The largest manufacturer of hoof boots, Easycare Inc, states their boots outlast steel shoes 3:1 on average, so if your horse wears through his metal shoes in six weeks, you could expect boots to last 18 weeks.
However, boots are generally not used all the time or for every ride, so will in most cases last longer than this.
The boots of the average horse hacking for an hour a day, five days a week, will last 6-18 months; this is however heavily dependent on terrain (roads being more abrasive than tracks in general, for example), how heavy a horse is on his footwear, and any gait or conformational abnormalities that could cause excessive wear, such as dragging the toes due to stiffness.
Incorrectly-sized boots will show unnaturally fast wear – for example if the ‘breakover’ point is too long for the hoof, this can make a horse catch the boot and wear the toe more than expected, highlighting the importance of a correctly fitting boot. We have heard of boots lasting three to four years when they were not used all of the time, or as little as two weeks on a horse with arthritis causing brushing and a toe dragging behind!
Just like with metal shoes, the horse’s action plays a part in boot wear. A horse with a twist to their action or that drags their toe can wear them prematurely. An unbalanced hoof will also cause premature wear on part of the boot, so any signs of uneven wear (that cannot be attributed to the camber of roads for example, should be investigated.
