Elbow Crud and a Shoe Boil Boot Question

[floppyammy]

My gelding likes to fold up his front legs and lay on his own (shod) front feet when he rests.
This is causing scaley, rough elbows. He doesn’t have a capped elbow, but the skin feels rough and callused.

I plan to use a topical balm to soften the callused skin and relieve the flakiness. I looked over old threads and have seen bag balm, petroleum jelly and corona ointment all suggested.

My BM suggested I get him shoe boil boots to avoid it turning into/creating capped elbows, but they (shoe boil boots) just look so uncomfortable and awkward. I can’t imagine putting on two, one on each front leg. Would a rubber bell boot or padded bell boot (like the professional choice ones) be a reasonable alternative?

[spencerlucy]

We have a gelding at our barn that wears a shoe boil boot (we refer to it as his ankle monitor) and it really doesn’t seem to bother him. He also started out with rough scaly skin that did turn into a boil that burst and you really don’t want to deal with that mess. He’s been wearing the boot when in his stall for a few years now and no more elbow issues. They do get a bit worn over time so we make sure to keep a backup on hand in case one splits. It’s now part of the night check routine to make sure it’s on him before lights out.

[floppyammy]

@spencerlucy

We have a gelding at our barn that wears a shoe boil boot (we refer to it as his ankle monitor) and it really doesn’t seem to bother him. He also started out with rough scaly skin that did turn into a boil that burst and you really don’t want to deal with that mess. He’s been wearing the boot when in his stall for a few years now and no more elbow issues. They do get a bit worn over time so we make sure to keep a backup on hand in case one splits. It’s now part of the night check routine to make sure it’s on him before lights out.

Thanks for your response! Does he only need to wear one? Or does he wear two? My concern is that my gelding seems to lay on both front heels, as both elbows are rough and scaly.

[spencerlucy]

In Jr’s case it is only the left front that he seems to lay on so it’s just the one boot but I really don’t think he would care if he wore one on all four feet and one on his head like a party hat, but he is a really chilled out dude. (which is great because he’s an 18hh warmblood). In all honestly the mess of that wound was really in a bad spot to prevent from getting infected and took a bit to heal so I would avoid that if possible. He only wears it when in his stall - not in turn out.

[Djones]

I’ve just bought a boil boot for my older TWH- we’re in a multi-month drought and he lives out- for the first time in 17 years with me he’s got a nasty elbow from lying down on the same side a lot, and I found it this weekend. I will be curious to see if he leaves it on. He’s very much pro-naked.

[Catherine616]

Also used a boil boot on a gelding after a nasty capped elbow. Only needed it on one side but he didn’t mind it at all. I had tried a bell boot first but it didn’t help at all.

[lintesia]

I had a horse that started to get a capped elbow. I used a shoe boil boot and it changed the way he positioned his front legs when lying down, so I only had to use it for a few weeks.

[Djones]

Day one he took one funny step then ignored it. I’m going to leave it on a week or so and see what the elbow looks like. This horse used to wrestle off pull on bell boots, maybe at 21 he’s elected to be civilized.

[Small_Change]

Could just be that a bit more bedding would help as well? When I was clipping consistently, elbows like these would show up on most of the horses in the barn if the stalls were bedded on the thin side.