can i turn him out in his hoof boots?

china

china

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my tb has been barefoot coming up 3 weeks now and is still very footy and now is pea gravel turnout has frozen and is like concrete he can hardly walk on it, he will not stable all day and night so can i turn him out in his hoof boots to make him more comfortable? the turnout pen is small enough that he cant hooney! (he can have a trot and a buck and fart but nothing major)
 
yes go for it. only time I wouldn't is in deep mud as.... well, you may never find them again!! :D
 
Before i took mine barefoot I went through a phase of turning out in hoof boots over shoes to stop him pulling shoes and didn't have any ill effects.
The only issue was that they were very slippery in mud - not the deep stuff but the thin layer of slick mud so they weren't an option in these conditions however I suspect that's not what you've got at the moment.
 
If I had some I would...my poor boy is so footy from tiptoeing through the frozen rutted ground (hes out 24/7) the farrier is coming back out to put his back shoes back on again today. Its been 8 weeks without backs and he was doing so well :( I hate to see him so sore because I tried to save some money, feel really guilty.
 
As previously said I would check depending on the make and type of boots... some are designed NOT to be used in snow/ice and can be very dangerous if you do. Best double check on the makers website or something
 
Have you had a look at his diet? Feeling sore is about more than not having shoes on. Putting the shoes back on will stop him feeling sore, but won't actually fix the problem. Often diet can help hugely in that respect.
 
im determined not to let this weather set us back, its not been very long and i felt awfull this morn seeing him so uncomfortable. he has been his his stable this morn and i have just put his hoof boots on and put him out. hes a very happy bunny now. he can come into 2nite so he can have them off. i have been leaving them out 24/7 in this cold weather as it has been dry. just rugged them well.
 
glosgirl said:
Have you had a look at his diet? Feeling sore is about more than not having shoes on. Putting the shoes back on will stop him feeling sore, but won't actually fix the problem. Often diet can help hugely in that respect.
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yes it can but frozen ground is far far harder on feet than say, summer-hard ground and more likely to cause bruising. not sure I would rush to stick shoes back on but would maybe try some hoofboots-even something like shoof boots which I have used successfully for turnout.
 
glosgirl- is that to me or elliebelly?

caz89, we havnt got snow or ice just the gravel has frozen together where our snow melted down through it and its like concrete. (it usually moves underfoot and he is sound on it) but looking at the clouds we are going to get a second helping of snow :-(
 
china said:
glosgirl- is that to me or elliebelly?

caz89, we havnt got snow or ice just the gravel has frozen together where our snow melted down through it and its like concrete. (it usually moves underfoot and he is sound on it) but looking at the clouds we are going to get a second helping of snow :-(
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sorry, was just replying to elliebelly - need to learn to use the quote button more!
 
Beware leaving them on for long periods. If it's only for a short time I would but not for hours on end. My horse once lost 2 shoes so I turned her out in Marquis hoof boots for one day as she was foot sore and they rubbed considerably, causing bad greasy heel and resulting in £100 vet bills to get it under control. They never rubbed when she was ridden in them so I didn't think we'd have the trouble we did.

She is barefoot again now (has shoes on to event during the season so I can stud and all taken off in Winter) and luckily is fine about the frozen ground so I'm very lucky and don't have a need for them anymore.
 
i have the cavalo simple boots with the gel pads and pastern wraps so he shouldnt get rubbed. he wont be in them for long but her wont stand in his stable 24/7 so i had to chuck him out or i wouldnt have a stable left :S
 
glosgirl said:
Have you had a look at his diet? Feeling sore is about more than not having shoes on. Putting the shoes back on will stop him feeling sore, but won't actually fix the problem. Often diet can help hugely in that respect.
Click to expand...

I have now bought a seaweed/linseed/biotin etc supplement but too little too late in his case...in hindsight i should have done the research and made the changes to his diet way before the shoes came off. Will put them back on, get him comfortable and try again with all the necessary preparations. Our ground got all churned up when it was soggy and is now frozen in lumpy horrible bits and is hard for us to walk on let alone a foot sore horse.

China...glad you have found a solution, good luck sticking with it. Sorry to hijack your post x
 
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