Best boots for getting g horse off foot

cobsarefab

cobsarefab

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Hi all, so following cobbus stepping on my foot and not shifting for a little while whilst I was trying to remove the foot is there any kind of boot that would help the foot to come off quicker if she treads on me? I was wearing wellies at the time and don't think that helped.
 
Oh dear. I hope there's no serious damage.

I would have guessed wellies would have been best because they are squidgy and I know horses don't like squidgy things underfoot. I can strike ariat riding boots and Kanyon country boots off your list because my (one tonne) horse failed to notice when he stood on my foot while I was wearing them.
 
I have been caught out quite a few times wearing wellies....horses seem oblivious of your shouts and screams! I can't really recommend any boots unfortunately, I have a pair of Ariats with steel toe caps but they are short boots and for some reason I hate riding in anything other than long boots :( Any long boots with steels look quite clumpy and horrible IMVHO - although I realise that you have to sacrifice something for safety!
 
I wear Mountain Horse steel toe cap boots around my two as DP has no idea when he is standing on my feet and broke two of my toes when he was a youngster. Bailey is far more careful but he is shod and I'm not taking any chances.
 
Wellies do seem to be bad for getting trod on, I managed to get caught by an excited shod horse back in November and still have bruising.

I don't like the reports of steels sometimes bending as not designed for the sort of pressure horses can inflict, if I'm going to get trod on I like my grasmeres on, but do appreciate mine being unshod too!
 
I always wore steel toecaps until one time my horse trod on the edge of the toecap and it did not bend in itself, but the whole toecap rotated and left a nasty cut line over my toes, in a place that the toecap should have covered.

They were Mountain Horse and I contacted the company with photos with my worry that I actually had more damage through the toecap rotating then if I had not been wearing toecaps as the leading edge was sharp.

I thought they may want to take the boots back and test them as they had damaged my foot, but no. They were not interested in the slightest.

Next time I will have stable boots, so tough leather, but not toecaps.

I won't handle horses in wellies or trainers!
 
ester said:
Wellies do seem to be bad for getting trod on, I managed to get caught by an excited shod horse back in November and still have bruising.

I don't like the reports of steels sometimes bending as not designed for the sort of pressure horses can inflict, if I'm going to get trod on I like my grasmeres on, but do appreciate mine being unshod too!
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The pressure required to bend a safety standard approved toe cap would be cutting off your toes if you didn't have them ;)

But steel toe caps that are built into the boot properly do tend to be heavy and clumpy so restrict your ability to get out of the way a bit... Aluminium toe caps are a bit better
 
As I said, only going on reports and no reason for people to say it if it didn't happen surely? Obviously don't know what standards they were made to.
 
ester said:
As I said, only going on reports and no reason for people to say it if it didn't happen surely? Obviously don't know what standards they were made to.
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Sure, no problem with that :)
I was just posting the science to go alongside tis all.
 
It was enough to put me off using them :) with the horses, though I have had a pair for working in, they would have been dickies etc not horse brand ones though.
 
I was told that steel toe caps were designed to protect from weight being dropped on them, not the continuous heavy pressure form a horse standing on them. So I don't have any, but wear decent leather boots.
 
My dad has worked in dangerous industries for many years and he was quick to point out the steel toe cap boots have their limits. It is safe to wear them with smaller horses but they would cause more damage if my horse stood on them. It depends on the construction, purpose of the boots and the size of the horse. With my draft horse the yard are warned that steel toe cap boots must not be worn because they would do more damage if stood on.
 
An acquaintance of mine lost three toes because she was wearing steel toe capped boots; the horse stood and then twisted on her foot and the steel collapsed, trapping her toes which had to be amputated. Wellies or riding boots for me, and have learned the hard way to move feet sharpish: pain is a great teacher ;-)
 
Cortez said:
An acquaintance of mine lost three toes because she was wearing steel toe capped boots; the horse stood and then twisted on her foot and the steel collapsed, trapping her toes which had to be amputated. Wellies or riding boots for me, and have learned the hard way to move feet sharpish: pain is a great teacher ;-)
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I’ve heard of this happening too.
 
I'm ok she has pushed two of the bones in my foot apart so on crutches for a while. I've heard about steel toe caps causing cuts so think probably leather boots from now on.
 
Around horses you need a steel toe boot where the steel encases the whole toe, in profile a D rather than a C shape. I have been trodden on in mountain horse steel toe boots and there wasn't a mark on my toes, in my long boots - sock full of blood.

Now my horse is unshod- much less point loading!
 
Kat said:
Around horses you need a steel toe boot where the steel encases the whole toe, in profile a D rather than a C shape. I have been trodden on in mountain horse steel toe boots and there wasn't a mark on my toes, in my long boots - sock full of blood.

Now my horse is unshod- much less point loading!
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Come now kat, please don't be talking sense.
 
See I didn't even know you could get C shapes?! I thought they were all like a D as they are the only ones I've ever come across (Most of my exposure will have been working in MVF though ;) )
 
Dickies good really good steel toe cap boots, I've been stood on a few times and as soon as the old boy's foot touches the toe of the boot, he immediately moves his foot away as he can't put any pressure on it as they're quite tall. I would imagine a cheap brand wouldn't be much good, these ones have a full steel brace right up the sole too, they do make my feet ache if I walk far in them as there is no flex in the sole but they have saved toes on many occasion after having mine broke twice by him previously!
 
Tuffa also do a decent steel toe capped boot. I have a very cheeky TB who will deliberately put a hoof on a foot if one is not paying attention.
 
DabDab said:
The pressure required to bend a safety standard approved toe cap would be cutting off your toes if you didn't have them ;)

But steel toe caps that are built into the boot properly do tend to be heavy and clumpy so restrict your ability to get out of the way a bit... Aluminium toe caps are a bit better
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With my injury the toecap itself was undamaged, but the whole thing had rotated so the toecap sharp leading edge was on my toes.

DabDab said:
Sure, no problem with that :)
I was just posting the science to go alongside tis all.
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My scientific brain would say that a sharp edge on the inside of the protective leather is more damaging and likely to cut off toes than a 1/2 inch edge on the outside of protective leather. ;)
 
Sorry to hear you've done some damage OP, I hope you heal up quickly.

I think the best defence is a constant awareness of where their feet are, because it hurts us far more than it bothers them. And if you do get trodden on stay calm & don't try to push them off because the chances are they'll lean into your push, instead ask them to lift the foot like you would if you were hoofpicking them.
 
Red-1 said:
With my injury the toecap itself was undamaged, but the whole thing had rotated so the toecap sharp leading edge was on my toes.



My scientific brain would say that a sharp edge on the inside of the protective leather is more damaging and likely to cut off toes than a 1/2 inch edge on the outside of protective leather. ;)
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Yes the toe cap 'breaking free' would be the circumstance where it is more dangerous. Your boots sound very badly made - the toe cap should not move, and it should not have a sharp leading edge. Most are edged in some kind of polymer (this may even be a requirement in the standards, I'm not sure).

But when it comes to 'bending', 'collapsing', 'breaking' then a force that will do those things to a toecap will very much smash your foot - this is the science to which I refer.
 
DabDab said:
Yes the toe cap 'breaking free' would be the circumstance where it is more dangerous. Your boots sound very badly made - the toe cap should not move, and it should not have a sharp leading edge. Most are edged in some kind of polymer (this may even be a requirement in the standards, I'm not sure).

But when it comes to 'bending', 'collapsing', 'breaking' then a force that will do those things to a toecap will very much smash your foot - this is the science to which I refer.
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As per my post on page 1, they were Mountain Horse. I offered to send them in so they could assess why that had happened and they were not interested. The toecap itself did not bend, it rotated because the pressure was on the leading edge of it rather than the toe end, and the sole is bendable (which is why they are comfortable).

They still look in good order. My toes did not look the same way.
 
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Red-1 said:
As per my post on page 1, they were Mountain Horse. I offered to send them in so they could assess why that had happened and they were not interested. The toecap itself did not bend, it rotated because the pressure was on the leading edge of it rather than the toe end, and the sole is bendable (which is why they are comfortable).

They still look in good order. My toes did not look the same way.
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Yes, I read your post - I would be very unimpressed with their response (or lack of) to you.
 
I wear a pair of old fashioned leather walking/hiking boots round the yard. They are robust, waterproof and fairly non-slip - essential as I'm not too steady or quick moving due to a dodgy hip. My lovely younger cob likes to walk backwards into me to have his tail scratched and has been known to step onto my boots if I'm not paying attention. The old cob shuffles sideways to have his withers scratched so his front feet get in the way (I'm too nice to my ponies!). Both are barefoot and has big cobby feet so the load is fairly spread out but neither are light weight! I've never had any injury with those boots. Like others I've had the edge of a steel toe cap bend onto my foot so don't buy boots with these any more.
 
Horses had stood on my foot a few times, but not very often, and mostly it has been on the very edge, just catching the welt around the boot, rather than on the top of my toes or my instep.

Typhon, a Norman Cob, stepped with his front hoof on my foot when I was wearing wellies. I managed to pull my foot away; the rubber gave way enough for me to just have a bit of bruising over the root of my last two toes. But he pinned the wellie to the floor for a good minute or so before I got him to move. If I'd not got my foot out from under his weight, I think I would not have been able to ride for at least a couple of weeks, and he might have broken something.

I've not had a horse step on me when wearing my steel toe-capped boots, but then I don't often wear them in the yard; they're mostly for when I'm sawing and splitting logs.

But the height of the steel toe-cap, compared to wellies, jodhpur boots or riding boots, is so much higher; and it seems to me that when a horse steps on my boot, the horse hasn't lifted his hoof very much, so the hoof would hit the side of a high steel toe-cap, and not land on top of it.
 
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