Shoes and pads alternatives for injured horse?

[ebarnhar]

My horse has a deep bruise on the sole of her hoof (the vet said he thinks she may have even popped a few blood vessels). She needs some sort of protection until it heals completely. Vet recommended shoes and pads, but she’s not good with being shod and she always manages to lose them. That being said, traditional shoes and pads aren’t an option. I’ve been considering hoof boots (probably Cavallos, but not dead set on them) but I’ve heard that boots aren’t good for turnout. I am able to stall her at night so she’d have some time out of them, but they’d need to be on during the day (probably 12-14 hrs). I’ve also heard that glue-on shoes might be a good alternative for her, but I don’t know anything about them. Could pads be used with glue-on shoes? Do they stay on? Any opinions on any of these options? Or any other options? Any advice is appreciated!

Also if anyone does recommend the Cavallo boots, how did the sizing work for you? Some people say they run small, others say large, and others say true to size. Any problems with rubbing?

[Chimera]

You can use pour-in pads with glue on shoes. If the foot is dried properly they should stay on the whole shoeing cycle. My tender footed horse struggles with pour in pads if they are poured in to ground level, so we just use enough to keep any rocks from sticking in her feet and she seems much happier that way. That being said, you may not even need pads if you use something like the easy shoe preform, because they lift the foot up off the ground quite a bit anyway.

I wouldn’t turn out in boots that fit above the cornet band as they tend to rub if not broken in properly first. Something like easy boot gloves may work, but you can’t put pads in them.

[chicamux]

There are hoof boots designed for turn-out, usually called “therapy” boots. EasyCare Inc (Easy Boot mfgr) makes one called Transition boots. You can leave them on 24/7 but should remove them daily to clean out any debris or bedding AND you can ride your horse with them on. Their Cloud boot is a therapy boot good for 24/7 use, not designed for riding. Soft Ride boots are also designed for turn out but not for riding. These three boots have fabric and/or vents in the uppers and well padded collars around the pasterns. I have been using the Clouds for several months on a horse with laminitis, 24/7.

[horsehaven589]

Easy boot has several different kinds of boots that can all have pads inserted. There is a variety, i think all of them are perfectly fine to turn out in, and some that are you can ride in. Boots are a little bit more to manage since you want to check them daily to make sure they haven’t slipped or are causing rubs… it she doesn’t need any hoof treatments anymore and just needs something so that her foot is a bit protected from the ground for a couple months then thats where the glue-on shoes can be helpful.

Glue-on shoes are AWESOME! they DO stay on if your farrier has taken the time to learn how to apply them correctly. These are just one of the kinds, work great to have her wear to transition back to barefoot, or she can stay in them if she “needs shoes”. because they’re rubber they are much more cusiony and allow the foot to flex naturally where metal shoes don’t. http://www.easycareinc.com/our_shoes/easyshoe_performance/easyshoe_performance.aspx