Stable athletic equine boot

An equine boot for the protection of a front hoof and pastern of a horse comprising a bell portion having an outer cover, a soft, stretchable inner covering and a foam material layer sandwiched between the outer cover and the inner covering, a protrusion on the interior back part of the bell, a scuff pad attached to a backside of the bell back portion and a fastener, the improvement comprising a cuff integral with or attached to a top of the bell portion and extending a distance of from about 1.25 inches to about 1.87 inches above said top, a distance that places a top of said cuff against or almost against the bottom of the fetlock of the horse when the boot is fastened in place on the horses front hoof, the fastener, when the boot is in place on the horse's hoof, being entirely on the bell portion and being wrapped around the front and the outboard side of the hoof, the cuff preventing the boot from moving upward and turning on the front hoof of the horse sufficiently to allow the horse to injure at least one member on the front leg selected from the group consisting of the hoof, a coronet and the pastern.

A method of making a boot for protecting front hooves of a horse comprising attaching an outer covering material to an inner covering material with a layer of foam material with a shape that forms a bell portion of the boot, attaching a scuff pad to the exterior of a backside of the boot and attaching fastening means to the bell portion of the boot, the bell portion having a shape that fits around the outside of a horse's front hoof, the improvement comprising attaching a cuff to the top of the bell portion of the boot, the cuff extending a distance in the range of about 1.25 to about 1.87 inches above the top of the bell portion, the cuff being semi-rigid and sized to fit snugly around the pastern of the horse.