Hoof Boots- HELP!!

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BeckyCandy

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I need help please-haha!

I have two youngsters one backed onebeing backed next year. They both have lovely feet and are barefoot. Being welsh D's I intend to keep them this way as they will never being doing anything over BE0-90 and even thats being ambitious for myself I think! :p

When out hacking/inhand they really struggle with my unmade road, skipping and drpping head in pain as the walk on the stones but once on tarmac there feet are fine and sound as if they have shoes on the are very hard. Would hoof boots benefit them hacking? Do you just use on fronts as thye only do the ouchie ouchie with front legs? or back? What makes? can you go through rivers etc? As much info as possible would be appreciated?

I can share a muller rice? :D
 
BeckyCandy said:
I need help please-haha!

I have two youngsters one backed onebeing backed next year. They both have lovely feet and are barefoot. Being welsh D's I intend to keep them this way as they will never being doing anything over BE0-90 and even thats being ambitious for myself I think! :p

When out hacking/inhand they really struggle with my unmade road, skipping and drpping head in pain as the walk on the stones but once on tarmac there feet are fine and sound as if they have shoes on the are very hard. Would hoof boots benefit them hacking? Do you just use on fronts as thye only do the ouchie ouchie with front legs? or back? What makes? can you go through rivers etc? As much info as possible would be appreciated?

I can share a muller rice? :D
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I have EXACTLY the same situation as you- footy on the fronts only and only on stone tracks (gravel is ok) we too are fine on tarmac but I found hoof growth wasnt good- the hooves are rocks solid -no cracks and really tightly knit horn but just not much growth. I'm struggling to find hoofboots that fit and aren't huge/bulky so will look forward to any posts you get!
 
Hi,
Hoof boots will def help if it is down to sole sensitivity - also worth taking a close look at diet too if this is the case. Thesaddleryshop is just brilliant for boots, they have all the sizing charts and can also give advice if you are stuck on what to do. In most cases a pair on front will help enormously. Don't forget to use pads. This really interesting article gives more explanation for why this is important http://www.thehorseshoof.com/Art_Pad.html The feet won't necessarily be the same size, so measure both carefully.

If the horse has a medial lateral imbalance in front, then that can also cause these same symptoms as it is the uneven-ness of the surface that challenges them rather than the pointy-ness, if that makes sense?! Get someone to walk your horse towards you on a flat piece of tarmac, and also past you (so you can crouch down and watch the landing). If you can video it then so much the better as you can pause at moments so you can see more easily what is going on. If they land heel first, and then flat, then all is good. Hinds will usually land v slightly outside first, that is fine, they are designed to do that. If they land one side first (no matter how slightly) then you have a bit of an imbalance. Fixing this will help them land comfortably on these surfaces.
 
Wow thank you for that info very helpful ill get mum running up and down the track haha! They are only 3 and had them since june so have towatch what I feed as want a nice slow growth and no excess weight they are on fibergy, oil, fast fibre and unmollassed sugar beet and very good hay they also have a vit and min lick in the field and when that ran out they changed to benevit advanced in feed :) Have you got any feeding recomendations?
 
Food sounds good! It is the same old feeding advice as for anything else - fibre first, then vits and mins in a low sugar/starch base. If they don't eat enough fibre to maintain weight then fat is useful to add - microionized linseed is the best stuff if oil is needed. Alfafa is generally best avoided as it is high in calcium (as is alot of UK grazing) so you can upset your phosphorus/magnesium/calcium ratios. Sugar beet can do the same. Not worth changing over, but worth bearing in mind if you are having niggles. The vast majority of horses benefit from magox supplimented (equimins do the cheapest I have found - email them for a price list as it isn't on their website). Naturalhorsesupplies do good value smaller amounts if you want to try it out, they also describe really well why it is useful, and suggest feeding amounts. Watch out for sugar and molasses hidden in licks - avoid like the plague! Brewers yeast goes down well too as it is an excellent source of B vitamins (of which Biotin is one).

If you are doing all the 'right' things with regards feed and exercise, and you can't see any sign of a hoof imalance, then it can be well worth getting your grazing/hay analysed and a feed plan working out so you know exactly what minerals to supplement rather than working in the dark a little! Forage Plus do this and offer a brilliant service.

If you do see a medial lateral imbalance, don't be tempted to just have your farrier/trimmer rasp off the high bit. Find an area of gravel as this will stimulate the 'shorter' side to grow rather than just pinching hight of the foot - if that makes sense?! It will also gently wear the higher side at a slow rate so strain insn't put on the collateral ligaments with a fast change of balance.
 
Thank you very much for all of that I will take a look at the website and put the on that as they are growing youngsters so vits and mins are essential anyway and next spring ill get grazing checked for imbalance we have very clayie (sp) soil? I will also do hoof imblanace thing tomorrow as had vet up today for jabs and want to lave them to chill out again as having a micro chip in there necks wasnt the most pleasant of experiances bless them! haha.

Thanks so much for all that advice much appreciated! :)
 
I got a pair of Renegade boots for my mare's fronts as they were wearing excessively on the dirt roads. I haven't used them much yet but they are easy to put on, haven't fallen off and haven't rubbed.
 
Cavello boots are the ones we use, robust, easy to put on and uncomplicated, ask your farrier to measure the hoof for size. We have hacked out in them all summer with only wear showing on the toe. I will definitely be replacing them with the same when needed. Good luck
 
I use Easy boot Gloves and have cantered down boggy tracks and they never budge. Cam be a sod to get off but I am getting the knack of them now but because they fit so well they never budge or rub - google blue moon equine to read more about barefoot and hoof boots and diet etc.
 
I have cavallo simple boots for mine, and they are brill. Only had them three weeks, and used them once so far on really challenging ground (a bit of all sorts!) and they never moved or twisted. He was happy to walk, trot and canter in them, and they are easy to put on and take off. I measured his feet myself with a ruler :p
 
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