The best time to measure hooves for boots is right after a recent “natural” trim featuring a low heel, a short toe and a mustang roll (If your horse has high heels click here High Heels). The mustang roll is important because the inside corners of the Renegade are filleted or rounded to accept the shape of the rounded hoof wall edge(mustang roll). If after trimming, your horse has squared off and sharp hoof wall edges, the boot will not to fit properly which may lead to boot instability. Sharp hoof wall edges are exactly that.. ‘SHARP’.. and can cut the flesh of opposing hooves and damage the hoof boots too. Help stamp out Edward Scissor Hoof! Ask your farrier to perform a proper mustang roll or at the very least, rasp the sharp edge off with a simple bevel shape. Take note that the mustang roll should go all the way to the heels. The hoof in the example photos does not have a mustang roll all the way to the heels in order to improve clarity and understanding of the rearmost point of weight bearing.

Renegade Hoof Boots should not be fitted tightly! The Heel Captivator is the main means of boot retention and not a tight fitting boot shell. A Renegade which fits the hoof perfectly would of course be preferred but… somewhat loosely fitting Renegades are just as likely to be successful in most all situations. One downside to the boots fitting perfectly is they may get too tight as the hoof grows longer between trimming cycles.

Without a doubt, experience has shown that a boot which fits loose is more stable than a boot which fits too tight. If the boot shell does not fit easily onto the hoof, or if you cannot seat the toe into the boot with a tap from the palm or your hand, the boots are too tight.

Understand that as hooves grow longer they also get wider so if the width of your horses hoof is exactly the same as a particular boot size, you should consider the trimming interval of your horse and how long they grow between trims and decide whether or not you should go up one boot size to allow for said growth.

Many boot users groom the hooves with a rasp each time before installing boots which helps to maintain a good fit and promotes a healthy hoof.

Measure the hoof width and compare to the chart above. Select the boot size which is closest to the hoof width without being more narrow. The example hoof in the photo above measures 4-1/2″ wide. The size 0 boot is 4-9/16″ wide which is 1/16″ wider than the hoof. The size 00 boot is 4-3/16″ wide which is 5/16″ more narrow than the hoof. As Renegades should not be fitted tightly, the size 0 boot is the right boot for this hoof width.

If you will be riding in deep mud, crossing streams with rocks and boulders or riding fast, it becomes more important to match boot length to hoof length. Horses known to over reach, forge or interfere should also be more closely matched for boot length. While we offer our Cutback options that covers most situations, the boot can also be custom trimmed in the field with hoof nippers and finished smooth with a small rotary grinder like a Dremel Tool.