I love horse boots of all kinds, and that definitely includes bell boots.  Though Simon isn’t terrible about holding shoes, he will occasionally reach too far and step out of his front shoe.  When we’re in sporty sport horse mode, bell boots are a constant part of our tack routine.  So you can imagine I was excited to try these No Turn Bell Boots from Horze!

Though I’m no stranger to bell boots, these were new to me in a few ways.  First, I have always used rubber bell boots and secondly, I have never tried a “no turn” variety.

First impressions were good.  The material was tough on the outside, but soft to the horse.  The color I chose was “Dark Blue” and in this case I’d say that’s an accurate description.  Truthfully, I was hoping for a darker navy but the blue looked nice on him.

I got Simon a full size, since he wears a Large bell boot and is 16.2hh (the size chart for full goes from 15.2-16.2hh).  Fit wise, I almost wish I went a size up.  When I first put on the bell boots, they seemed to sit a tad too high up on the hoof.

I think next time I put them on, I will have the elastic looser across the front of the hoof.  That should help these sit a little lower, but if you are in-between sizes I would recommend sizing up for sure.

While I was riding, I noticed something different than my usual bell boot experience.  Normally when I ride I hear a “flap flap flap” of the rubber flopping around on his hoof.  With these synthetic boots, it was blissfully quiet!  True to their name, when I finished my ride they had not turned at all.

The no turn feature is due to the unique inside of the boot.  There’s just a soft, padded area for in-between the heel bulb.  The inside of these boots felt really nice to me.  If my horse had sensitive skin or got rubs from bell boots easily, I would consider these a definite candidate.

Overall, I liked the No Turn Bell Boots.  I wish they were sized a smidge larger, but there is a lot of adjust-ability in the elastic.  As with many Horze products, I don’t love the large branding.  For schooling I would use these in a heart beat, and the $19.95 price tag is great for that.  I actually think there is a ton of value in these bell boots for under $20.  They are much nicer than a rubber velcro pair that I have which cost just as much!

For the show ring, I wish the ‘Z’ on the front of each hoof was much smaller.  I think if I bought these in black, I might consider coloring in the Z with a Sharpie (sorry Horze!) and with that have a really nice pair of show bell boots for the jumper ring.

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