
Bernie Harberts, Bernie Harberts photo, Julie Carpenter, cavallo hoof boot, renegade hoof boot, easyboot hoof boot, barefoot hoof trim, trail ride, mule, mule hoof
  The actual boots we tested. They are EasyBoot, Renegade and Cavallo (w/o pastern wraps shown). This is how they looked after we rode in them from North Carolina to Virginia – and back.

About Hoof Boots and Me.

I have traveled over 1,000 days and thousands of miles in hoof boots. My saddle and wagon journeys – all done without steel shoes – include:

  • Oriental, North Carolina to San, Diego, California (13 months)
  • Neptune, Saskatchewan to Fort Hancock, Texas (14 months)
  • Across Newfoundland (4 months)
  • Lenoir, North Carolina to Triumph, Idaho (6 months)
  • Lenoir, North Carolina to Damascus, Virginia +return
  • various week-long wagon and saddle trips
Bernie Harberts, Bernie Harberts photo, Julie Carpenter, riverearth.com, barefoot hoof trim, cavallo boot, easy boot, renegade boot, mule, horse, trail ride, hoof boot comparison, what is best hoof boot
 My mule Polly taking a break from pulling her “Lost Sea Expedition” wagon journey from Canada to Mexico. The hoof boots she’s wearing protected her bare feet nicely on this rocky stretch of New Mexico gravel road. She joined us as our pack mule on our recent “Ride out the Front Gate” trip from North Carolina to Virginia and back. You can stream the “Lost Sea Expedition” series on Amazon.

My work includes:

  • “Too Proud to Ride a Cow”: the book of my Atlantic to Pacific mule ride
  • “Woody and Maggie Walk Across America”: the kid’s book about my Atlantic to Pacific mule ride
  • “The Lost Sea Expedition”: the 4-part Public TV series about my barefoot mule voyage from Canada to Mexico.

My books and DVDs are available in the RiverEarth.com General Store.
You can stream the “Lost Sea Expedition” on Amazon.

Why Hoof Boots

Early in my mule travels, I switched from steel shoes to barefoot. I found it healthier for the animal’s feet. Also, like many people, I wasn’t comfortable driving nails in to my animal’s hoofs. Instead I focused on becoming a competent barefoot trimmer and learning how to fit hoof boots correctly.

Hoof boots let me combine the benefits of barefoot travel with the extra protection I could add as needed. This let me take complete control of my animals’ hoof care instead of relying on others.

Over the years I’ve learned that with proper guidance, this is a system anyone with a bit of skill and interest can master.

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 Julia trims Dusty’s front feet before our ride. He is one of the 3 mules we took on our mule ramble.

This Report IS:

– an account of 2 folks, 3 mules and 3 brands of hoof boots undertaking a month-long, barefoot saddle ramble in western North Carolina and the Virginia High Country.
– an endorsement of bare foot hoof trimming. We’ve had great success making the transition from steel shoes to hoof boots and our latest trip just reinforced that decision.

This Report is NOT

  • a scientifically conducted comparison of hoof boots. It was not conducted under controlled lab conditions. It is not, in the words of statisticians, “robust”.
  • an endorsement of any hoof boot company. Different boots work for different folks. We would have been happy taking any of the 3 boots tested on a long ride. The trick is to know the strengths and weaknesses of each boot.

The Story

On August 31, 2018, Julia and I tacked up our mules, put on their hoof boots and rode out our front gate. This report is how our hoof boots fared after 32 days on the road in all conditions from muck, mud and asphalt to Hurricane Florence’s advance.

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  Julia and me the day we finished our trip: Julia took part in all phases of this report, from initial hoof trim to Dusty’s highway shenanigans to overseeing the final edits of this report.

From our farm in Lenoir, North Carolina, we rode the western North Carolina back roads, highways and trails to Damascus, Virginia and on to Grayson Highlands, home of the famed wild ponies.

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  Riding among wild ponies. What a thrill to ride out our front gate and arrive by saddle to this otherworldly landscape.

From Grayson Highlands, we rode home. On October 6, having camped in 15 different locations, we walked back in the front gate with the same sets of hoof boots still on every mule.

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  The route. We didn’t pre-plan the route. We just went where folks said we should go.
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 We rode out the front gate in late summer. I was clean shaven but…
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… by early fall, when we rode back in through the same gate, I had a beard.

This report is what we learned on the road with our hoof boots. Since the results apply to horses and mules, I use “horse” and “mule” interchangeably.

The Mules and the Boots They Wore

The mules we used are:
– Polly: 23 y’old mare mule. Pack mule. Walked in hoof boots across America and Newfoundland with me. Featured in the “Lost Sea Expedition” Public TV series (stream on Amazon)
– Brick: 6 y’old mare mule. Saddle mule. Green broke.
– Dusty: 20-something horse mule. Saddle mule. Borrowed from Ronald Hudson.

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Brick, Polly and Dusty. This photos was taken moments after we returned from our month-long ride.

All of our 3 mules traveled barefoot, relying solely on hoof boots for protection.

Here is what each mule wore:
Polly: Renegades
Brick: Cavallos
Dusty: EasyBoots and Renegades

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  The boots (front to rear) Renegade, Cavallo and EasyBoot. This photo was taken…
Bernie Harberts, Bernie Harberts photo, Julie Carpenter, riverearth.com, barefoot hoof trim, cavallo boot, easy boot, renegade boot, mule, horse, trail ride, hoof boot comparison, what is best hoof boot
…on the Watauga/Wilkes County line in western North Carolina, home of some great gravel road riding.

How we Reviewed Our Boots

When we got home our ride, we put together a spread sheet listing the strengths and weaknesses of each boot.

This report isn’t an endorsement of any particular hoof boot. If it’s an endorsement of anything, it’s of letting your horse or mule go barefoot most of the time and having the option to put on hoof boots when more protection is needed. While some people still prefer steel shoes, we feel hoof boots are a healthier, practical alternative for the majority of the riding we do.

We rode in our boots 5 to 10 hours per day over a span of 32 days. We took them off at night.

This may vary from most users who will use their boots:

  • 1 to 4 hours on the weekends
  • for one-off, long distance events
  • a few hours a day

Keep this in mind when your read our findings.

Rating System

For our rating system, we listed various criteria, from how easy the boot was to put on to how much it chafed the animal. We rated each criteria on a scale of 1 to 5 then explained our decisions.

How we Got Our Boots

EasyBoots: purchased from manufacturer. *
Cavallos: gift from manufacturer. **
Renegades: purchased from manufacturer.

Note:
*EasyCare, maker of EasyBoots, sent me a few boots for the “Lost Sea Expedition” wagon journey across America.
**Cavallo, maker of Cavallo boots, also included pastern wraps and gel support pads. We used the pastern wraps but not the support pads.

The Results: How the Boots Performed

1) Stay on Hoof

Cavallo: 5
Renegade: 5
EasyBoot: 4

Whether the boot stayed on the hoof was the most important factor for us. We were impressed with how well all the boots stayed on. We rode through sucking mud, wet grass, rivers and sand. Our mules stepped over endless cinder block sized rocks, jumped over logs and clip-clopped over railroad trestles and bridges. At one point, we dodged an oncoming hurricane. We also rode many miles of oily smooth asphalt, rocky cement and freshly graded gravel roads.

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A friendly Forest Service warning: the trail ahead is about to get EXTREME. The trail did indeed get rough. During the off-road portion of our trip none of our boots fell off.
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Our boots marched through deep muck on the Iron Mountain Trail as we made our way to Grayson Highlands….
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  … over logs fallen across rocky trails and…
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  … through Appalachian creeks…
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… across mountain balds where the wild ponies live…
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… then back home. Many of the mountain roads we road on had just enough of a shoulder to get out of oncoming traffic. Not a good place to lose a hoof boot.

During the whole trip, we only had 4 hoof boots come off. Two of those incidents happened when the mules spun on asphalt. In the other incident, a mule reared on asphalt while traveling down hill and slid out of both hind boots. We never lost a boot where we would have expected: in the sucking mud and slippery rocks.

Cavallo: very secure. Never fell off.

Renegade: very secure. Never fell off.

EasyBoot: the only boot to fall off during our trip. This happened three times. Each time was under severe strain (mules spooking and rearing in traffic). Even though the boots came off the hoof, they remained attached to the pastern by the Velcro enclosure. The EasyBoot model we used (Glove) was the lightest of the boots used. We were pleasantly surprised they held up in the heavy going as well as they did.

2) Chafe

EasyBoot: 4
Renegade: 4
Cavallo: 2

Whether or not a hoof boot chafes a horse’s feet is almost as important as whether the boot stays on. A boot isn’t a good match for your horse if, after an hour of riding, it’s rubbed the hair off your horses’s pastern or heels.

Keep this in mind, though. Just because a boot chafes your horse doesn’t mean it’s not a great boot on someone else’s horse.

Maybe your horse isn’t built right for that boot. Maybe he’s not trimmed optimally. Maybe you’re not putting that boot on correctly. The manufacturers of all 3 boots we used had great written and video instructions on how to measure and fit your boot. Heed that stuff. When in doubt, call the manufacturer. We’ve spoken, person to person, with all of them on the phone. They were friendly and talked us through all our questions.

I’ve had fine luck with boots that others swore were useless. And vice versa, I’ve heard from folks that had great luck with boots that didn’t work so well for me.

The conditions you use your boots under also determines how much chafe you may or may not experience.

The way we tested our boots was extreme. We encountered 3 factors that most users won’t face all at once.


– Rain
– Extended wear
– Picketing at night

Rain: It rained almost half the days we were out. At night, the mules stood in wet grass. This made the mule’s feet soft, making them more susceptible to hoof chafe.

Bernie Harberts, Bernie Harberts photo, Julie Carpenter, forest service sign, extreme, trail ride, horse, mule
Soggy mules and long faces. Walking through West Jefferson, NC, in the rain. The rain makes the hoofs soft. On the abrasive cement, this makes hoof boots essential.

Extended wear: When they wore their boots, they were on a long time. They wore them 5 – 10 hours at a time through grueling conditions: mud, creeks, rain, asphalt and gravel. We took them off at night. In the final days of our mule ramble, our mules walked 9 consecutive days – 7 of those in hoof boots.

Picketing at night: Grain is heavy so we didn’t carry much. To ensure our animals had enough to eat, we picketed them out at night. This system worked really well as it allowed the mules to browse whenever they weren’t working. There is a downside. Walking around all night with a hobble on a foot can rub the same hair that, during the day, is exposed to the hoof boot.

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Polly picketed at the Fox Creek Horse Camp outside Grayson Highlands. To reduce chafe, we alternate which front leg the hobble is attached to. Monday it’s the right front foot, Tuesday it’s the left and so it goes through the week.

It bears repeating that our ride took place under unusually rainy conditions. To put this in to perspective, I had more issues with hoof boot chafe in my 32 day mule ramble than both my cross-country mule journeys. Not that any of the chafed spots lasted very long. After giving our mules’ feet a few days to rest after the trip was over, we could have slapped their boots back on and hit the road again.

We never lost a day of travel because the animals were too sore to travel. Most folks aren’t going to use their hoof boots that intensely. Keep all that in mind when you look at our findings.

EasyBoot: Minor chafe after extended use in wet conditions, primarily on the pastern just above the hairline.

Bernie Harberts, Bernie Harberts photo, Julie Carpenter, renegade hoof boot, barefoot hoof trim, trail ride, mule, mule hoof
Mule Dusty’s front foot after his trip in EasyBoots. It was Dusty’s character and foot picket, not his hoof boots, that caused much of the abrasion. The hair has been rubbed away but the skin is not broken. Dusty is the herd sentry. Like all our other mules, we picket him out by a front leg when we’re on the road. He walks back and forth all night long keeping watch over the other animals. This means his leg picket rubs back and forth across the hair much more than it does on our other 2 animals.

Renegade: Some skin irritation after extended use in wet conditions, primarily on heels. A looser heel strap would have helped reduce friction.

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Mule Polly’s front heel after wearing Renegades. The pinkish skin is where the boot’s heel captivator made contact.

Cavallo: Chaff was an issue with the Cavallos. This was primarily caused by the boots’ rounded top cuff. Without the protective neoprene pastern wraps, we found the boots chafed the hair along the side of the pastern. The boots did not chafe the heels.

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Mule Brick’s pastern at the end of the trip after wearing the Cavallos. The chafe was caused primarily by the top of the boot, where the round neoprene makes contact with the pastern. This rounded cuff creates a pressure point against the skin. The pastern wraps greatly reduced wear on this spot. Without the pastern wraps, the chafe would have been much worse.

This cuff chafe was especially pronounced in wet weather. Using the boot in conjunction with Cavallo’s neoprene pastern wrap greatly reduced the issue of chafe. With the pastern wrap, the Cavallos chafed no more than the EasyBoots or Renegades. The only problem with the pastern wraps is they were time consuming to put on and needed mending after approx 100 miles (7 riding days) of use (see Durability, below).

3) Durability

Renegade: 5
Cavallo: 4
EasyBoot: 4

The good news is the boots we tested were, for the most part, really tough. The soles on all 3 brands of boots we used, even after 150 miles on asphalt highways, gravel roads and rocky trails, showed minimal wear. Every boot we used still has hundreds of miles of use left in it.

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  Boot soles: they are EasyBoot, Renegade and Cavallo. Plenty of miles left in these boots.

Where we saw more wear was on non-sole parts like garters and Velcro closures. Fortunately, most of these parts are replaceable or repairable. Cavallo and Renegade included spare Velcro straps with their boots.

One thing we noticed on all our boots is that the Velcro attachments became less effective after about 150 miles of use. That’s largely because we used them in hard going – lots of grass, sticks, water and muck. Just the sort of stuff that gums up hook-and-loop closures.

This didn’t make any of the boots unusable. Because we didn’t carry spare boot parts with us, we simply tied the Velcro closure closed with a piece of bailing twine.

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At some point, everyone’s Velcro dies…and it’s no big deal. Here’s how bailing twine saved the day on our Renegades, Cavallos and EasyBoots.

Had we done more riding on clean, dry surfaces, this would have been less of an issue.

Renegade: Very durable all around. Breakages were minor:
-a few rubber keepers
-the end of one Velcro strap
-Velcro became clogged. Repaired with bailing twine
-stitching on one strap broke
These were minor breakages and were easily solved on the trail with a few lengths of bailing twine and dental floss.

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  The broken stitching on the top Renegade strap. The rubber keeps are still fine.
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 The stitching was repaired with needle and thread I carry in my hat for just such a repair. The job took about 5 minutes.
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 The strap repaired. It would last the duration of our trip.

To be fair, Renegade includes these spare parts with their new boots. We just neglected to bring the spare kits with us which we should have.

Cavallo: the boot itself was durable. The pastern wrap, which we needed to use inside the boot to prevent chafe, was not. The stitching and material began to tear at about 100 miles of use.

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Broken stitching and torn material on the pastern wrap. Of the 4 wraps used, this was the worst torn.
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I repaired the ripped area with dental floss using a suture-style stitch. Here’s the repaired wrap on Brick’s foot. The knoted end of the repair is outside the boot to prevent fray and chafe on the knot
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Pastern wrap and boot back in place. The repair lasted the rest of the trip.

Boot breakages were relatively minor:
-Velcro became clogged. Repaired with bailing twine.

The pastern wrap needed re-stitching after around 100 miles of use. Pastern wrap is made of stitched neoprene. These stitches failed but were repaired with dental floss. These might have been repaired once more, after which a new set would have to be purchased.

EasyBoot: more durable than its light construction would have us believe. The lightest built of the boots we used, only a few parts failed including:
-Velcro became clogged. Repaired with bailing twine.
-screw fell out of the neoprene garter: The neoprene garter, which helps secure the boot to the hoof, is connected to the boot’s sole with 3 screws. One of the screws that secures the side of the garter fell out. Lacking a spare screw, we duct-taped the boot in place. This allowed us to continue using the boot.

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The screw that attaches the garter to the boot. After we lost one screw, we re-checked the others. About 1/3 needed tightening. This needs to be done carefully. If the screw is over-tightened, it can compress and damage the black polymer material the garter is made of.
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The duct tape repair. We used Gorilla duct tape which is much stickier than the cheap grey stuff.

EasyCare, maker of EasyBoot, stocks replacement screws. We had spare screws back home. We just failed to bring them on our trip.

4) Ease of Putting On

EasyBoot: 5
Renegade: 4
Cavallo: 3

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Hoof boots are all about the same to put on: pick up foot, loosen boot fasteners, strap in to place. Here, a Renegade is fitted to the hoof.

This factor is more of a skill than design issue. The more you put hoof boots on, the more you you understand which boot needs a tap on the toe or an extra careful tug on the heel strap.

EasyBoot: the easiest boot to put on. Open the Velcro on the neoprene garter. Fold the garter back. Slip the hoof in to the boot. Make sure it’s on straight. Tap in place. Secure the Velcro. You’re good to go.

Renegade: easy to put on but takes a bit more time to put on than the EasyBoot. Instead of one Velcro closure, it has two.

Cavallo: the most time consuming boot to put on because we needed to put on the optional pastern wrap almost every time we used the boot. Even after a proper breaking in period, without the pastern wrap, the Cavallo boot consistently chafed the pastern right above the heel (see Chafe). Putting on the pastern wrap and the boot took twice as much time because we were putting twice as much gear on the hoof. The few times we used the Cavallo without the pastern wrap, it went on as quickly as the EasyBoot.

5) Speed of Putting On

EasyBoot: 5
Renegade: 4
Cavallo: 3

How quickly you can put on a hoof boot isn’t a major criteria unless you have to put on quite a few of them – as we did. With 3 mules (12 feet) to boot up each morning, the difference between 30 seconds per boot and 3 minutes per boot adds up.

EasyBoot: quickest boot to put on. Once we got the hang of putting them on, we could easily slip one on in 30 seconds or less.

Renegade: almost as fast to put on as the EasyBoot. With practice, we were able to put them on in about 30 seconds.

Cavallo: we found the Cavallo slow to put on because we used the Cavallo pastern wrap almost every time we used the boots. These wraps go around the pastern and heels like a sock or bootie. Each wrap is secured with 2 Velcro straps and take a bit of tugging and adjusting to apply smoothly. Each boot is secured with 2 Velcro flaps and one Velcro strap. This wrap needs to be secure to the boot once the boot is in place. Twice as much to put on (boot + pastern wrap) meant we spent twice as long putting these boots on.

6) Sleekness

EasyBoot: 5
Renegade: 4
Cavallo: 3

(The higher the number, the sleeker the boot)

This may or may not be a factor of concern. In general, a heavier built boot (heavier straps, metal buckles, double straps) will be bulkier than a lighter built boot.

This could become an issue depending on a horse’s gait and job.

Some horses scrub their hind feet together when they walk in boots. If the back hoof boots are bulky, they will rub together as the horse walks. This will lead to premature boot wear and possibly unnecessary chafing of the animal. Bulkiness could also become an issue for certain high performance horses.

Sometimes it’s the owner that has trouble with bulkiness. Some people think a bulky boot is ugly. Others don’t care what the boots look like as long as they work.

EasyBoot: the sleekest of the boots we tested.

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  The EasyBoot on Dusty’s hind foot. He is built narrow behind. The boot’s sleek fit didn’t interfere with his movement.

Sleekness was a factor with mule Dusty. He travels really close together behind. When walking in the EasyBoots, they did not make contact with each other. The Cavallo and Renegade boots, when worn on Dusty’s hind feet, scrubbed together when he walked. Interestingly, when worn on his front feet, the same boots did not make contact.

Renegade: the middle of the road in terms of sleekness.

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 Renegade hoof boot fitted to Polly’s front foot.

Cavallo: bulkiest of the boots we tested.

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  The Cavallos on Brick. They are heavily built and were the bulkiest of the boots we used. This did not interfere with Brick’s moment.

7) Customer Service

EasyBoot: 5
Cavallo: 5
Renegade: 5

To make sure we were putting the right sized hoof boot on our animals we called each of the manufacturers for guidance. They all provided great phone support, talking us through measuring our animals’ hoofs and helping us choose the boot that fit. In all cases, the size of boot they steered us to was the correct one.

8) Suitability for mules

Cavallo: 5
EasyBoot: 5
Renegade: 5

In general, a mule has a narrower hoof than a horse. Whereas a horse has a “C” shaped hoof, a mule has more of a “U” shaped foot. Still, given 3 different mules, you’ll probably find as many different hoof shapes. Mule Polly, our stocky pack mule, has almost horse-like feet. Dusty, our borrowed saddle mule, has much longer, narrower feet (more donkey like), especially his hind ones. Brick, our saddle mule, has feet somewhere in between.
This didn’t really matter when it came down to hoof boot fit.

We found enough adjustment flexibility in each boot to make it work.
Still, there will be mule hoofs that are hard to size to a hoof boot. To that, I say the same goes for horses. Horses, just like mules and people, have feet of all different shapes and sizes. Finding a hoof boot that fits a mule’s particular needs can often be resolved by contacting the manufacturer to see what options are available.

Cavallo: when we spoke with Cavallo on the phone, they suggested the “Trek” model, saying it was slightly narrower and therefor probably better suited to a mule’s hoof. They were right.

EasyBoot: from traveling both ways across America in EasyBoots, I knew they would fit my mules.

Renegade: from traveling across Newfoundland in Renegade Boots, I knew they would fit my mules.

9) Country of Origin

Some people care if their products are domestically made. Some don’t. Here’s where the boots we used were made:

Cavallos: China
EasyBoots: China
Renegades: USA

The tabulated results

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 The results of our hoof boot test. Boots are listed in alphabetical order by manufacturer.

Hoof Boot Thoughts

I start talking with folks about hoof boots and they ask, “how far can you go in them?” Or they want to know, “how many miles can you get out of a pair?”
That’s the wrong measure.
What’s more important is how far and often your horse can be ridden WITHOUT hoof boots.

Bernie Harberts, Bernie Harberts photo, Julie Carpenter, cavallo hoof boot, renegade hoof boot, easyboot hoof boot, barefoot hoof trim, trail ride, mule, mule hoof
You don’t always need hoof boots. Depending on the terrain and other conditions, they amount of time they’re not needed could vary from 15 – 50-plus%. Here are ours packed on mule Polly on one of the days when the mules went barefoot.

It’s been my experience that when a horse goes barefoot (as opposed to being shod with steel horse shoes), the more the horse is used, the tougher the hoof gets. In the example of a long journey, say a month long ride, as each week progresses, the horse will rely less and less on hoof boots. Sure, there are exceptions like rainy weather and extra-abrasive surfaces. But by and large, the longer a horse travels barefoot, the tougher the sole of the foot becomes.

Bernie Harberts, Bernie Harberts photo, Julie Carpenter, riverearth.com, barefoot hoof trim, renegade boot, mule, horse, trail ride, hoof boot comparison, what is best hoof boot
Mule Polly’s hoof. This hoof is 23 years old and has walked across America and Newfoundland, – all without steel shoes. This photo was taken the day she finished walking from North Carolina to Virginia and back in hoof boots.

Think of it this way. If you spent your summers as a kid running around barefoot, the first few days, the bottoms of your feet were tender. But as summer went on, the soles of your feet got tougher and tougher. By the time school got back in, you could walk fine on gravel.
Same goes for horses and mules. Sure, some have tougher feet. But by and large, the more they go barefoot, the tougher their feet get. And the tougher their feet get, the longer they can go without hoof boots.

Proper Hoof Trim

Proper hoof trimming is vital for proper hoof boot fit. I trim my mules’ feet regularly. I employ the mustang roll and find the bull-nosed shape a great complement to proper hoof boot fit.
This is vital. The person that expects to cram an overgrown hoof in to a hoof boot successfully is going to be disappointed. They’ll fail at whatever brand they use. Worse yet, that person will bad mouth whatever hoof boot they tried to shove on to their overgrown animal’s hoofs.
Listen to the manufacturers’ suggestions on proper trim for hoof boots. I found Ramey’s book “Making Natural Hoof Care Work for You” a great guide on how to trim your animal’s feet.

What about Donkeys?

Could these hoof boots fit donkeys? In many cases, they might. Since a donkey has an even narrower hoof than a mule, it would certainly be worth contacting the manufacturer for suggestions. Remember, aside from the 3 hoof boots we’ve mentioned, there are lots of other brands out there we haven’t mentioned. Some could work well for donkeys.

If you’re handy, you could probably even retrofit your hoof boots to make them narrower. This might void the manufacturers warranty. I’ve done it with good results to make a hoof boot narrower for my mule.

Bernie Harberts, Bernie Harberts photo, Julie Carpenter, riverearth.com, barefoot hoof trim, easy boot, easy boot shim, hoof boot shim, what is best hoof boot
Home made shim I made for an old (circa 2000) Easy hoof boot. I used this shim in a hoof boot on my wagon voyage across America. I needed to make the boot narrower to fit my mule Polly’s hoof. The shim was a tapered hoof pad I got from a farrier supply store. Photo 2: the shim screwed in to the hoof boot. I used longer versions of the boot’s screws to hold the shim in place. This solution snugged the boot up nicely. Baring a more elegant solution, it could well work on a donkey or an animal with a very narrow hoof.

Just my Experience

There are thousands of individual hoof boots out there successfully protecting horses’ and mules’ feet every day. There are Cavallos, EasyBoots and Renegades. There are Davis Boots, Old Macs and Scoot Boots. There even some folks that tried to make boots made with duct tape and inner tubes. Okay, that would be me.

Bernie Harberts, Bernie Harberts photo, Julie Carpenter, home made hoof boot, duct tape hoof boot, horse, mule, trail ride, hoof
 My first hoof boot. I made it while traveling across America with my mule Woody and pony Maggie. It consisted of duct tape wrapped around inner tubes. It held up well enough. I eventually switched to more conventional (ie: “store bought”) hoof boots.

The thing to remember is that for every model of boot out there, there’s someone who loves that boot. And someone who hates it. There’s someone who will tell you how that boot sored up their horse while another person will tell you it’s the only boot their horse can walk in.

And of course, there are some folks that don’t think ANY hoof boot is for them because, in their minds, steel shoes are the only way to go. Or they’ve tried hoof boots and they didn’t work out for them.

Fine. I understand hoof boots can be a contentious issue.

The spirit of this report is simply to tell you what Julia, our mules, our hoof boots and I experienced on our 32 days on the road.

Tips

Applied individually, these tips can improve your hoof boot experience. Taken as a whole, they can spell the difference between success and failure.

  • Follow the directions that came with your boots.
    -Pick out the hoof before putting on the boot.
  • Before putting on your hoof boot, check the toe. Often, it will be packed with mud, seeds or hardened debris, making the boot hard to put on.
  • Wash your boots as soon as you can after they get muddy. This really saves the Velcro fasteners.
  • Make repairs early. A bit of bailing twine wrapped around a loose velcro strap can prolong that strap’s life greatly.
  • If one brand of hoof boot doesn’t work for you, even after you’ve tried all the tricks to make them work, don’t write off hoof boots. Try another brand. We are currently using 3 different brands of hoof boots successfully.

My Pick

For long, slow distance travel (ex: trail riding or a month long saddle or wagon trip) I would choose a heavy-duty, easily repairable boot, I would choose: Renegade

-For shorter, faster travel (ex: endurance event) I would choose a lighter, lower profile boot. I would choose: EasyBoot.

Having said that, Julia and I own and use 4different brands of hoof boots. They are:

  • EasyBoots
  • Cavallo
  • Renegade
  • Scoot Boots

All work fine in most conditions.

Bernie Harberts, Bernie Harberts photo, Julie Carpenter, renegade hoof boot, cavallo hoof boot, easyboot hoof boot, hoof boot, horse, mule, trail ride, hoof
Our hoof boot collection. The oldest ones are veterans of my walk across America with mule Polly. Others are new and joined us for our recent mule ramble. All are ready to slap on a hoof and hit the trail.

Closing thoughts

I hope you found this report informative.

While this may be a report on how our hoof boots performed, it’s also a testament to how far hoof boots have come in the 2 decades I’ve used them. I want to congratulate all the boot manufactures, EasyCare (makers of EasyBoots), Cavallo and Renegade, for putting their money, time and effort in to developing their products. Kudos to them for getting them in to horse peoples’ hands so they can take control of their animals’ hoof care.

Julia and I sure enjoyed riding in all 3 hoof boots we used. We enjoyed traveling the land knowing our mules’ feet were moving and flexing and pumping blood as they were designed to. It was great knowing that, at the end of a long day on the trail, their feet weren’t bound by steel shoes. That felt great to us. More important, it felt great to our mules.

Bernie Harberts, Bernie Harberts photo, Julie Carpenter, riverearth.com, barefoot hoof trim, cavallo boot, easy boot, renegade boot, mule, horse, trail ride, hoof boot comparison, what is best hoof boot
Me. “Brick, do you like your hoof boots?” Brick: “Oh Yeaaaahh!!!”.

It was re-assuring to know that we were in charge of our mules’ feet. We didn’t have to call in a farrier if a traditional steel shoe got sucked off in the mud. Our mules were traveling bare foot. If a toe was long, we could trim it. If the road ahead was rocky, we could put on hoof boots. If the road ahead was grass, we could let them go barefoot.

Get A Free Copy of my Photo Book “Nineteen Million Mule Steps”

I’d love to give you a free copy of my award-winng 134-page photo book “Nineteen Million Mule Steps”. The book is about my 7 month, 2,300 mile Long Ride from North Carolina to Idaho with my mules Brick and Cracker. Of course I did the journey in hoof boots!



Some More Boot-Related Posts That Might Interest You

I’ve written a lot about hoof boots over the past years. Here’s a series I wrote that might interest you. It’s about transitioning my wife’s pony Pie from steel shoes to hoof boots.


Links / References:

ConsideringAnimals.com Julia Carpenter’s take on our mule ramble
LostSeaExpediton.com Barefoot wagon voyage from Canada to Mexico
Stream the “Lost Sea Expedition” series on Amazon
cavallo-inc.com
easycareinc.com (maker of EasyBoots)
renegadehoofboot.com
Pete Ramey “Making Natural Hoof Care Work for You”
My books and DVDs are available in the RiverEarth.com General Store


Julia
2018-10-18 13:44:42

Those boots were made for walking! And they walked all over the place. I can’t believe what kinds of conditions they stayed on in. Truly unbelievable.This trip sealed my conversion to barefoot and boots forever. So my future and present mules and horse kick off your steel shoes, everybody gonna be footloose from now on.


Jan Bernier
2018-10-18 16:49:35

thank you SO much for this report! I am wanting to use boots on my mule AND my mammoth donkey!! I’d heard that Easyboot “Back Country” model were more narrow and fit well, so I’m happy to read that Easyboot fared well in your report.

I SO envy you the courage to take a trip like this!


Bernie Harberts
2018-10-18 17:18:59

Hi Jan, So good to hear you found the report interesting. You should do fine booting up your mule and donkey, especially if you find a boot that fits your animals’ feet. Sounds like the “Back Country” might work for you. Let us know how it goes! Regards, Bernie


Diane Brazzale
2018-10-20 13:48:52

After trying various boots over the years, my results pretty much match up with yours. Great article.i may have missed it but I think it’s worth mentioning that the shape of your horses hoof has a lot to do with the boot you choose, as boots vary in shape. The easyboot is a bit more round than the renegade original, although renegade has added better sizing with their new viper. I like the versatility of the renegade as you can adjust the boot with hoof growth, I like the softer rubber sole, and lightness of the easyboot glove. I found the renegade longer lasting and less likely to come apart during a ride. I found both boots come off at full gallop, mostly hind, but eastboot strap keeps the boot on the leg where as we’ve spent alot of trail riding time looking for renegades. Be sure to buy sport orange. I have both.


Bernie Harberts
2018-10-21 22:19:47

Hi Diane, Great comment. It’s really cool to hear you’re having really similar results with Easy Boots and Renegades. A lot really does come down to hoof shape. Day in day out, I use Renegades. Not as sleek as the EasyBoot Gloves but since a lot of our riding is in rocky, hilly footing (western NC) at a walk, they’re my #1 pick. They also last seemingly forever.
The only place I part ways with you is sport orange. I guess I’m just not bold enough to break away from tried and true (read boring) black. Maybe it’s a sign I should eat more cayenne peppers and do some knife throwing behind the barn… I’ll be sure to keep mule Polly well away.
Happy bare-hoofin’!
Bernie


Bob Skelding
2018-10-23 09:11:36

Hi Bernie and Julia,

I really enjoyed this article. My thoughts are that whatever seems to work well of the rider or teamster is what they should use. This is a good article that explains the best and worst of each boot for different reasons. Personally, I shoe horses so that works for me. I use shoes with drilltex on them (tungsten carbide). When pulling a heavy wagon (7000 to 9000 pounds) down the road, I get 10 weeks out of a set of shoes (5 weeks of wear with one reset). If I used straight steal shoes, they would only last for three days. While pulling a wagon around America for 10,000 miles, I never had a lame horse. This worked for me. It sounds like you had a great experience with boots, so this also sounds like a good way to keep an equine sound. Very good report!

Your friend Bob


Stephen Williams
2018-10-24 08:49:00

thank you


Bernie Harberts
2018-10-25 09:01:17

Hi Bob and Stephen,
So glad you found this report interesting. Bob, I’m of the same mind that it’s important to find out what works for you. What I always find helpful is having access to the pros and cons of a few different ways of doing things. Then I choose the one that works for me.
Or not.
I don’t necessarily view steel shoes as “hoof coffins”. Using carbide tipped shoes on your wagon was clearly the way to go. After all, you did put in 10,000 sound wagon miles.
We’ll discuss the finer points of clinching and booting over our next biscuit!
Happy rambling.
Bernie

help.

Now boot up and go for a ride!

Bernie Harberts
Lenoir, NC

Links / References:

ConsideringAnimals.com Julia Carpenter’s take on our mule ramble
LostSeaExpediton.com Barefoot wagon voyage from Canada to Mexico
Stream the “Lost Sea Expedition” series on Amazon
cavallo-inc.com
easycareinc.com (maker of EasyBoots)
renegadehoofboot.com
Pete Ramey “Making Natural Hoof Care Work for You”
My books and DVDs are available in the RiverEarth.com General Store


Julia
2018-10-18 13:44:42

Those boots were made for walking! And they walked all over the place. I can’t believe what kinds of conditions they stayed on in. Truly unbelievable.This trip sealed my conversion to barefoot and boots forever. So my future and present mules and horse kick off your steel shoes, everybody gonna be footloose from now on.


Jan Bernier
2018-10-18 16:49:35

thank you SO much for this report! I am wanting to use boots on my mule AND my mammoth donkey!! I’d heard that Easyboot “Back Country” model were more narrow and fit well, so I’m happy to read that Easyboot fared well in your report.

I SO envy you the courage to take a trip like this!


Bernie Harberts
2018-10-18 17:18:59

Hi Jan, So good to hear you found the report interesting. You should do fine booting up your mule and donkey, especially if you find a boot that fits your animals’ feet. Sounds like the “Back Country” might work for you. Let us know how it goes! Regards, Bernie


Diane Brazzale
2018-10-20 13:48:52

After trying various boots over the years, my results pretty much match up with yours. Great article.i may have missed it but I think it’s worth mentioning that the shape of your horses hoof has a lot to do with the boot you choose, as boots vary in shape. The easyboot is a bit more round than the renegade original, although renegade has added better sizing with their new viper. I like the versatility of the renegade as you can adjust the boot with hoof growth, I like the softer rubber sole, and lightness of the easyboot glove. I found the renegade longer lasting and less likely to come apart during a ride. I found both boots come off at full gallop, mostly hind, but eastboot strap keeps the boot on the leg where as we’ve spent alot of trail riding time looking for renegades. Be sure to buy sport orange. I have both.


Bernie Harberts
2018-10-21 22:19:47

Hi Diane, Great comment. It’s really cool to hear you’re having really similar results with Easy Boots and Renegades. A lot really does come down to hoof shape. Day in day out, I use Renegades. Not as sleek as the EasyBoot Gloves but since a lot of our riding is in rocky, hilly footing (western NC) at a walk, they’re my #1 pick. They also last seemingly forever.
The only place I part ways with you is sport orange. I guess I’m just not bold enough to break away from tried and true (read boring) black. Maybe it’s a sign I should eat more cayenne peppers and do some knife throwing behind the barn… I’ll be sure to keep mule Polly well away.
Happy bare-hoofin’!
Bernie


Bob Skelding
2018-10-23 09:11:36

Hi Bernie and Julia,

I really enjoyed this article. My thoughts are that whatever seems to work well of the rider or teamster is what they should use. This is a good article that explains the best and worst of each boot for different reasons. Personally, I shoe horses so that works for me. I use shoes with drilltex on them (tungsten carbide). When pulling a heavy wagon (7000 to 9000 pounds) down the road, I get 10 weeks out of a set of shoes (5 weeks of wear with one reset). If I used straight steal shoes, they would only last for three days. While pulling a wagon around America for 10,000 miles, I never had a lame horse. This worked for me. It sounds like you had a great experience with boots, so this also sounds like a good way to keep an equine sound. Very good report!

Your friend Bob


Stephen Williams
2018-10-24 08:49:00

thank you


Bernie Harberts
2018-10-25 09:01:17

Hi Bob and Stephen,
So glad you found this report interesting. Bob, I’m of the same mind that it’s important to find out what works for you. What I always find helpful is having access to the pros and cons of a few different ways of doing things. Then I choose the one that works for me.
Or not.
I don’t necessarily view steel shoes as “hoof coffins”. Using carbide tipped shoes on your wagon was clearly the way to go. After all, you did put in 10,000 sound wagon miles.
We’ll discuss the finer points of clinching and booting over our next biscuit!
Happy rambling.
Bernie

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Linda
Linda
1 year ago

It’s remarkable to be able to switch to the hoof boots.
My concern is, this boots are made for trail ride an harsh conditions, but there’s another disciplines like Spanish horses dancing, paso fino fast lateral walking and performance and the rubber it self it does mamut it harder to performance.

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