I've used the EasyBoots and have not noticed the horses gaiting different. I mean I do see a difference between being bare and having boots on as far as willingness to travel straight up the middle of the trail, or to charge ahead over rocky ground.  But that has to do with protecting the hoof and not the weight of a boot.  Most of the newer boots, ( like the Easyboot Glove) don't weigh any more than a steel shoe.   If you have a boot that does add some weight, it would be like adding chains to horse for training.

If I'm riding on sandy or softer footing. My horses gait the same.

I tried the boots for 4 years. They work fine for slower or straight ahead work.  Just walking a trail.  But I lost, tore, broke buckles etc when we did anything more ambitious. Any cutting or laterial work will pop the boots off and then they tear the gaiters.  I just got tired of spending $50 everytime I took my herd out for a ride. With 4 horses, One would loose a boot,  Tear a gaiter, break a buckle,  something almost every ride.  It was costing me more to replace or rebuild my boots than to just pay the farrier to shoe them.  If your long term goal is to promote better hoofs by not shoeing, And you are willing to pay the price. The boots will do the job and your horse will gait just fine.

For me, I'm moving back toward a combination.  I shoe for the hunting season when I'm asking my horses to work extra hard.  I'm staying barefoot for the other 10 months  of the year and only putting boots on when we ride multiple days in a row. I truely believe my horses can go anywhere barefoot for a single day. The challenge is the second or third day of rough work. They will still go, but they start walking the edge of the trail. This is when the boots become a viable option.  Put them on and the horses will trael just like they have shoes.

I don't think they do.  I was told my MFT wouldn't gait without booting all 4 for balance when I purcased her. She was false. I have no problem gaiting with only 2 on the front. Boots can be a pain...clips breaking..mud...loosing them..etc. I have had renegades & easy boots. I recommend putting gravel in your horses turn out/watering area to harden the hooves. The first year you may have to boot more often but, try to leave them unbooted as much as possible. As previously mentioned its the 2nd & 3rd day that are harder. Sometimes I just bring them with if they start tiptoeing I put them on.  After 3 years I know only boot on large 4 day rides with huge rocks on big hills. I love both my gaited girls.  Good Luck :)

My dressage horse has renagades we use when he's barefoot for trail riding if the footing is bad.  I've never had a problem w/ them and it dosn't make any difference in his movement.  I'm asking strictly about using them for  a gaited horse = would boots make the horse gait better or worse or no difference?   this is a horse who has excellent feet,   normally only needs shoes once or twice/yr when we ride in real rocky places. 

Like stated, once they get used to it, it shouldn't affect the gait too much. However, we don't use anything. Its just easier...and being cheaper is just a bonus.

RidingaRocky--Same here. My wife and I used to catch a lot of grief about riding everywhere barefoot. We're the only ones out of a crew of about 10-12 horses that are barefoot. We rode 7 long days in mountains, rocks, and limited roads. Not another word was said. We've never had our horses shod. We ride in mountains, rocky terrain, etc and have NEVER had an ouchy issue. Our farrier always has positive comments on their hooves. IMO, our barefoot horse's hooves are healthier than our friend's shod horses. Theirs chip and crack really easily, ours hardly ever.

Wife rides a full rocky, I ride a rocky/walker cross. Both mares.  

It must be a rocky thing :)

The other horses we ride with all are shod walkers or standardbred/walker crosses and tend to chip up pretty good. A couple throw shoes like nobody's business.  

Our spotted walker has great feet and gets ridden in the same places barefoot. Our "paddock" area next the barn is gravel and wood chips. We train and practice gait transitions all on our gravel lane as well. Their hooves are tough as nails.

I sometimes ride my SSH with Easyboot Gloves on his front feet. He will still saddle rack with them, more smoothly as the day goes on, but we change back and forth from boots to barefoot depending on the number of days riding and the terrain.  They are a very convenient option for us.

Another thing you may want to try is "Durasole" topical for the hoof sole/frogs.  Great for toughening up their feet especially during rainy season.  I buy mine from Valley Vet.  A few drops per hoof will do the trick!