I use the BOT products in the stall and use Professional choice wrap boots in turnout. The BOT boots don’t fit my pony perfectly and won’t stay in place when he romps around the pasture, otherwise I would use them all the time. They really do make a difference for him.
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so. you do change them every 12 ish hours…wondering what potential ill effects there might be if they weren’t changed.
My friend has arthritis so changing twice a day would be a bit tough on her.
Probably not any… if the BOT boots would stay on well in Turnout, I wouldn’t change them at all. I’ve worn my BOT wrist brace for 48 hours straight with no ill effects.
Horses are walking and lying on dirt and bedding, wet and dry, and stuff works its way under the boots.
Things on their legs really need to be checked every 12 hours, and I’m ok though with checking hoof boots every 24 hours or so. For hoof boots worn that long, especially day in and day out, I would be putting Gold Bond medicated powder or something similar, so help combat crud.
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I second the person who linked the ECIR site.
This site is full of research based information on all things metabolic.
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I can’t speak to BoT wraps, but have had many occasions and a variety of reasons to have horses wrapped at all times. 24 hours should not be an issue provided …
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someone can whip them off if they come loose (shouldn’t be a problem with good bandages - thick pillow style no bows - Vacs are great, and proper wide standing bandages)
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they are removed and legs checked daily for any curling hair (can be an indicator of fungus), crap that’s worked its way down (unlikely if bandages are good and technique is also good) and any other delight the horse has decided to throw your way.
If properly applied they should stay in place through mud, snow, galloping around like a hooligan, lying down, rolling, etc. Super heavy rain - not so much - I mean they should stay in place fine, but soaking wet wraps are heavy, unpleasant, and cold. They should be removed and replaced if that happens or horse should be left in on days they are likely to get drenched.
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I am in North Dakota - not far from the OP’s location and certainly get the exact same cold temps as Canada.
All horses are different and all setups are different. I have a shelter for mine. 99% of the time, they are NOT standing in it. Even pretty common for them to be out on the hill … voluntarily in the wind … when it’s below zero temps. But mine have healthy winter coats and are used to being outside 24/7. And they are free to move around as they please, which I think is the most healthy for them, rather than to be cooped up in a stall or small pen. Sure, they might choose to stand in one place and they often do, when they are snoozing in the sun in the middle of the day. But they can also choose to move around if they want.
I’m pretty sure the OP said Southern Ontario which is give or take 2000 miles (and a couple/three gardening zones lol) away depending on where exactly you’re coming from and going to. We’re quite a ways south and east of ND.
I am actually in Southern Ontario and although we take great pride in bitching about our weather, it is not all that similar to yours - we have all the dampness of Louisiana with none of the mardi gras 
LoL
p.s. not throwing stones or looking down my nose - Ontario is HUGE and if you don’t live here, you’re not expected to know that Southern Ontario is a little wee bit at the very bottom of the bottom section. Then there’s Eastern, Northern, and beyond that the actual North that, shamefully, barely registers for most of us. Picture typical British weather - the damp that goes to your bones, sets up shop, and multiplies rapidly. Add some ice in the form of freezing rain and flash freezes. Add some more dampness when things thaw for a few days. We used to get snow but the last almost 10 years this is our reality.
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I would love to be able to put her out all day like the others, but it truly makes the poor things so much more uncomfortable. Before I found anything out about winter laminitis, I thought I was dealing with a regular laminitis flare up (of unknown cause) and thought maybe standing in the snow would be helpful, as cooling the feet in an acute flare up is recommended. I feel terrible knowing that I made her more painful while trying to help. If we had the winter I remember from childhood, with about 6" of cushiony, puffy snow, she probably would move around and maybe that would help. As it is, my paddocks are lumpy, frozen bare ground and contain horses parked at hay piles.
Now what is possibly a stupid question - do you see pain relief quickly when you warm the feet up, or is it more of a slow recovery process? For example, if it is truly winter laminitis and I soaked her feet in warm water, would she look more comfortable immediately, as Reynaud’s sufferers do when you get them warmed back up?
I’m getting a good laugh out of this. I live in Vermont, so similar weather to you, but am a former Louisiana resident missing Mardi Gras right about now. Was just talking with my husband about how people are surprised it can be so humid while so cold. I am stealing your description!
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I’m not sure what the weather has to do with my original comment, that MOVEMENT is good for CIRCULATION?
The more movement the horse can get 24/7, the better it is going to be for circulation. That was the point I was making.
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Maybe because in some parts of Ontario the horse would be standing in snow the whole time which is not good for winter laminitis. The exposure to the cold temperatures is what causes it in the first place. Otherwise, yes, of course, movement is good for circulation.
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I am in a warm climate and my Cushings pony has problems with winter laminitis. He was doing great and then along came the deep freeze and he had a relapse. Not sure how much was frozen ground and how much the cold. He can’t keep boots on but I have pads taped to his feet and he is doing better. I find it comes on fast and resolves slow.
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Our horses tend not to move as much in our current winters because it’s just too damned miserable out there We don’t get the happy-making snow we used to get. We get mud and treacherous ice. It sucks and I hate it but it is what it is. I miss the days of watching horses happily playing in the snow - they moved a LOT more back then.
And my point in my original post was saying that although you may be close to part of Ontario, you are nowhere near the OP’s location.
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My mini lives out 24/7 near Ottawa and the hoof boots with fleece socks and covered legs have been a game-changer. She went from laid-out flat for several weeks every winter, to being a happy, normal horse. I was also initially very skeptical, but we got to the point that euthanasia was the next option so I threw everything at her and it has worked beautifully for the past two winters. Even last winter when we had -25C for more than two weeks, she stayed warm. I regularly change the socks and dry out the boots. Come spring, her soles might be a bit soft, but that works out rather quickly.
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In terms of pain relief after the feet warm up, my experience is that it takes a few days to get the inflammation down once it sets in, so prevention is key. I start my horse on hood boots as soon as the ground gets hard at the end of fall and socks go on at -5C. My friend didn’t start with all this until her gelding got sore, and he was sore all winter. The following year, she started in the fall and he was fine. If there’s lots of snow on the ground and it’s a warm winter day, I will pull her boots to dry. Otherwise she’s in the stall while I dry out her boots.
Thank you very much for all of the info @Weezer. I think if we had beautiful snow, the socks and boots would be great. I’m struggling with the mud right now - I can only imagine the poor mare getting her socks and boots combination wet and muddy within minutes of turnout, then being cold and miserable until I could rescue her. Luckily, we have some milder weather right now that is allowing her to go out with her pony friend - I think I do see improvement with her being able to move. I’ve got her in a paddock where there’s a muddy spot to go through, but then lots of dry area to be in. It’s the best of what I can do right now. I
I’m waiting on a bag of jiaogulan to come in, and will try that for her too. I’ve done as much reading as I can, and once you sift out the anecdotal rave reviews and definite sales write ups, there seems to be some evidence it can help, and lots that says it at least doesn’t hurt.
She just got reset this week, and we added pads to protect her with the frozen, snowless footing that is sure to follow this muddy spell. She seems to be happier in the pads. The farrier was impressed with how stoic she is - she definitely didn’t appreciate being nailed, but tried so, so hard to be her usual polite, mannerly self. The manners and intrinsic kindness of this mare make this rotten situation much easier to try to manage than it would be otherwise.
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Is your mud up past coronet band deep? If not, might be worth a try. Ours have been coming in with mud cakes to just below coronet band, BUT, they don’t go out at all in the worst of it, so if it’s been especially crappy they spend a day inside, the mud settles down and they go out again.
I wonder if there’s some sort of Goretex (or something) sheath that could go from foot to leg wraps. I’m picturing a sort of a gaiter type thingy that would keep the mud out like old style x-c skiing gaiters back when we needed to keep snow off our wool socks.
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We use these on a mare who is very prone to rain rot. I’m not sure if they would prevent hoof boots from getting sucked off in the mud, but they are basically gaiters for horses. https://picovs.ca/products/woof-mud-fever-turnout-boots
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Those gaiters are really interesting! I will definitely save them for consideration! We seem to be moving forwards again, as far as improving, so fingers crossed. It’s so hard to know what is the usual roller coaster progression of good and bad days, while still moving towards improvement, and what might be the start of a downhill trajectory.
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