I’m trying to make the best of a bad situation. My senior gelding is having difficulty being shod, he’s neuro, not too bad according to the vet… about 1/5 on right hind…but he’s really struggling while being shod (only shod up front) to the point where there’s a lot of unhappiness on both horse and farrier sides. 
He does just fine holding his foot up for me when I pick his hooves, or while wrapping and taping for lost shoes… I think fatigue from the length of time involved in being shod plays a factor, perhaps the extra manipulation involved as well. I’m considering pulling his shoes and booting him. He has never NOT had shoes since I"ve owned him (15 yrs), has spent most of that time in full pads due to very thin soles, he bruises if he looks at a rock… I’m wondering with all the advances that have been made in this area if there are hoof boots that stay on 24/7 that would provide the protection he needs, but don’t rub since he’s a delicate 23 year old TB flower. I would love any advice on brands/styles that have worked for you…both good and bad experiences. THank you very much.
I’ve heard easyboot RXs are good also there is a easyboot cloud. Pretty sure you can get pad inserts for both kinds of boots. I have no experience with either kind of boot, but know people who have used both kinds with good results. Think you do need to take them off every so often to let feet air out and dry out.
Soft ride boots are the only boots I’ve ever known to work for 24/7 use.
Totally disagree with the Soft Rides and 24/7 use.
I have more pairs than I can remember due to my mares chronic laminitis - originally diagnosed almost five years ago. We would use Soft Rides until she was in the clear (couple minor flare ups over the years). They are fine if not moving much but they will twist and fly off if the horse starts being active and playful. I would use them in turnout but my mare is pretty quiet and is not turned out with other horses. But if she got moving they’d come off in no time at all. She couldn’t handle shoes (nail or glue-ones) so Soft Rides were what my vet and farrier suggested. Yes they are a life-saver and I’d recommend them for anyone who has a horse with laminitis but they are not for use for normal 24/7 turnout. And the nylon tends to tear if there is too much movement.
They never caused rubs - mostly because I have so many different sizes to fit the ever changing foot so they fit correctly. I also used generic Gold Bond powder which helped.
My horses can toss cavallo boots as high as they can toss their aluminum shoes and steel shoes.
The soft rides are not for riding and are heavy, but they are the best I’ve found, and my horses got some turnout in them without incident. Of course I’m used to hunting down aluminum and steel shoes in the pasture.
No rubs from the soft rides either the older ones or the newer improved ones.
Call Easy Boot and see what they would recommend.
My gelding had to wear the Trail boots 24/7 (fronts only) for an entire winter due to laminitis. He was in a 1/4 acre paddock and they never came off. But this was about 5 years ago and they probably have better options now. They did have to come off every day to check for rocks, and because it was winter and muddy I had to add Caldesene (baby powder with zinc oxide) daily to keep his feet dry. Knee high nylons slipped over the foot and then folded back down over the boot prevented rubs when the boots were new. After a week or so, I didn’t need the nylons. Those also had to be replaced daily, lol. I ended up buying a 2nd pair so I could switch out when one pair got too dirty.
So boots aren’t super easy to deal with, but I found it manageable. And I’m certain the boots saved his life, because the relief when I first put the boots on (with pads) was immediate.
He’s still around 
The laminitis was brought on by Cushing’s and he’s on Prascend now.
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I used Easy Care Clouds on my foundered horse with a lot of success. They come with pads that don’t easily crush down. The pads can be replaced.
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I second calling EasyCare as the longest I ever left front boots on my horse was 12 hours. They are very helpful.
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The inside of the boots and pads need washed every day to keep the germs out. Also, you’re setting the heels bulbs up for getting rubbed raw by leaving the boots on 24/7.
good luck in finding a good solution:)
Whatever boot fits best will be the one to choose to keep it on without rubbing. I think you might need to compare boot/hoof shapes to get an idea of the best choice. E.g. Cavallos were way too round for my TB mare with oval (“tag”) feet and they shifted a lot. Boas fit her much better.
But you will need a plan for taking them off for a few hours/day. I’m not sure there are any boots that are recommended for 24/7 wear, and of course you’ll need to clean them out and allow them and the feet to dry. I’d recommend buying two sets of whatever you end up with…to make them last longer and to make sure they are fully dry each day.
I have a gelding in SoftRides because of Cushings induced laminitis. He is OK now but shoeing was not working for him. We tried several options but he was always sore for weeks after shoeing even with glue ons. We also needed to treat recurring abscesses last year so I gave up on the idea of shoes (for now)
We are constantly checking and adjusting the boots because he does wear them 24x7. I just ordered a new pair as mine are worn enough to not be a good fit anymore. My advice is if there is any way you can continue shoeing your horse, that’s what I would do. I think there are stands a farrier can use for horses with issues like limited mobility, arthritis, etc.
I’ve tried the Clouds, RX and Soft Rides. They all have their pros and cons, and perfect fit is a must !!! for any of these boots to be successful long term – but I would NOT reccommend any of them for 24/7 turnout on a horse that is really active and/or likes to blast around the paddock/pasture. That being said…
The Soft Rides are great for a laminitic or quiet horse. They do stay on – don’t cause rubs – and the hoof does stay dry. BUT they are difficult to put on properly once you are several weeks into the growth cycle. They have a low ‘flap’ along the sides that MUST fit over the hoof wall – and with growth this often difficult. And once this flap gets smashed (because the hoof no longer fits inside it) the boots will get ‘sloppy’ – will rip it even more – and will have to be replaced.
Plus they are clunky and this can annoy a healthy/active horse that doesn’t need the ‘comfort’ or relief for which these boots are expressly designed.
The Clouds don’t hold up well once they get wet or muddy and cleaned off and dried repeatedly. The fabric will soon start to soften and stretch, and your once great fitting boot will now be all mushy and worn out looking – the fit will become very sloppy – rips start to happen – and rubs will occur.
The RX – though seemingly a sturdy looking boot – wears out quite quickly with repeated turn-out use. They are not a ‘close fitting’ boot – they are a therapy boot meant more for stall wear or very light turn-out. They will not hold up to any rigorous situation.
For 24/7 turn-out – or for the active horse, I prefer the Easy Care Epics. PITA to put on at times, but they do stay on – don’t cause rubs – they can get wet and muddy with no ill effects – and they are repairable. During dry weather I have left these on one of my 24/7 turn-out horses (periodic laminitic flares) for three days straight without taking them off – no problems whatsoever. HOWEVER you have to start with clean/dry hooves – AND you have to use copious amounts of Gold Bond Powder blasted onto hooves and into the boots.
I certainly don’t advocate leaving boots on for extended periods of time without a break – daily is best – so don’t follow my lead. My particular horse gets regular treatments with Clean Trax which aides in preventing white line/thrush – thus I have no problems with him wearing his boots for days on end when he needs them.
Take away from all this – IMO – is that boots meant for riding are best for turn-out. Measure carefully – and (maybe) have an additional pair ‘one size up’ to accomodate foot growth in between trims. You can always add a thicker pad to the ‘one size up’ pair to make up the room if the fit isn’t perfect.
The main reason I like the Epics, is that they are pretty forgiving – still stay on/no rubs even when the fit isn’t 100%.
Also, you can file the toes for easy breakover – you can drill holes in them to allow more air circulation – and you can drill a big hole in the bottom so as to make it look more like a shoe for even more air circulation.
I used to use an old pair of Old Macs for my TB in the late summer months. He was fine barefoot the rest of the year, but by late summer the hard ground and stomping at flies would take their toll and he’d get sore.
There are much better designs available today, though.
I will say, I am another that disagrees with the Easy Boot RX and Soft Ride recommendations. Easy Boot RX is not made for true turnout, or at least it wasn’t as of a couple years ago. My horses destroyed several of them quickly, and the first thing customer service asked was if I was improperly using them for turnout.
Soft Rides are awesome and tend to be more durable than the Easy Boot knockoff, but on a “sound” horse, they can spin and shift. Great for laminitis horses or confined horses, though, as others have said.
