Boot For Horse Turnout
When it comes to the choice of a boot for horse turnout, I love the Ultra Jogging Shoes because they are virtually impossible to loose, are extremely soft and comfortable, are very breathable (so the hooves don’t build up excessive amounts of moisture that could lead to thrush) and are super easy to clean and dry (just throw them in the washer and dryer!). Also the unique rubber flexible sole stimulates the sole of the hoof which encourages the hoof to toughen up rather than deteriorate due to lack of normal ground stimulation.
I have a rescue pony called Mary who has almost half her coffin bone missing (see x-ray to the left) as a result of previous long term laminitis. As a result she is not able to grow a normal hoof and needs horse turnout boots 24/7.
Mary has very small hooves (8 cm long) and the smallest size Ultra Jogging Shoe that was available at the time was an 10 (which fits and 10 cm long hoof), so I wasn’t sure if they would work for her. However because of the design of these boots and the flexibility of the sole they work very well and allow her to break over right where she need too.
Below are some photos of the boots that she has been wearing pretty much constantly (apart from a daily 1/2hr break to allow her feet to air) for seven months – click on the photo to see a larger version. As you can see there is practically no wear on the soles. The upper does have a fold across the plastic on the front due to not having the toe wall snug up against the front of the boot because of the shape of her hoof and the boot being two sizes too big (smaller sizes are coming in 2014). The pad is almost a year old.
Many other therapeutic horse boots are not suitable as a boot for horse turnout in a large area as they are not designed for a horse moving too much. However the Equine Jogging Shoes work very well as they allow Mary to live with the herd on a large Paddock Paraside track.
This sole shot shows a mud imprint of where Mary’s hoof sits in the Jogging Shoe. You can see that her toe sits just at the edge of the inner tread which is quite a long back from the edge of the boot. Due to the flexiblity of the sole she is able to breakover back at that point which is one of the reasons these boots are so fantastic.
We live in Ontario, Canada so we have quite extreme seasons. I find that the Equine Fusion Jogging Shoes work well all year round for Mary. She has been wearing the Equine Fusion hoof boots for almost 2 years now.
We get very muddy times of the year and to date has only once managed to loose one boot and that was when a friend put them on for me and didn’t quite tighten them up enough.
Another great feature of these boots is that they have reflective strips around the top of the boot and on the logo on the front. This means that they are very easy to find in the dark should your horse manage to loose one.
Here are some photos of her in the snow. Again the Jogging Shoes perform very well in snow providing good grip.
Finally, here is a photo of Mary on the day she decided to follow along on a trail ride along a very stoney hydro track (and this was the pony who could barely walk when she arrived!)
The new Recovery model is also now available and it has been specifically designed for rehab.
