Hoof boot question

[RhossT]

When horse is knee deep in mud, how do you use hoof boots? Worried about rubbing as it is impossible to get hooves clean and dry.

 

[twiggy2]

You don't in my opinion.
why is the horse needing hoof boots, how long is it out for?

 

[RhossT]

Horse is semi-retired, has never been shod, hacks out occasionally but is struggling with road work. In summer is out most of the day in swampy field with very sparse grazing which is ideal for him. Should make it clear that there are dry parts of the field but he and other native pony seem to be mud monsters and prefer to stand in the muddy bits and eat the reeds which grow there.

Just wondered if hoof boots would enable him to have longer hacks but worried about rubbing. Sounds as if that is not a practical solution.

 

[twiggy2]

If the field sits wet then his feet will be soft, does he have access to places for his feet to dry out?
If his heels are soft due to constantly being wet then I would say the boots are likely to rub but there is only one way to find out

 

[Firefly9410]

Do you part stable? When the field was boggy I rode before turning out, to avoid this problem.

 

[NOISYGIRL2]

When horse is knee deep in mud, how do you use hoof boots? Worried about rubbing as it is impossible to get hooves clean and dry.

You could try Keratex hoof gel its good for those conditions and may condition/help the hoof enough that you won't need boots

 

[Cragrat]

what kind of hoof boots do you have? Something like Scoots have very little above the hair line - so very little potential to rub if they fit well.

 

[Gloi]

I haven't found Scoots a problem. I hose the mud off the feet then put the boots on and haven't had any rubs

 

[Melody Grey]

If you’re meaning using boots for work, just pick
Our feet and rub off mud with an old towel and boot up- I’ve used cavallos and scoot boots ‘from the field’ when mine lived out 24/7 with no signs of rubbing or any problems.

I wouldn’t use them for turn out though.

 

[paddy555]

Horse is semi-retired, has never been shod, hacks out occasionally but is struggling with road work. In summer is out most of the day in swampy field with very sparse grazing which is ideal for him. Should make it clear that there are dry parts of the field but he and other native pony seem to be mud monsters and prefer to stand in the muddy bits and eat the reeds which grow there.

Just wondered if hoof boots would enable him to have longer hacks but worried about rubbing. Sounds as if that is not a practical solution.

yes hoof boots would let you hack longer. How much mud is your mud and what are you able to do about it?
Hosing works. Dry towelling works.
Stream to lead in through?


I would be cautious of scoots in case the back part rubbed (with or without mud but especially with)
I would have thought both renegade vipers and renegade classics would be safe for rubbing.

gloves would also probably work and flex

if you want your longer hacks to be on wet slippery grass go for renegades, if on hard tracks or tarmac look at both renegades and gloves.

Of course the proviso is with any hoof boot different makes fit different feet and they have to fit well.

If you really cannot do anything about cleaning the legs and feet then I would resort to old towels (charity shops are good to beg from) and towel dry from just underneath the fetlock, down to just below the coronary band paying particular attention to the heels and the soft bits in between them. That will clean the feet enough for you to easily handle them and boot up and it should prevent rubs.

 

[RhossT]

Thanks for all of this. Will investigate further. Horse has lovely thick feathers which does make cleaning and drying difficult.

Firefly - tend not to go up to yard until late afternoon and horse has already been out for some time. Would not be fair to have him kept in for most of the day.