Menu

Stay in Touch
Sign up for ENews
Subscribe Now

Unlimited access >

Menu

Update: he's got hoof boots on

Horse Care
#1

I haven’t posted in a while but we have been having an issue the last few weeks with my TB’s feet being ouchy. For about a year he’s been barefoot and doing great. He’s 100% retired, no work, was sound and looking good up until about 6 weeks ago. I suspect this is because we are no longer in a drought and his soles got nice and soft and as a result his feet hurt.

Anyway I called the vet out about six-seven weeks ago after he came up a little ouchy after a trim. They took x-rays, decided he wasn’t laminitic but he was thin-soled and his toes were long/heels needed taking back, and advised me to paint with a sole preparation and give the x-rays to my farrier, who is extremely well-regarded in the area. Anyway, she came out Thursday and adjusted based on the x-rays…horse went cripplingly lame. She is aware this happened.

I had the vet out again, nerve blocks confirmed it was his feet, they gave him a DSMO infusion and a bunch of bute and advised me to keep him in and hand walk him for a few days. Still no laminitis, which I am super grateful for.

I’ve been doing that along with icing his feet every day twice a day for 20 minutes and painting the sole and halfway up the foot with keratex on the advice of his race trainer (who has dealt with him and this issue before…thank God I have her contact info). He’s looking a lot better, he went out with his friends today and although he’s obviously tender still he was happy to walk around with them and eat grass.

I know the long term solution…put his front shoes back on. But the vet doesn’t want us to do that for 2-3 weeks at least to give his foot a chance to grow out a bit and recover from the insult. I can see some bruising in his white line around the toe, which can’t feel very nice. Turnout with boots on isn’t an option for us. Is there anything more I can do in the meantime past icing him and painting his feet with keratex? I hate to see him ouchy :frowning:

#2

Does he have strong pulses? If not, and if not laminitic, then I’d skip icing because having him stand in something wet isn’t going to help your situation. Bute will help the pain. You can also pack his feet when he’s in his stall–what’s his turnout schedule? Pack with something like Magic Cushion or Rebound, cover with cotton or a bit of brown paper and duct tape. Remove for turnout (won’t stay on anyway for long). Both of those have some toughening ingredients as well as ingredients to help with soreness. Keep painting the soles with hardening stuff.

3 Likes
#3

His turnout is like 8-12 hours a day, every day with a bunch of other horses. I can definitely get some magic cushion and just kind of stuff it in there, I’m leaving work in a half hour and I’m 15 minutes from smartpak. He’s got digital pulses but they’re not bounding…I also suck at finding them (about 50/50 unless I really hunt) but both times when the vet checked them she said they weren’t high enough to worry. His feet are a little warm too but not alarmingly so. Negative to hoof testers.

Would icing make sense if I wrapped his feet in plastic or something first so they don’t get wet, or is it really just not accomplishing much outside laminitis?

#4

Depending on what you’re using to ice, you might have an easier time making an ice pack and wrapping it around the foot to keep it more dry, versus wrapping the foot in plastic. To me, it doesn’t sound like icing is necessarily going to do a lot for him, though, compared to packing. And if you are trying to toughen the soles, then I’d lean towards therapies that will keep the foot more dry and tough.

1 Like
#5

BTW, Smartpak sells Rebound as well as MC, though I’m not sure if it’d be in stock in the store. Dover also carries it. It’s so much easier to handle than MC. Both really need a dry foot to help it stay in there, but Rebound for sure needs a dry foot. It doesn’t stick to wet, which is why it’s easy to use, because you can just wet your hand/glove and it won’t stick to you when you apply.

#6

Makes sense to me. I’ve been using IV bags with the tops cut off stuffed with ice and vetwrapped around the legs so they don’t come off if he stomps around. If it’s just making me feel better and not doing anything for him, though, I’ll probably stop doing it because it’s not like he particularly likes standing in crossties for 20 minutes with weird things on his legs.

#7

Sweet because I’m probably in the only spot in the world where I’m a 15 minute drive from either.

#8

Quick q…how on earth do I get this out tomorrow morning? It’s so sticky. It’s under some duct tape/cotton but I sense a mess incoming…

#9

Take off the duct tape and cotton, and it will come out by itself. You might be ok making makeshift duct tape boots for turnout.

I wouldn’t soak his feet, but would use ice packs to keep his feet from getting wet.

#10

Why are boots not an option?

Are your vet or farrier experienced with hoof casting? It can be a fabulous interim option in lieu of shoes or boots.

I’m pretty much anti-noxious chemicals on hooves, but Hawthorne’s Hoof Freeze can take the sting out of tender feet. Although the methheads of the world have caused it to become difficult to access.

2 Likes
#11

My similar sounding boy (RIP sweet thing) needed boots if he was barefoot in turnout or else he was miserable in summer and stomping flies. He could go barefoot in winter. The easyboot clouds worked the last few years and I just lost him this late spring. We had done them he wore them about 12-16hrs a day. We had done easyboot epics and plain easyboot before. They are (the plain easyboots) are not supposed to be for turnout but he could cope bare.

#12

Because he is barefoot, most will just come out when you take off the tape. The rest will mostly wear off in turnout. You can pick out any that’s left with a hoofpick.

#13

Yes, hoof boots. I got some EZ boots for a similar situation. Keeps pressure off soles.

#14

Barn rule. They come off in turnout, horses step funny in them and twist ankles, etc. If he was on my property and I was watching him constantly I’d probably keep them on but I’m not.

My vet recommended not turning out in boots unless I had to for the same reason. I was looking at a pair of easyboot clouds at smartpak today but wound up not buying them because he can’t wear them outside -___-

#15

I thought this was a only-for-foundered-horses sorta deal but I can ask if he’s not looking any better by the weekend if my vet does them or knows someone who does. They want me to give him a bit longer to improve before I panic.

#16

Hoof casts are great IMO!

I use them periodically – most recently on my stabilized laminitic gelding who wears boots 24/7 – very thin soles. I had to go out of town for a week and my horse sitter isn’t proficient in the ‘boots off and on’ task – which I do everyday to give his feet a few hours of non-boot time. So…

…I had my trimmer put casts on him. Three weeks later – even with 24/7 turn-out-- they are still on and in perfect shape

1 Like
#17

I’ll call my vet about these Thursday if he still looks real bad. Do they require any trimming? My vet absolutely does not want to take any foot off for at least another couple weeks so he can stabilize.

I tried the magic cushion last night, it doesn’t seem to have made a tremendous difference but he does seem a little more comfortable…he also went outside yesterday and hadn’t had his bute yet though so that may have been a factor. I may or may not have gotten it all over my hands/the floor…great look for the office :lol:

Feet are still warm but not hot with present but not bounding pulses, basically no change from before, he is slowly getting better…my mother who is not horsey thinks I just need to be patient because feet don’t grow instantly overnight, and to be honest she’s probably right.

We just lost a horse at the barn to laminitis and that has me so, so nervous for him even though I KNOW this was the result of a recent trim and the vet has told me twice he’s not laminitic on two separate visits. I’m just a worrier :frowning:

At the very least I board at a very supportive barn. The IV bags with ice trick (and the IV bags) came from the foundered horse’s owner, and two different people that go during the day both told me if he looked really awful and miserable out there, they weren’t going to leave him outside. Apparently he was grazing and having a good time yesterday so it probably looks a lot worse than it is.

#18

Applying a fiberglass cast does not require trimming the hoof. You just literally wrap the cast material around the hoof, as if you were using vetwrap, then allow the cast to harden.

The cast will last anywhere from about 2-5 weeks, depending on the terrain and how the horse moves. Or the cast can be removed any time with nippers. Horses can be turned out normally while wearing them and can even be ridden. Many barns use fiberglass casts to protect the hoof after a shoe was thrown until the farrier can reapply it.

A horse owner can learn to apply a fiberglass cast themselves. However, you do want professional guidance, because incorrect application can impinge the hoof and cause discomfort or damage.

I think the “no boots” rule at the barn is a little silly and outdated, as hoof boots have improved greatly in the past 20 years. There are many brands designed specifically for turnout that rarely budge when fitted properly. However, rules are rules and sometimes you just have to go with the flow. There’s not much you can do if that’s their rule.

1 Like
#19

Yeah, I don’t love the rule and I don’t love some of their rules but they take really wonderful care of my horse and are great people, so I’m not going to question them doing things the way that they always have. No place is going to be perfect unless I keep him myself, so I let those small things go. It’s overall a really great place for him.

I went to check on him at lunchtime, he’s hobbling around the field with his best horse friend and tried real hard to not let me catch him. As long as he’s acting like he wants to be out there, I don’t want to take him in…he might be a little less footsore but then also he’ll stock up and he doesn’t really like being stalled, so it’s a win/lose situation and pasture wins out for him if that’s where he wants to be.

Someone else said he was flat on his side in the sand pile earlier, but I’m like 90% sure that was just him taking a nap. Oh, and he’s still got some magic cushion jammed in there…I left it alone.

#20

Not to freak you out but I would be concerned letting a barefoot, thin-soled horse hobble around, even if he seems happier. Without adequate protection mechanical laminitis and/or development of pedal osteitis from the repeated concussion is a real concern.

Would your barn allow you to set up a small pen with panels or electric tape near his buddies. That way he can be out with his buddies but have limited mobility?

Alternatively you can use foam insulation or garden knee pads with a duct tape boot in turnout to put some protection between his hooves and the ground.

Get your Digital Subscription here - only $21.95 / year

Subscribe here
See gift options

Sign up to our monthly newsletter!

By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. You may also receive promotional emails from The Chronicle of the Horse. You can opt out at any time.

Copyright © 2023 The Chronicle of the Horse