The boots is not an admittance of failure. It is a tool to be used so you can keep exercising your horse the very same day you pull his shoes off. Not only do they protect but with a pad in them they actually also help to condition the lateral cartilages and digital cushion which are very important and often forgotten structures of the hind part of the hoof. They are the very thing we are trying to strengthen and in the boots they will. If you try to ride your horse barefoot without boots (In harsh terrain) you will find that the horse shortens its stride a bit and you are back to square one. Toe landing first is not how we condition the hooves. It is pathology and we have to avoid it at all cost. In the beginning you will be cursing up a storm when you try to put boots on your horse but they are no different then any boots you own for yourself. They might rub in the beginning so don’t go for a long ride when you first try them on. And just like with old boots. If you use them often (That’s the hole idea right?) they will slide on like a pair of slippers after a while. Making you wonder why you ever cried about it in the first place. So let an experienced person find the right boots, and have fun riding everywhere you ever wanted to take your horse.
I started trimming brood mares and peoples neglected backyard horses, and learned the hard way that I can only save these guys with
their owner’s assistance. When struggling in muddy paddocks trying to trim feet that had last been trimmed 6 months ago, or trying
to devise a bandage that would stay on an abscessed foot when the horse's pasterns were buried in mud, I realized that.... I needed
to focus on horses I could help.
I can help the horses but I can't change the owners. I now let them know what they need to
do to help their horse, and let them know that if they work to heal their horse, I'll work hard next to them. If they can't do their
part, I give them a few names of folks who may be willing to work with them.
It’s a heart breaker....
Pete consoled me
once that I'd made the right decision about not working with the owner of a horse that was fed to obesity, had laminitis and
chronic thrush. "When the vet looks at that foot and asks who the hoof care provider is, do you want your name associated with it?
Is there anything you can do to change her?"
Tough.... I leave the door open, tell them that if they decide to try working
with me, I would love to work with them, but ask them, please, not too wait too long because the effects of laminitis are NOT
reversible. This is their horse’s life, and no, they don't get a Do-Over if they realize they were wrong.
Linda
Linda
Cowles
Certified Hoof Care Provider
WWW.HealthyHoof.Com
mailto:HealthyHoof@Comcast.net