Tell Me About Soft Ride Equine Comfort Boots

[RubyTuesday]

These boots have been recommended by a well-respected veterinary hospital for a horse who has undetected laminitis with mild rotation, currently inactive and thought to be an old issue, but has active pedal osteitis at this time and tested at grade 2 lameness at the trot but comfortable at present with foam pads on front. Has anyone had any experience with the boots, good or bad? I’d like to hear from some folks’ real world experience with them, and whether or not they worked for your horse for turnout and also if they enabled the horse to become serviceably sound again for non-competitive riding.

One concern I have is, do they cause any form of chafing or injury behind the pasterns?

[dexhol]

We have a pony that has been living in them close to 24/7 for years. Never has had any rubs or problems, though they do eventually get pretty smelly and have to be replaced. They are well padded all around, especially behind the pastern. I’m sure 24/7 isn’t ideal with any sort of boot, but he is sound at the trot with them on, and not even a little sound with them off. He lives outside in a small dry lot/shed type situation, rain or shine.
He’s a special case needing a lot of supportive care and has a good amount of rotation in both fronts. I think he would have been gone a long time ago had we not found the soft rides, they make a HUGE difference for him. Depending on his comfort level from day to day, I pull the boots for the day if he’s looking good, so he goes from 8am to 4pm without them on a good day, otherwise, they’re always on. It’s amazing that they have never once rubbed him or caused him any trouble. I do dump some gold bond in there from time to time if it’s really wet out.
This little guy is never going to be sound sound, but he’s small, about 40", so not a riding type anyways. The boots have truly been a lifesaver for him. He trots/canters/plays with them on with no trouble (and they’re actually a size too big since he’s in between sizes).

[baytraks]

My mare foundered at the end of July, and my vet recommended Soft-Rides. I tried different ways to make my own and save the money, but when the x-rays were taken, I stopped messing around and ordered them. They are a very well though-out product. My horse has been living in them around the clock, except for 20 minutes of cold therapy daily, and a few hours to give the boots a good scrub and time to dry a few days ago. I would recommend them.
Can’t answer about turn out; we aren’t there yet

[RubyTuesday]

Well, you’re giving me some hope here…before he popped an abscess a few weeks ago, I had previously never known this guy to be lame in the three years I have had him. He has never needed shoes before either. This was all very surprising to me when he was x-rayed. It was speculated that he might have had a mild bout of laminitis for whatever reason but the rest was a real eye opener.

Keep posting, I’m listening! And thank you!

[ryansgirl]

Worth every penny. My mare has them for her laminitis. They’ve never caused any rubs on her. She does tend to go through them faster than most horses - the area where the sides attach to the bottom tends to wear out with her. Do follow the measuring instructions on their website and call the company if in between sizes - they have always been extremely helpful! I do have a few pairs so I can switch them out when they need to be cleaned - you should pull out the inserts to clean under those every now and then - especially if they get wet. Take them off daily and always check everything. I do put generic Gold Bond powder in them which helps with the smell and potentially any rubbing (which thankfully I’ve seen none of). You can use them for turn out but my mare has flipped them off if she starts running so I wouldn’t recommend them for using in a huge area.

Yes worth every penny.

[cloudyandcallie]

They are worth the money. And better than any hoof boot made.

[Marla_100]

Definitely worth the money. Can be the difference betwqeen comfortably moving and standing around. We use them in turnout with no problems.Just got my second pair as they can get tight when the hooves grow and need a trim.

[bugsynskeeter]

Worth the money. When you first start using them, cut the foot out of a tube sock and put the sock on the pastern. This will help protect the pastern while they break in. We did use them for turnout for a stallion that used them. Didn’t have any issues, but they fit just right.

Biggest thing is to be sure that you are checking them daily and cleaning the boot out. Anytime I have seen issues with them, someone was less than diligent.

[animaldoc]

They’re great-

They have a number of inserts depending on how much cushioning the horse needs.

If your vet or anyone has some you can try - that seems to help with measuring.

I generally don’t recommend them for turnout in all but a small paddock (if they are able to have unrestricted turnout, they probably don’t need Soft Rides/could switch to other boots). I usually use them for horses that are on stall rest, so I haven’t had any problems with rubs.

[RubyTuesday]

[QUOTE=animaldoc;8276094]
They’re great-

They have a number of inserts depending on how much cushioning the horse needs.

If your vet or anyone has some you can try - that seems to help with measuring.

I generally don’t recommend them for turnout in all but a small paddock (if they are able to have unrestricted turnout, they probably don’t need Soft Rides/could switch to other boots). I usually use them for horses that are on stall rest, so I haven’t had any problems with rubs.[/QUOTE]

I should probably say that stall rest is not an option for this horse…where he originally came from, in a barn with 30 horses, he could tolerate a stall. Here he does not. I only have one other horse at this time and she needs to be out as well. Both of them live out all the time in a sandy paddock, but I have confined them in a small gated area up close to the barn for right now where they have shelter and a water trough but not a lot of room to run or fool around.

I am close to the Joliet/Kankakee area…the hospital measured him at a size 5L. Does anyone have any they could loan to try?

[NorCalDressage]

Turnout use depends on your horse and the footing. If he is super calm and just walks around it will probably be fine. Trotting around - no. Muddy or deep footing - no.

[sid]

Soft Rides with the orthodic insert for laminitis has literally saved my old guy who is both IR and Cushinoid and foundered badly last fall. He has turnout in a sacrifice pasture and is doing great. Super product.

Sizing can be a challenge, but the people at Soft Rides are incredibly helpful in sizing correctly.

[RubyTuesday]

This could be a challenge then…horse is 12 years old and while calm for his breed, he is still an Arabian. He is not nor ever will be a “stall flower”, and I won’t torment him that way. I guess we shall have to see. I am arranging to get the boots and try them.

[Hermein]

They’re very good. The only complaint I have is that they are difficult to keep on, and no fun to put on, for that matter. And, they’re very expensive.

[DennisM]

I’ve also had GREAT success with Soft Ride boots on a 5 year old 17.1 H Hanoverian gelding. After he severely bruised a front foot, I bought Soft Ride boots for him on the recommendation of my vet. Without the boots, the horse refused to put the hoof on the ground - at all. With the boots, he was walking without any limp. I bought boots for both front feet so that he would have an even stance and to help relieve the pressure of extra weight off the good foot. I also successfully used the boots for turnout in a small paddock. But because this horse was clever enough to figure out how to open the velcro closures, I used several rounds of duct tape to secure the top of the boots. No rubs. Good healing. Total success. They’re expensive, but in my experience, they’re well worth it.

[islandrider]

They saved my horse during the acute phase of a laminitic episode. I bow to them.

I saw recently that easy boot now has a similar version. Not sure of the price.

I put a short streamer of red tape around them during the bad weather as they came off too easily in the mud.

Other than that they are awesome.

[animaldoc]

If you want boots specifically for a turned out horse, I would probably go with the Easy Boot line - they have a few that might work. Soft Rides really aren’t meant for turnout (the sole isn’t as substantial as an Easy Boot)…

[Frizzle]

Just know that you might need to try different inserts to see what’s most comfortable for your horse. You also sometimes need to lower the frog supports or remove them completely (which can be done with nippers or a hoof knife). I’ve seen them used for turnout where the horse didn’t do more than walk; I don’t think they would work for lots of cavorting and trotting/cantering.

[awa]

I tried the Soft Ride boots for my guy, but they just seemed so heavy! Do the horses adjust to them?

[ryansgirl]

[QUOTE=awa;8279734]
I tried the Soft Ride boots for my guy, but they just seemed so heavy! Do the horses adjust to them?[/QUOTE]

They do. My mare had instant relief from the pain of laminitis. She is much happier with them on and had no problem at all adjusting to them. They are kind of bulky but absolutely worth it. They aren’t designed for normal turnout/horses who tear around fields so for stall rest/confined turnout they are fine.