Tips for Successful Scooting

Leave the pastern straps loose. They should be looser than you think! You should be able to easily fit 2 fingers (stacked if your hands are small) inside the pastern straps. If a boot comes off, you can tighten the straps one hole. Pastern straps that are too tight will cause rubs.

Evaluate how well the boots fit. See info on evaluating Scoot Boot fit. If you find that you don’t have a good fit with your Scoot Boots, please contact us - it may be that they are not the right size or Scoot Boots are not suited to your horse’s hoof shape.

Carefully test the performance of Scoot Boots on your individual horse. While still determining whether Scoot Boots work well for your horse, be sure to start in a controlled environment and check on them frequently until you’ve demonstrated that you have a high-performance fit. Be mindful as you put them to the test on more challenging terrain (i.e. water, mud) as any issues with fit may become apparent in these conditions. We cannot be responsible for lost boots.

Use pastern strap locks or mud straps (both are purchased separately on our Accessories page) if you’ll be riding in mud. Pastern strap locks are necessary if your horse will be traveling through mud or thick vegetation. Mud straps are very helpful if your horse will be traveling through deep, sucking mud.

Give your horse plenty of time to adjust to having boots on their hooves if they’ve never worn them before. Often it takes them a little while to get used to having something on their hooves but once they’ve adjusted to the boots horses are perfectly comfortable in them. Go extra slow when introducing hind boots as horses are more likely to react to having boots on their back hooves.

Use the trail gaiters included on your boots while your horse is breaking in new boots. We have found them to be helpful while your horse is first adjusting to Scoot Boots. Ultimately you should be able to remove them unless your horse has sensitive skin or will be traveling extra long distances.

Be careful with the chemicals that your boots come in contact with. Avoid contact with harsh chemicals, hoof dressings, fly sprays, and adhesives (including VetWrap) as these can degrade the boot material.

We are happy to help so if you run into any problems or have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us!