Inspired by the too-wide-for-boots thread, I am curious about the new Easyboot Cloud boot.
It seems to be their version of a Softride, at about half the price of SoftRides. I find that SoftRides are often really hard to get on and keep on, as well. The Clouds seem like they’d be an improvement over the putting-on phase, at least. http://www.easycareinc.com/our_boots/easyboot_cloud/cloud.aspx
I had the opportunity to use the Cloud when my horse sliced his cornet band open & was in a cast for 30 days. My vet suggested I put a Soft Ride on his opposite foot to give support & to level him. A friend lent me her “Cloud” instead. I have also used Soft rides on another horse in the past. The Cloud goes on & comes off VERY easily. Held up beautifully for the month my horse wore it. Seemed comfortable, no rub spots or pressure points. My horse had it on for about 20 hours a day. I would take it off for a couple hours during the day just to let the hoof & boot air out for a bit. While I also like the Softrides, at half the price & ease of use I would absolutely recommend the Cloud.
I didn’t use the Cloud, but I wish it had been available last year when my mare foundered. SoftRides increased her pain and a lot of stuff got inside them. EasyBoot Transitions made her a lot more comfortable. She’s had a couple mini flares, and EasyBoot Epics helped her pull through those. The folks from EasyCare have been extremely helpful, and I’ve found the overall quality of their boots is far superior to the SoftRide.
The Cloud makes a lot more sense for a laminitic horse than the SoftRides. It looks like the Cloud insole is flat. My mare had quite a bit of rotation, and the angle of the SoftRides were agony for her. And if the horse has thrush in the central sulcus…SoftRides will increase pressure and pain. I know a lot of people cut the SoftRide inserts to make them flat…but there’s no need now that there’s the Cloud.
Clouds are great! One of my horses wears them almost 24/7-- turned out almost 24/7-- only in stall for a few hours a day-- I take the Clouds off so hooves can air out-- I rinse the boots, disinfect them, let them dry out and liberally sprinkle medicated foot powder in them before putting them back on.
The Clouds are easy to put on and take off but make sure you get the correct size. If they are too big your horse could get rubs on hoof bulbs. I have two pair: a smaller size to use right after a trim and one size up to use after there is significant hoof growth.
The Clouds do get VERY wet (soaked in fact) if there is a lot of dew in the pasture overnight and lots of moisture is retained inside them-- they don’t breathe all that well which is too bad because you cannot leave them on for more than 24 hours and they take a while to dry out completely. I’m thinking of cutting more air holes in them…
The blue pads inside provide good cushion, immediate relief. They will conform to your horses feet-- they get squished down by the outside wall and fill in the sole area nicely for support/cushion. You’ll see an impression of your horses feet in the pads. The pads will not ‘bounce back’ to their original shape, so best to mark the boots Left and Right. Order new pads when they become too compacted.
If you have a very active horse you could lose a boot-- that’s true of all of these therapy boots, but the Clouds seem to stay on the best and my horse hasn’t slipped in them (that I’ve seen) even when he’s running and bucking.
The Soft Rides have their use and are great for certain horses IF you can get a PERFECT FIT. They do stay drier than the Clouds and I’ve successfully kept them on horses for days at a time without issue. But I can only reccommend them for horses that have a severely rotated coffin bone/need to be helped with a heel first landing …and only shuffle/walk around. These boots can fly right off the feet of a more active horse. I’m still looking for one!
The Easy Care RX’s are good in a pinch-- they are very stiff and a bit more bulky that the Clouds-- but I keep a few pairs of these for emergency situations. They stay on quite well overnight, but can go missing.
I have successfully turned horses out in a pair of Epics-- left them on for two days-- and that is okay as long as it’s not muddy or wet. They can hold moisture too but not as badly as the Clouds. Of course the pads (that the Epics will accommodate) are quite thin and don’t offer as much cushion-- depends on what your horse’s feet need. My new OTTB rescue is simply foot sore without shoes while he transitions to barefoot, and the Epics suit him well for turnout.
I have tried almost every therapy boot under the sun-- and just as there are ‘horses for courses’ there are boots for almost every situation. However-- the perfect boot has yet to be invented for the horse that is turned out 24/7. They all have their drawbacks require daily maintenence which can be time consuming-- not to mention the expense when a boot needs to be replaced, or the ones you’ve got aren’t working, or are the wrong size, etc.
Bottom line-- if I had to choose only one boot, I’d choose the Clouds. They are multipurpose (I’ve even ridden in them-- lazy walk/trot hack around the farm) and horses love them.
I haven’t tried Hoof Wings yet. They look interesting…
I’ve been thinking of the Cloud boots for an old, very arthritic horse (not laminitic). He’s uncomfortable standing in his stall for half the day, no matter how much bedding he’s on.
I was thinking the Clouds might make him a bit more comfortable while he’s inside. I would take them off before he went outside, unless the ground outside was very hard.
Am I crazy?
I tried the EasyCare Cloud boots just in the last two weeks for a horse that’s foundered significantly (only .19" from perforating the sole). I initially borrowed a pair of Soft Rides which, while pretty well worn, did the job. I put the new Clouds on on a Saturday. The following Wednesday the horse was much worse, and I feared the worst. The vet checked him again and said that while the boots seemed to fit just fine they were making him more sore…really sore! As soon as we took them off and put the others on, he was much more comfortable. I wanted the Cloud to work in the worst way as I also thought it was a better design and well made (not to mention less expensive). Sadly, it wasn’t meant to be for this horse. The good news is that the EasyCare people will be giving us a full refund.
I tried them here about a week ago sent them back made my laminatic horse worse after on for 48 hours. Sent them back easy care will fully refund my money,the easy boot rx’s by far are a better boot for comfort.
I love this product so far. Our resident old cripple who doesn’t have a lot of coffin bone left is getting around better than I’ve ever seen her going in these. She did very poorly in the SoftRides - they were way too heavy for her and those frog supports in the pads were making the back of her foot very sore. She is floating around in her Clouds.
I think it just depends on the case. It’s worth a try - some horses love certain boots and can’t handle others. It all just depends but this definitely is a good product.
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