Hoof boots for driving on pavement.

[jaytori220]

Where I live all we have all of our roads are paved with very little grassy roadside. I am looking into getting hoof boots for my gelding. Wanting something with a good rubber sole. Would love the renegades but of course they don't make them small enough. What do you use or have had experience with?

 

[Marsha Cassada]

I do not understand why drivers of miniatures want driving boots. It is my understanding that horses need the impact on their soles to facilitate circulation. Wouldn't a driving boot, like a horseshoe, inhibit this?

Because of their smaller size/weight, miniature hooves frequently do not get worn down like big horses.

If it is for shock absorption, I would think one would have to drive many miles, often, to require a shock absorber.

Hopefully someone will post and explain.

 

[Margo_C-T]

My take on this? I wouldn't say 'impact', but possibly, 'pressure'...and that contact w/ the ground surface is said to be especially important to the FROG of the hoof, which acts as a sort of 'pump' for blood circulation. While a very gradually-increasing exposure to uneven surfaces, such as with increasingly larger and 'sharper'rocks, may aid in 'toughening' the soles, those soles can be bruised by 'impact', such as with rocks...not a good thing! I own hoof boots for the occasion when I might drive somewhere rocky, and have fashioned some inner 'pads' for my pony-sized Easy Boots, which fit my 37"+ gelding, that I feel will act to aid in 'transferring' the pressure of each footfall's landing more evenly across the entire ground surface of the hoof.They should protect from bruising of the sole, while offering 'some' degree of shock absorption.It probably WOULD require lots of driving to significantly 'wear down'the hooves...but believe me, there ARE people who drive those miles, esp. those seriously competing in CDE w/ VSEs(Very Small Equines; ADS' definition of minis, basically). Plus, anything that can be reasonably done to protect a horse's relatively 'fragile' legs and feet, is not a bad thing...after all, why NOT do what's at least reasonably possible to keep an athlete sound and able to its job??

 

[Marsha Cassada]

Here is an interesting article with a thermograph.

http://thesoulofahorse.com/blog/the-gift-of-barefoot/

 

[jaytori220]

I do not drive those miles but when my gelding limps over all the pebbles on the side of the road because there is nowhere else to drive and his feet get sore then I would have thought boots would help him.

 

[7fluffyfriends]

Hello,

I was interested in your question as I have been pondering a similar situation. Our lovely long dirt/gravel county road was tarred over last summer so now there is pavement everywhere and no usable shoulder.

More than the hooves themselves, my concern is the impact on the legs as there is, of course, no real give to the tar road. Like you I have wondered about boots, at least for the front!

Do any of you travel on tar roads/pavement? Have you had any lameness issues? Have you had any 'slipping' problems?

We have traveled in a few parades, but the parades are very slow and actually pretty short being about 1 mile in length.

 

[Marsha Cassada]

I've been driving my gelding on paved roads since I got him 12 years ago. Never noticed it causing any discomfort in joints, or tender feet. I sometimes hit a loose gravel road on one of our drive routes. He does not like that section. I think the unevenness of the large gravel rocks makes him feel a little off balance, but I don't believe that gravel is causing him any pain.

He used to slide/slip on pavement but since I've learned the value of a good trimmer, we never have a problem with that anymore.

I'm thinking high speed maneuvering, such as CDE, would take a toll on joints and ligaments. Straight forward harness work wouldn't be so much of a problem.

 

[poniesrule]

Great article Marsha Cassada! I live in town, I do most of my driving on the rock driveway or on the paved streets. I have contemplated boots for my guys, just because I think it would make them more comfortable, they do gimp a bit on gravel in my opinion, but after watching them more, the gimp seems to come from missteps, not pain. BUT, I am beginning to ask myself if my horses really need all of the things on the market that make this horse-mom go "oh yes, my baby needs that." I have started using slow feeders spread out around the paddock, there are rocks & water hazards between them. Half because I wanted to provide a more "natural" setting, and half because I didn't have any other choice. Some of the articles I've read on barefoot trimming provide some pretty awesome ideas to allow the horse to develop a natural hardy hoof, ideas I hope to implement in the near future. Now that being said, I have had horses in the past who physically couldn't walk on gravel or pavement due to bad farrier work. Time & conditioning, gradually introducing firmer footing did help him some, but he never fully recovered. If you think your horse needs boots, by all means, get them! One good place to find reviews is amazon. I do know there were some threads here too about the best boot, try to search for them & contact whoever started them & see if they followed through & what their thoughts were. I know I didn't answer you original question, but wanted to add my own input as well. Best wishes!

 

[diamond c]

I have thought about them too, but to prevent slipping on the slick aspholt more than anything else. The paved roads that

I travel have some fairly steep but short hills. I have no doubt that my boys can handle these hills just fine but I'm afraid of them slipping and going all the way down not only causing injery but putting themselves and me in a bad spot trying to get them up. Iam always by myself when in these areas and would like the piece of mind of a good set of " tinnis shoes" just to make all 3 of us feel better.

 

[susanne]

I've never had any lameness issues driving on pavement, but I build up time spent on pavement gradually after any time off of driving. Two of our neighbors have fairly steep driveways and I will not drive up or down either place, even with boots.

Our problem is gravel, as our dead end road has large, sharp, nasty gravel, and Mingus is a princess about it. I joke about it, but he actually has tender soles, so I bought a pair of Chimacum leather road boots.

 

[shorthorsemom]

Best thing I ever did for my guys feet was put in pea gravel. Nice hard not flat (concave is the word I think) hoof bottom with tight white lines. No more ouchy feet. Getting your horse off of grass and dew and mud and onto nice gravel that supports the foot works wonders even if only for part of a day... my guys have no more hoof chipping and my guys can trot over rocks and stuff. Nice in winter because gravel drains nicely. When I was driving a lot I could really tell the hooves held up. Prior tonthe pea gravel my boy did tippy toe over some ground. Cheers.. forgive quickntyping on kindle.

 

[Marsha Cassada]

I think horses need to walk on all sorts of surfaces, not just soft stuff all the time. On the rare times we get a lot of rain and the ground stays soggy for several days, I try to take mine out on the hard pavement once a day for a good workout.

I have pea gravel in a couple of places in their area. It does "travel", though. I have to rake it back into place sometimes.

Diamond C, as for slipping on rather steep hills. I worry about that also, as mine used to slip before I knew to get them properly trimmed. I still tense up a little on hills, as a reflex, but they don't slip any more. I am not sure, but I think it is something to do with the bars. Maybe someone else knows. If the paved hill is pretty steep, I try to tack down it.

 

[jaytori220]

My guy was diagnosed yesterday with mild to moderate arthritis in the knees and fetlock joints and a bone spur in the rt front coffin bone joint. I assume hoof boots won't provide any cushioning for joints and hoof?

 

[susanne]

jaytori220, I would be cautious with your arthritic horse on pavement and any surface, even in an arena. Warm him up slowly, condition him carefully, and always watch his body language. Even if he is not actively hurting, he may compensate and protect his fetlocks, causing back strain or other issues. On the other hand, so long as your vet approes, light exercise may help him. Boots may help him, but make certain the gators or straps don't stress his fetlocks. Not all boots have padding or shock absorption. Definitely ask your vet and/or farrier.

As for toughening feet, I put pea gravel in our corral, and while it is great for their hooves (which were never the problem), it has done nothing to help Mingus with our gravel road. Keep in mind that many of the rocks on the road are 2 to 3 inches and are an entirely different animal -- our van hates the road, too! I grew up running down our gravel road barefoot, so I'm not one to baby feet when it comes to rough surfaces, but different horses (and people) have different needs.

 

[Marsha Cassada]

That is not good news. My sister had a big horse diagnosed at a major equine hospital with a bone spur a few months ago. There was no fix for it. The vet said he would need bute to be ridden. Boots were never mentioned as an option. He was 18 years old and had recently been returned to her after being with a different owner for 6-7 years. There was no way to know how he had been used during that time. Do you know the life history of your gelding?

 

[jaytori220]

Yes he had done nothing for about the 8 years my friend had him. Before that he was used as a lesson pony and driven. The vet has him on bute for 14 days to get the inflammation down. She said that he can still be driven and may or may not need bute beforehand. I've been thinking about Adequan injections. Right now he is on msm and flax seed.

 

[BiologyBrain]

From what I've read on the barefoot/natural trimming websites/articles (and I've read a LOT - trying to resolve hoof issues in the minis I work with), slipping is not a problem for bare feet as much as it is for hooves in shoes. The hoof (if properly trimmed and shaped) naturally provides better traction than anything on he he market. Concave soles, a 'mustang roll', and shorter quarters than toes/heels (it's a natural development with normal wear of a natural trim) kind of produces a suction-cup like function of the hooves -- preventing slipping even on mud or road surfaces. During the transition phase, lately many of the natural trim practitioners have recommended boots to protect tender feet. However, most, if not all, of them say the need for boots will be temporary on all but the absolute roughest/sharpest terrain. Combining a good natural trim with a 'barefoot paradise' (pea gravel in various areas of the horses travel - and requiring the horses to move a lot during the day throughout their 'paradise') does a lot for horses' hooves. Some articles that looked into horses with still tender feet despite good trims and a barefoot paradise found that sub-clinical thrush. Treating the thrush produced the 'rock hard' feet needed to travel over all terrain.

 

[susanne]

It may not be *as much* of a problem, but it's enough. I've seen my horse slip on asphalt roads, especially when it is cold and wet (we're in Oregon, so that is most of the time) and the pavement hardens. And yes, his hooves are properly trimmed. I won't take the chance.

 

[happy appy]

I have had good luck with Omega Alpha products for horses. I have used the Antiflam (in place of bute)and the sinew-x and HA-180 for mobility. I normally start with 1/2 dose and adjust down to 1/4 if I can.