Flip Flops and Hooves

I have more or less only worn flip flops around my two for the past month! That said, they live out and I rarely actually lead them anywhere! Mostly I'm poo picking, putting on fly spray/ sun cream or moving fences. That said, I have led both of them out of the field to tie up (about 15 metres in all) in flip flops and will probably keep doing so. I know it's a risk but I judge it to be a very small one. I always wear boots when handling my share horse as I do much more leading around, plus he's much bigger and shod.

I used to ride back from the field in a head collar and with no hat all the time when I was a teenager!
 
A friend of a friend came to ride my barefoot Arab mare in flip flops a few years ago. I was just saying 'watch your feet, I'll see if I have a spare pair of boots', when sure enough the horse stood on her foot and took the skin off. Silly woman. She really should've known better for the years she'd been riding.
These days I'm horrified by the amount of my clients who wander round in flip flops while I'm trimming their horse!
 
I am about to go out and tend to my horses in their field ... in steel capped boots. It is worth it, even though I will not be leading them or anything like that.
 
I can’t stand seeing people dealing with horses in flip flops, absolutely ridiculous. Having seen what damage was done to the foot of a young girl who used to be on our yard, it actually makes me feel queasy watching people leading horses in them.
 
Having learnt the hard way when much younger, I know flip flops and horses do not mix......I now sport a rather fetching pair of steel toed Chelsea boots or steel toed whelelies when outside.....not so fetching with shorts, but I know my toes are safe!
 
No, no, no, no, no! I've had horses step on my foot when I've been wearing leather or rubber boots, and I know what it's like.

There's a little girl of about seven who lives in a flat across from the yard where I ride, and she often comes over to look at the horses and talk to anyone who's around. And she came over in sandals... She's a sensible girl, never shouts or yells and never runs around the place, even when she's trying to catch up with one of the dogs or cats around the yard.

She wanted to come inside a stable with me while I was getting my horse for that day takced up, and I explained to her that I wouldn't let her anywhere near unless she was wearing shoes that copletely covered her feet.

After that lesson, I had a word with my instructor about it, and she said 'well, it's not like she's getting anywhere near the horses"... But she was, even without coming inside the stable, there were times when horses were being led between stables and the arena, or the arena and the showers, and were walking within a few inches of her...

Anyway, the following week, and every week since then, she's been turning up in trainers. Not the best protection possible, but still a lot better than sandals. So I told her how much safer it was, and let her come inside the stable for a few minutes with me, with a very calm horse. But I still made sure that I was always between the horse and the little girl.
 
I always wear boots or wellies when handling horses, luckily never had more than a horseshoe shaped bruise! I've not been riding recently so have been living in shorts at the yard, so have a very fetching riding boot tan line!
 
fburton said:
Apart from the fact it wasn't flip flops, I don't remember what I had on my feet when I was stood behind the rope at the edge of one of the rings at Drymen Show next to another spectator on horseback. The rider failed to notice when her horse shifted sideways and planted a shod hoof on my toes - I think she was talking to someone else. Fortunately, the ground was squishy so it didn't hurt. Nevertheless, the woman was mortified when I politely said to her "Excuse me, but your horse is standing on my foot". :rolleyes3:
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And at Drymen the ground is rarely hard!

I always wear proper footwear but even at that have broken numerous toes over the years and also bones in my foot. One of the worst was a 13.2hh who spooked while I was changing his rug, lept vertically and landed on my foot - it's now several years later but everytime my foot gets cold the base of my toes turns purple. Flip flops don't bear thinking about.
 
milliepops said:
yup :o
My 2 on the yard are generally good eggs but now and then something happens that I can't control and then I'm glad to have decent footwear on. 2 days ago the horse in the field next to the drive decided to start hooning about as I was bringing in, the following day the farmer's collie chased us down the drive. :rolleyes3:

I don't mind pottering about on the yard or poo picking etc in something more comfortable but for leading and riding I always wear boots of some kind.
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Absolutely. Always better to have them and not need them, than the other way around.
 
I posted this some years ago on Facebook. A mate claimed it was faked, where was the blood, where was the bruising? I reminded her that I had no bruising and almost no bleeding after my accident. I have no idea if it’s fake or real, but it’s a salutory reminder to wear proper footwear around horses.

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Mine landed on my wellied foot just before New Year's, thankfully while unshod. Blindingly painful and the bruising only went at the end of May. I would never be around him without boots on, usually my Chelsea boot steelies.
 
pippixox said:
I must admit there have been a few times when I have been popping to check on my horses in the field and realised I have not got shoes in my boot. I am careful and don't make a habit of it, I have also waded through mud in slip on pumps when I have realised I have managed to leave my boots at home in the middle of winter!!
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Same here. I don’t feel safe though and will throw some hay over the fence so they aren’t following me when I go in the field.

As for winter, I’m very often in the wrong footwear!
 
I've never worn Flip Flops (or thongs as we call them :o ) in even the height of summer, 45+ degrees C. Always steel capped work boots. Hot feet are better than mangled feet.
 
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I live in steel toe wellies or riggers.Still not infallible though,the big lad stood on the top of my foot the other month missing the steel completely.I was limping for a week.As said, being aware is just as important.
 
Flicker said:
Probably better to do both.
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Yes, probably! I guess what I meant was that protection is no substitute for awareness, so if I had to choose between them it would be awareness every time. Plus protection can lull a person into a false sense of security.

Also, if I had to choose between a crushed foot or a brain damage I would choose the crushed foot every time - hence my comment about casual riding without a hat.
 
DTV said:
I live in steel toe wellies or riggers.Still not infallible though,the big lad stood on the top of my foot the other month missing the steel completely.I was limping for a week.As said, being aware is just as important.
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I heard a horror story about someone whose steel toecap was crushed by a horse - the result of which was rather worse than if he had been wearing normal boots.
 
fburton said:
I heard a horror story about someone whose steel toecap was crushed by a horse - the result of which was rather worse than if he had been wearing normal boots.
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Yes i've heard the odd storey to but a good steel toe boot is well up to the pressure of even the heaviest horse imo.Having had my foot trodden on several times in the past with non safety boots on and it still ruddy hurt,I decided to stick with the 'safe' option.
 
I've done my fair share of cantering bareback in shorts and a vest top, but I wouldn't lead a horse in flip flops (or if I did, I'd be very careful about it!).

I do tend to lose the long boots in summer though.
 
Shorts and boots may not be the fashion trend but I would never take the risk, having been groom at a few of the county shows this year I have an amazing boot tan line🙈!
 
I generally wear boots-sometimes only trainers, neither of mine are shod. but even when I was that kid riding barefoot with a headcollar I always wore a hat-even when they were made of cork lol.

I would never wear flip flops for any reason. I am wearing shorts alot right now though-had to go out and buy some!
 
My feet are always covered when handling horses, I may be in trainers but no exposed feet.
Never ride without a hat since turning 16, I did used to hack my 3 yr old all over our area if Norfolk, on and off road whilst wearing a flat cap, we have photos where I have ridden him 4 miles on the roads in the rain for family to meet him and I am in my flat cap, no Hi viz and riding back to the yard in the dark, all done on my own and no-one queried it.
I did more than once catch my youngest daughter sitting on the pony whilst she was grazing in the field, said daughter had bare feet, no hat, silk pyjamas on (is there anything anymore slippery?) the pony had nothing on - not even a head collar.
She did break her arm jumping bareback in the field in just a headcollar and lead rope, pyjamas again and bare feet - she had put a hat on though so she did listen to some of my ranting.
 
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I'm guilty of riding in shorts - western saddle so no pinching - and I have no intention of stopping :-)
And I have occasionally fed my horses wearing crocs, but I'm very very aware and chuck the food at them from a distance. It's not big and it's not clever though, and I'd never attempt to lead them or otherwise work with them without boots.

I don't think that photo is a fake. I work at a vet and have seen injuries that look like this and worse, and you won't always see blood or bruising. OUCH!
 
I had a foot stamped on and broken in hiking boots. Dr said it would’ve been much worse in anything less foot wear wise. He said he’d seen some horrible injuries when horse owners just had wellies on (can’t even imagine how bad it would be in flip flops!!) I’m another one with riggers now!
 
Funds mean I have either trainers or cheapo wellies in the winter, occasionally those ankle muckers for that in between weather, but as for anything else, was out of my league. I'm just nifty on my feet :D
 
fburton said:
I heard a horror story about someone whose steel toecap was crushed by a horse - the result of which was rather worse than if he had been wearing normal boots.
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You have to be careful in your choice of boot. Cheap or low rated boots may not be up to the weight of a horse. An 18 hand shire cross thoroughbred stood on my old work boot and the only damage done was a scratch to the fabric where she slid off. And why oh why do they stamp down on your foot and never pick the freaking hoof up again, just slide it off? I swear they giggle as the skin rolls off your foot !!
 
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