A friend, trying to help another friend, you know how that goes, anyway there is a horse that has been trimmed a bit short, maybe more than a bit, horse is very ouchy.
What kind of boots would be best to help her move about more comfortably? Thinking some boots are more intended to be put on, ridden then off.
I would like to find her something she can put on and leave on in the pasture. I am not experienced with boots but at least I know they exist!
Had a similar experience last fall. Farrier trimmed soles way too aggressively. Soft ride boots with the gel pad inserts helped but also deep bedded the stall and gave twice daily banamine for several weeks. Gradually weaned off the banamine and boots, but it was a long, slow, frustrating process. Took well over a month. The horse would have a good day or two and then some really bad days where he really didn’t even want to move. Good days usually followed rain that softened the pasture.
Pay attention as the bad trim may also trigger a sub-clinical case of laminitis. As a precaution, I treated it as such, icing feet daily, etc. Had vet out several times and also had x-rays done. Fortunately no rotation was found.
Hang in there. It is hard to see them in such pain. Consider finding a new farrier too. I hated to throw a long term relationship out the door, but the quality of the work had been slipping in the last year or so. Both my horses would be NQR or sore after trims. This was the final straw.
Soft rides are the go-to, as well as bringing them in half the day to rest on deep shavings if possible. Ice and banamine isn’t a bad idea.
Easyboot clouds have a great padded insole and seem to stay on, but it really depends on your pasture situation. If there’s mud, it’s gonna be a fight to keep anything on.
I will try to sell her on the soft ride boots. It is winter here, negative temps and snow so naturally icing and no mud are the positives. 
Would you use soft ride boots to ride in as well? Just thinking later on when she wants to start riding if I can tell her the boots will be good to help transition from winter riding to road/ditch riding.
thank you.
The mare that lives with my gelding had this experience several months ago. She was absolutely crippled, bless her. Her owner borrowed some Easy Boot Clouds and the mare lived in them for probably a week or two. We’d take them off now and then to let her feet rest, of course, but otherwise, they stayed on. They helped her a lot. Her owner switched farriers and the mare has been fine ever since. No long-term damage thank goodness. I use the trimmer who lamed the mare and she’s actually excellent and has done miracles for my gelding. We all make mistakes. The trimmer was devastated that she’d hurt the mare. She can get aggressive with pulling back toes, etc. and she lamed my horse once about two years ago. He wasn’t quite as bad as this mare, but nearly. We just had a talk about how she simply has to be more conservative with him and can’t do that again. She’s very humble and knowledgeable, the kind that readily admits when she’s made a mistake and will listen to her clients.
But I digress. If the farrier/trimmer has a history of sore horses, I’d be searching for a replacement.
ETA: Also, Durasole!!! I highly recommend it! Apply daily for a couple of weeks and then maybe every other day for another week and then once a week for maintenance. I wish they made larger bottles of that stuff. It’s awesome in my experience.
No riding in the soft rides - way too clunky.
I like the Cavallo simple boots for both turnout and riding. Depending on how sore the horse is, you can add pads (Cavallo makes them or you can DIY with furniture moving pads or cutting up a yoga mat) if needed.
Easy cloud boots.
Until you get those pack with magic cushion and get some board insulation from hardware store and tape to bottom of feet.
I also have seen more than one horse prone to a very mild laminitis after a trim that changed angles. Not even a radically short trim. Hot feet and ouchy all around for 5 days.
On the other hand, a horse that has merely lost a bit too much hoof will not be hot footed and ouchy on soft footing. They will just be tender footed and picky on gravel.
Is it deep snow? Just remember that the frozen ground under the snow is anything but positive if you have a horse who is foot sore. I think another help to your friend is to find a competent farrier 
for next time.
We’ve had great luck w woof wear medical boots. They stay on very well due to the design, they keep dirt and debris out of the boot, and they are padded.
I like the soft rides a lot, but they are not really meant for staying on in a large turnout. My guy keeps them on if he’s penned in the smaller section of his field, but they don’t stay on if he has normal access to his large field. Mud will also pull them off.
Do you have to get a size bigger to allow for room for a pad? I am thinking I might get a set for my mare
just in case.
By the time we get the boots, (if that is) the horse might be fine.
For those of you who have ordered soft ride boots how close do you have to be to size? Is it better to be closer to the right width and if the length is a bit off that ok or vice versa?
These look like they would be great to have on hand, will one boot fit either a front or rear?
ok I can do that, would you use the magic cushion inside a boot as well?
Not inside a boot. That would be messy. With the insulation it’s cheap enough, I’m ok throwing it out when gross.
I’m with @luvmyhackney here. I did put Magic Cushion inside a boot once and it was a huge mistake because it’s so messy. I think I might even have done a layer of vet wrap or something because I knew it would be messy, and that wasn’t enough of a barrier. It was gross. Don’t do it!
During my horse’s transition back to barefoot, I used Venice Turpentine packed with shavings (helps to keep the boots from getting sticky and helps to aid in keeping the foot dry) to harden the sole inside Easyboot Gloves. Boots were on 24/7 for several weeks - riding, turnout, the whole nine yards.
If you have a well-stocked tack shop nearby take either a shoe that fits or a cardboard tracing of the foot into the tack shop and jam it into boots until you find the horse’s Cinderella boot.
You can also use Venice Turpentine and sha rings packing without boots to harden the sole, but you won’t get the instant relief of boots. For me, that instant relief is important because I want the horse moving and able to work to get the blood pumping which helps to get the foot growing.
You might consider getting shoes with ice studs, a snowball rim pad to keep from snow/ice buildup. This is contrary to the boot thinking, but much less work for owner, no chances of rubbing, than boots are.
Ice studs are actually pretty minimal BUT provide good traction on any surface. These are the drive-in studs with wear collars, over plain little drive-in traction studs. The snowball rim pads leave the sole area open for cleaning of mud, frequent application of Durasole as suggested above.
I am iffy on the Trimmer, getting someone different. Trimmers are not nessesarily Farriers. She was remorseful about OPs short trim 2 years ago, but is not applying that lesson to other horses she currently does. Anyone doing barefoot horses SHOULD have learned to leave hoof a fraction longer, remove minimal sole, to protect the working hoof being worn down. Short (NOT EVER SORE) walls are done to compensate for added shoe length to hoof and expected growth before getting new shoes again. Not the same trim that should be done to a horse going barefoot. Sole should also be left thicker as protection, on shod horses who can step on rocks or other pointy things shoe doesn’t protect from. Sole should NEVER be so thin you can press into it!
Worth mentioning is time horse is stalled to dry hooves out from being wet in snow or mud. Wet footing softens hoof/sole to feel even more on rough ground. Our horses come in for the night, lets hooves dry, skin above dry, to help prevent various problems for the horse.
I’ve used Magic Cushion, then a piece of poultice paper (or even just a circle cut from a feed bag), then wrap the hoof in vet wrap, then cover the sole with duct tape (Gorilla tape being the best choice). It won’t stay on more than 8 hours or so, but then, if the horse is bedded deeply in the stall, they don’t need it overnight.
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