Are there any hoof boots that are specifically made for turn-out? Horse needs help!

[LookmaNohands]

Basically just that. This horse has unknown soreness issues in left front. Nothing shows up on radiographs. Seems to have a sore spot on the inside near his heel. Has had unexplained soreness in that area or near it since last July. His soles are thin. Vet is convinced it is his hooves not something else.

I have experience using hoof boots with completely different hoof issues with another horse. That horse we tried barefoot a little at a time with hoof boots when turned-out and barefoot in the stall. This helped him enormously but took a very long time.

Current horse seems to be a good candidate for this but in the past when I tried hoof boots, he destroyed them. Three pairs. Mostly because he is just hard on them. Runs around a lot. I live in VA so the footing is clay with occasional rocks working their way to the surface. So he would have to have boots if going out barefoot.

I am open to suggestions for hoof boots!

[Training_Cupid]

I’ve never had luck with boots for extended turn out. Have you considered pour in pads? Like Equi-Pak or Hoof Armor. For minor cases I’ve had good luck just with Magic Cushion.

[clanter]

well, sort of

We have a mini that at times needs boots … we found Build A Bear combat boots fit fine, wear well and cost only $9 a pair

https://www.buildabear.com/black-com…ts/020666.html

he also wears them when he works in building as the rubber sole do not slip on the tile floors

here he has them on

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[Scribbler]

I think Easy Boots have models that are good for therapeutic use. Check out Pete Ramey online. He does a lot of founder rehab with boots and pads. I went to his clinic and demo in 2018.

Sounds like your horse has bruised his sole and maybe coffin bone and keeps bruising it again. I would also have a really good look at what’s going on with the bars up in the heel. My mare got a heel bruise one winter on ice. It didn’t clear up until she got a trim that took out some broken bar up in the heels area.

[LookmaNohands]

@Training Cupid

I’ve never had luck with boots for extended turn out. Have you considered pour in pads? Like Equi-Pak or Hoof Armor. For minor cases I’ve had good luck just with Magic Cushion.

He hated pour in pads! And, we are steering away from anything that could add a lot of moisture and so, make his hoof too soft.

[kashmere]

If your turnout area is relatively dry, and the horse can be un-booted at night and the boots allowed to dry out I would go with Equine Fusions. They are incredible for therapeutic use, but they reeeeeally hold water.

If your turnout area is muddy, wet, etc. and/or there’s a chance the boot isn’t going to come off every day, I’d go with Scoot Boots. There’s nothing at all to hold moisture on them. They are less forgiving in fit - you have to have an appropriate barefoot trim - and do not accommodate pads as well, but they are great boots.

[DinkyDonk]

Go buy just the cushioning inserts for hoof boots (~$15 a pair) and just duct tape them on–can also buy gym/play mat material, or even closed cell kneeling pads cut them to size, and tape them on…Use neon orange or hot pink duct tape and you’ll be able to tell from a distance if it’s fallen off or still on his hoof.

[gottagrey]

My horse had canker a few years back and Cavallo boots were a lifesaver. So based on my experience, I’d say try Cavallo

[S1969]

So the horse is currently shod? Or just sore and you are looking at boots instead of shoes?

If not currently shod I’d be thinking of trying shoes, but not sure about the details here. It’s tough to maintain boots if they are worn a lot. And obviously turnout with boots can have its own issues.

[LookmaNohands]

He is currently shod.

The farrier tried a glue on shoe on his sore foot but the horse is more lame with it so he will take it off. Puts pressure in the wrong spot. Seems we are at the point of taking shoes off and using boots for turn out. We are hoping this will sort out his hooves. His soles are thin so they have to be protected. Not sure if we are dealing with a deep bruise in the one hoof or what.

I am considering easy boot epics for turn-out. They worked well on another horse. Harder to get off but not impossible! I have used all sorts of padding material in the past so will try something this time as well.

If we go this barefoot route it will mean I won’t be riding him which is VERY frustrating.

[sophie]

I knew a Tb who had front boots at all times (for turnout and riding) except in his stall. I think his boots were old macs. His owner was riding and jumping him with the boots on, no problem.

My mare had a bout of lameness one summer that the vet diagnosed as a bruise (dry hard ground, lots of flies, lots of stomping). My farrier took the shoe off and I used an old mac for turnout. In the beginning I slathered ichthammol, + a diaper and wrapped her hoof in vetrap before putting the boot on and it always stayed put during turnout. I took the boot/vetrap off when she was turned in to let her hoof dry out overnight. It worked well, and after she wasn’t lame anymore trotting barefoot on grass, she was shod with pads and shoes in front.

[ASB_Stars]

@gottagrey

My horse had canker a few years back and Cavallo boots were a lifesaver. So based on my experience, I’d say try Cavallo

Another vote for Cavallos.

[beowulf]

The old Macs — the ones that have the wire and push-down mechanism to fasten. It stays on very well if you pack the hoof and then wrap with diaper and vet wrap. In the spring I usually use them up front on one of my barefoot guys as our driveway is gravel and that’s the only place I can ride until the grass ring clears up. He wouldn’t need shoes otherwise so I just use the Macs until the ring is rideable. Stays on well. Haven’t tried Cavallo but I’ve heard good things. I also have the big brown MAC easy boots with the Velcro - those are great for riding but I’ve found they come off easily in snow. I briefly tried the WOOF boot version and they didn’t even last me two days so would avoid anything by that brand.

I also would want to find out why his thin is sole. Can you do rim pads to lift the sole off of the ground? I haven’t had good luck remedying thin soles with barefoot trimming — but I’ve also only run into thin soles on a horse when my then-farriers were trimming too long and/or shearing sole.

[wildlifer]

Yes, that is exactly what glue on boots are for. That is what I am using right now for my horse with bruised coffin bone.

[Denali6298]

I had a horse that couldn’t hold a shoe to save his life but needed shoes. We used old Macs for him. They went on for turnout and off for the stall. I don’t know if my obsessive cleaning of them helped them last longer but he got new ones every 18 months when the Velcro started to wear. They did very well in snow, mud, frozen ground, rocky ground, ice etc.

ETA: I had the originals so no wires in mine. I found cavallos are harder to fit. But I could have just been lucky with the old macs.

[NaturallyHappy]

I had reasonably good luck w Cavallos on one horse. He did get heel rubs, though. We tried the Cavallo sock- it slid down and made the rubs worse. I used the Woof Medical Boot on another one w great success. They aren’t terribly hardy so you may not want them. I expanded their life considerably w Gorilla tape.
We’ve had good success w sugardine on weird foot things. The other thing our really fabulous farrier has done is put those rimmed snow pads on horses lacking vertical depth in their sole. We use them all year around, actually. I have no idea if any of these ideas might help, but thought I’d share. Fingers crossed for you.
Edited to add we always take boots off when they come in. The Woof boot has a diagonal zipper and keeps moisture and material out better than some types of boots. For me, it is also easier to get on and off.

[Guilherme]

All boots have the same, basic design flaw: they entrap water that might enter and they also can collect dirt, sand, and other debris in the boot that may cause problems.

If you’re going to use boots then you MUST periodically remove and inspect them over the course of a day (or other period of use, such as riding on trails where you might passing through streams or ground that will cause the boot to entrap debris). If you do this you’ll likely avoid problems. If you don’t then you’re at risk.

In the long ago we used boots with a couple of horses that needed their type of protection. Since then I’ve avoided horses that needed boots.

G.

[clint]

I have used the Easyboot Trail Original for turnout with great success on several different horses. Last fall a yearling TB became very foot sore on our rock hard dry soil, and I tried those. She was in them for at least two months, was sound and happy. She took up running like a wild thing and even then, they didn’t come off. They breath fairly well, so other than checking her feet in them, we left them on. We took them off when it started to rain, and her feet were in great shape.

[Bogie]

I have used Cavallo boots when my horse was missing a shoe. As long as you make sure the boot isn’t retaining water you should be fine. I eventually went to glue on shoes with that horse. They stay on through everything.

[gottagrey]

I think I got the “simple” Cavallo boots for my horse and have drainage system which helps with moisture - and having a canker (which loves moisture) this was an important feature for me. Of course if it was wet he didn’t get turned out, and we also took the boots off anytime he was in his stall. Without these boots his turnout was limited so it was great to have something protect his feet during all the many months of his canker treatment. As another poster mentioned, they should be taken off and not worn 24/7

I ordered mine direct from the Cavallo website vs a tack store as they have more styles to choose from and often a pair on sale for a good price. They lasted well and I can still use them if he happens lose a shoe or something.