I think keeping them on is the best plan. He seems the most comfy in them. Like I said before, best case scenario is that between more weight loss, time, and the glue ons, he will become sound and you don’t have to do any medical intervention at all.
If he needs the glue ons long term, you can learn to do them yourself; they aren’t hard to do, it’s just a long process that needs to be very exact to get good results. I did them for years; it cost me $40 a reset vs paying the farrier $250
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Last video before new glue ons tomorrow; trimmer said no problem increasing the breakover: https://youtube.com/shorts/CSaRkgz2Y-M?si=R0l0FNgSRLs4thXG
He’s been moving pretty well ground driving and free lunging this week so I think that was def the right move to shift to instead of riding just yet. We free lunged for close to 15 mins and I didn’t catch any major trips so that was great.
@StormyDay I’ll def be making notes this time with the glue ons! I think DH has all the tools so that’s a good place to start at least.
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He looks pretty darn good there! It will be interesting to see after the new glue ons.
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I would definitely have my vet consult with a traditional farrier and get this horse on a good shoeing plan.
Tonight went well with the trimmer. She didn’t have his shoes size handy, which I think might be for the better at least for the short term in terms of data. I’m going to get some videos of him free lunging barefoot (he seemed his normal when we took him out to see him move), in his Scoot Boots and I also have a pair of regular Renegades that she adjusted to see if there is any difference there until his new shoes come in. I’m still planning on a second set for him to see how he does with the more prominent break over, but it’ll prob be a week or so.
She brought her Renegade Vipers to try on him, which he DID trip in for her, then just went and stood, so our takeaway was “no thank you” on those.
She recommended aggressively treating for thrush on all fours while he’s barefoot. He’s been thrushy on and off since I’ve had him, but it’s been manageable and the dry lot certainly helps. She said that some horses, even with very mild thrush, can want to avoid a heel first landing. Her thought was that it was worth trying since I see him everyday and it’s an easy thing to check the box off before our vet visit.
I was a little concerned how he would be walking on the driveway after having protection since middle of May, but he was pretty steady so that’s a good start.
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Stay tuned 
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The “no thrush” powder is the best I’ve found for daily treatment. Bonus - it isn’t as caustic as stuff like thrush buster, which can impact foot growth if used a bunch.
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I’ve got some! I used that tonight. I also have Artimud that has worked really well for us and I like that Sport Horse Essential hoof oil, I’ve had good luck with that too. I have the stuff to mix up Pete’s Goo as well.
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@StormyDay and crew…thoughts on moving barefoot tonight? Better than I was expecting. His BM said today when he took him out for turnout, it was the first time he’s NOT wanted to gravitate towards walking on the grass vs the gravel; he was surprised at that! He was doing that some in the glue ons and while in his Scoot Boots as well before the laminitis flare up riding too.
I can see a slight difference but considering he has only been barefoot for a day, it may be from that.
I would do some oxine (white lightning) soaks for his thrush too. It works very well.
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We ground drive for 35 minutes tonight in his (non viper) Renegade boots and zero tripping. The right boot doesn’t fit as well as the left so I had to stop and adjust a couple times, but they have more break over in the toe than the scoot boots.
My trimmer also said it’s prob good to keep him barefoot for the vet in case they want to do any additional X-rays; she shared this photo saying that the glue ons can interfere with the quality of the rads as well:
We ground drove and free lunged a lot this week. Minimal tripping in all events; ground drive him Renegades and Scoots. His right Renegade twists (and always has) so I’m seeing if we can figure that out because the one that does fit him, I like better than the Scoots.
Going to move into hitching him this week to see how that goes and start getting a little more trotting in.
Barefoot Free Lunge Thursday: https://youtube.com/shorts/YFnW9OGLQRA?si=2FamSBCmKA--LShf
Scoot Boot Free lunge today: https://youtube.com/shorts/KTNLwfKzTEI?si=ZI5ZuHAurfhtjnvI
For the twisting boot try Mueller tape. I had the same problem with my haflinger mare when she was wearing EasyBoot gloves, one boot that wanted to twist just a tiny bit. A couple of turns of Mueller tape on the hoof wall completely took care of it
https://www.ridingwarehouse.com/EasyCare_Mueller_Black_Hoof_Boot_Tape_15/descpage-EMHT.html
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I’ll check that out! I tried heavy duty double sided tape and some vet wrap. The application held, but still twisted.
The Mueller tape is applied directly to the hoof/heel bulbs
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I’ll check that out. Thank you!
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Last night we did a hoof boot assessment with my friend who uses Renegades and taught me to trim. The right hoof is every so slightly smaller than the left which is what seems to be prompting the twisting. We wrapped his hoof in vet wrap and that helped quite a bit.
@Alterwho - the link doesn’t take you anywhere anymore. I googled that specific tape; is this the right stuff?https://www.muellersportsmed.com/b2c-us/en/Open-Catalog/By-Product/Tapes-%26-Wraps/MTape®/MTape®-6PK/p/430102
Friend also rung up the Renegade guy and explained what was going on. We sent him photos and hoof measurements to see what he thinks. Should hear back about that pretty soon. In the meantime, I am picking up a pair of 145/145 vipers from my trimmer to ground drive him in to see if they do the same twisting as the classics of if they fit any better.
After becoming very intimate in taking the renegades apart and getting the wires adjusted (that was an adventure) I can see that the Scoots were probably not helping in any sort of heel comfort. They started rubbing him quickly when I had him in them for a few days after we took the Cloud boots off and my spidey sense is telling me they are a no go. He literally just marches right of in the Renegades, and has had the worst trips in the Scoots. Really hoping we an get the Renegades to work out.
He was also telling me that you can use a urethane which unfortunately the Renegade guy said the manufacturer doesn’t make anymore to fill the gaps and using the hoof as part of the mold. Any ideas on a substance that would be comparable? Some sort of silicone maybe?
That’s strange, the !ink works for me. It shows how to wrap the hoof:
I always bought mine through Riding Warehouse
https://www.ridingwarehouse.com/EasyCare_Mueller_Black_Hoof_Boot_Tape_15/descpage-EMHT.html
Back from the vet. Much happier with this clinic experience vs my old one as well so that was good.
Details are fuzzy, once I have the report Ill be better able to provide any specifics. Started with lameness and neuro exams. He tripped once each way at the canter this time on the lunge which was new, but glad they were able to see that. In watching the videos, his thoughts were that we are being tripping. He views trips more if there is a toe first landing that catches type of thing, he said he would call what Charlie is doing a buckle or a stumble and agreed that is something to be concerned over. He thought he was slightly off on the right front with everything he saw today, but that it is pretty subtle. (Good eyes @StormyDay)
He also was able to ID some neck discomfort on his left side which is consistent with the issues we had in February AND consistent with our bodyworker. She often finds ropy feeling muscles there.
RADS! We did another round of hoof rads which all checked out pretty good. He also did rads on his neck. There was some mineral deposits around the base of the skull into C1 which he didnt think would be a contributing factor to what’s going on, but is going to have a colleague take a second look when they are back to the office.
BLOODWORK - pulled EPM titer.
NEXT STEPS - keep playing things safe and wait until the bloodwork comes back. If its a high positive, he talked about treating with something they get compounded (can’t remember the name) (its not Marquis) and see if there is any obvious improvements vs going to spinal fluid route yet. He also mentioned the neck and that we could see if something like Equioxx helps at all. He mentioned steroids as well but with the metabolic predisposition, maybe not the best option for us. He said its possible there could be a pinched nerve type of thing somewhere that could account for how intermittent the tripping seems to be as well, so that could be a place to explore more too from the sounds of it.
I will say, in the last week or so his tripping ground driving has been about non-existent, so maybe something with straight lines vs circles helping with that. Ive ridden him around the farm roads and grass for like 25 minutes now a couple times, and he’s felt more stable and confident without the tripping too. Hard to say if that is from more weight loss (he’s down 170lbs at this point) or coincidental. New vet said to get another 50-75 lbs off and he should be in really good shape.
So all that to say, stay tuned for more.
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Sounds like they were very thorough!
The EPM med is probably Toltrazuril. It’s being recommended for EPM more and more. I’ve used it in two different horses and had excellent results with it. It’s also only like $300 for the whole treatment which is much nicer than what EPM meds used to cost. Also, the horses think it tastes good so that’s a bonus 
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