As you have probably noticed, Mama Tess has been wearing an Equine Slipper on her badly foundered and now misshapen left front foot.
Why?
Because it fits.
I could not find any other support boot to fit her exceedingly long and heel-weighted foot.
Now, don’t get me wrong… I loved the Equine Slipper. It is an incredible tool for me…
But, I wanted to give her more support on that foot – I just couldn’t find a boot that would fit.
This is an Equine Slipper. It has been a very, very useful tool for daily bandaging. I love them and have purchased a new one about every 6 weeks for MT’s badly misshapen and foundered left front foot. However, it does not give any support on the heel or fetlock.
She has no problem getting around with the Equine Slipper, I just wanted more support for her – and a more even heel height. The Soft Ride on the right foot has a substantial sole, where the Equine Slipper is a thin leather sole.
SO I CONTACTED SOFT RIDE AND ASKED IF THEY COULD HELP…
Since I love the Soft Ride and it is the standard for laminitic and foundered feet, I contacted them and asked if they could help.
Immediately, I received a response (very nice), asking me to measure the part of her foot that touches the ground, the length of her total foot and the width.
This, I did.
When I sent that photo, their first response was to blame the Hoof Cinch – Soft Ride had never seen one before – and immediately said that was the problem. I did tell them how beneficial the Hoof Cinch was for Tess and that the right foot had worn one for a year WITH the Soft Ride and had no issues.
The lead developer at Soft Ride was brought in to come up with a solution, but with the length of her heel verses the width of her foot, they had no suggestions. It was agreed that her foot was too misshapen for a Soft Ride.
Bummer!
I sent a series of photos to Soft Ride. I told them that due to the length of her heel bulb now on the left, she weights her heel to walk and in turn, it flips the toe of the Soft Ride boot up – and off. Pictured here, you can see that she stands on the very end of the heel of the boot on her left.
By weighting her heel, she ends up flipping the toe of the Soft Ride boot upwards – and within an hour or so, she would wriggle it off – no matter how tight I applied the boot straps. I’ve even tried vet wrap on top and extra velcro. Clearly, this was the wrong shape boot for her newly shaped foot.
This is the photo I sent to Soft Ride. As you can see, only 4″ hit the ground, but the length of her foot now is 6.5″ due to her extended heel and heel bulb.
WHAT TO DO, WHAT TO DO…?
I was contemplating this dilemma when I remembered that I had a giant EasyBoot RX from when our draft cross, Bodhi, was trimmed too severely.
Hmmmm.
I found it and looked at the measurements. It was a size 5. The width said 5 15/16″ – 6 7/16″ and the length was 6 7/16″- 6 7/8″.
Well… the length would fit… and the width would be way too big. But, I noted that the support around the heel was very strong as well as the wrap around the coronet band. That part was much higher and tighter. I felt that maybe I could secure it around her fetlock much easier and there would be less room for her foot to slip out.
So, I tried it.
This is a photo of the EasyBoot RX from the website. As you can see, the collar is higher and tigher than a Soft Ride.
GETTING IT ON HER FOOT.
The EasyBoot RX comes with a thin pad inside.
When I first tried to put her foot inside this huge boot, the opening was too small. I couldn’t believe it. So, I thought about taking out the pad and then decided that there had to be an easier way…
I bent back the heel neoprene and the front neoprene to make a flat area for her to insert her foot (like Cinderella). It fit! I then folded back up the front and back neoprene and sealed the velcro flaps.
She put her foot down and weighted it. Perfect! She licked her lips and chewed. She liked it.
I folded back the front and the back neoprene to get her foot into it.
SHE WORE IT AND SEEMED VERY HAPPY!
I decided to let her wear it for the day and see what happened. I checked it a few times and it was still on!
Since the rear neoprene is very well supported, it kept her fetlock supported when she put full weight on her heel. And, it is so long, the boot toe doesn’t flip up allowing her to slip out of it. The velcro closure is nice and tight above her coronet band, so it stays in place.
I did take it off and replace it with the Equine Slipper at night – just in case.
I have no idea how long this book will hold its shape, but I will let you know. For now, she is very happy… I let her out last night to graze and she refused to come back in – she was so happy.
That makes me happy!
I cut holes in the upper of the EasyBoot RX since she wasn’t even touching those areas and I like more air flow whenever possible.
You can see that the EasyBoot RX size 5 is a much larger boot than the Soft Ride in her size. But, the heel height is similar and I liked that. You can also see how the rear of the EasyBoot RX is much higher and stronger/tighter than the Soft Ride. I was able to secure it around her fetlock much easier and more snugly.
Here she is weighting her right foot…
And here she is weighting her left. As you can see, the EasyBoot RX maintains its sole on the ground, which is terrific since she is weighting the very point of her heel bulb. The boot is not flipping up, it is on!
SO IF YOUR HORSE HAS A MISSHAPEN FOOT AND NEEDS A SUPPORT BOOT… (no affiliation)
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