Do mules and donkeys need boots?
Hoof Care Practitioner Karen Reeves from Keno, Oregon answers the question, "Do mules and donkeys need boots"? On her website Karen writes, "Yes sometimes. Although mules and donkeys have thicker soles and walls...and basically have a healthier hoof, as you head into the high country or if you are transitioning a difficult case you may find that they need boots. I have found that the Epic is working for myself and a few of my clients that are using them in the high country. Also another friend has found that the Bare is working well for her mule. I've posted a few pictures of ideas to accomodate the longer hoof of the mule. Remember that you need to measure them from the tip of the toe to the back of their frog for their length. 
For a boot that "just about fits" in the length but not quite, you can add a little bit of length to a boot by removing the strap and installing the Easyboot Taper which allows them to go strapless. 
The boots that Rosa is wearing in the picture here are strapless and worked great on our "Ladie's Wilderness Pack Trip" into the Trenity Wilderness where the trails were covered with rock. 
Strapless will work if the fit is a good one. Don't even try this without the gaiter it won't work. You may notice that the Gaiter is too tight sometimes on a mule. You will see rubbing on the gaiter. One way to accomodate that wonderfully FULL digital cushion area on the mule is to buy one size larger gaiter than the boot. You will have to use a hole punch on the gaiter to make it fit the smaller boot screw holes, but with a little bit of fiddling around you can make it work.
See the comparison of the small original gaiter (boot on the left side) vs. the larger gaiter with more room in that area on the right. 
Below is an example of a boot with the strap that is making the boot too short. This is when you need to go strapless using the taper."
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