OK, so you all know that I got Finn some shiny new red Cavallo boots which we tested the other day.  (Here is that post.)

When we were done with our short test-drive, I noticed that the red dye from the boot had discolored Finn’s heel bulb.

Hmmmmm.

That bothered me because I feared the boots might be too snug.

So, I took photos and emailed the company.

IN THE MEANTIME

In the meantime, I wanted to ride my tender-footed Finn, so my mind was working overtime to try to figure out why there were red marks on his heel bulbs when the size of boot was determined to be the correct size.

I usually work out these complex problems when I should be sleeping.  And, as usual, I laid awake last night, trying to figure out a way to make sure that his heels weren’t rubbing against the shoe.

MY BRIGHT IDEA

My ridiculous (now) idea was this:

“Hey, when I get blisters on my feet, it is usually because I am not wearing socks.  So, I think I just need to get some thin socks on Finn’s feet.”

Yes, I had researched all the feedback on these boots and it did occur to me that no one else was considering socks – and no one else had heel bulb rubs.  That should have been a clue…

But, it wasn’t.

So, I continued with my (silly) plan.

SOCKS

I went through my sock drawer and found the most thin pair I owned.  Luckily, I had just buried and not tossed the useless, ‘woven from something not found in nature and crafted in a 5th world country’ pair of socks I purchased at a ‘deal’ from Grocery Outlet.

Anyway, I figured they would stretch and probably fit over his hoof.

So, I set out with my nasty pair of cheapo socks and Finn in the trailer.

APPLICATION

The socks were easy to apply but they looked ridiculous.  I felt badly for Finn.

You know how a guy looks when he is wearing socks with sandals?

Well, that is how Finn looked.

I just couldn’t let him go down the trail like that… so I put on black bell boots to cover the socks.

Now he just looked OVER booted.

Sigh.

ON THE TRAIL

Finn trucked out wonderfully, just like he had the day before.

He really, really enjoys having boots!

But, I didn’t want to push it so I did exactly the same trail as the day before to see if there was continued heel rub.

While on the trail, I got off to check the bell boots and to make sure the socks hadn’t slipped down and created that sock-lump we sometimes get at our heels.

No lump.

However, the bell boots were all twisted every which way.  I couldn’t really tighten them because they were up too high and didn’t really fit.  Bad idea all around.  But, I kept them on because the sight of Finn in his blue and orange socks with red boots was a bit too much, even for me who was the master creator of this horrendous footwear.

BACK AT THE TRAILER

Back at the trailer, I eagerly anticipated what I would find beneath the boots…

I took off the boots and lo and behold – holes in the socks.  OK.  That did it.  The boots were too short, no matter what any chart said.  And, after careful inspection of the boots, I realized that he was already pushing apart the seams on the left one.

Figures since most horses are left-hooved, that hoof would be slightly larger.

Aaack.  Bummer.  I’d have to get a larger pair.

BACK HOME

Back home I discovered an email from the company which suggested that if I had to push hard to get them on – or if Finn had to put his foot down to seat the boot, they were too small.

I did have to put his foot down to seat the boot.  Oops.

So, it was a tad too small.

BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARD

I will either get a new pair, one size larger, or do some online discovery and shopping.

In the meantime, I know that HE LIKES HIS BOOTS.

A few lessons learned on this experiment.

1)  Make sure to understand how to fit a boot before purchasing – don’t just read the website, ask around on the web and also ask the company for tips.

2)  If there’s smoke, there’s fire  (if there is red dye on the heel bulb, something is wrong…).

3)  Don’t embarrass your horse with silly grandpa socks unless he/she is as good-natured as Finn!

Hee hee!  ;)

 

HORSE AND MAN is a blog in growth… if you like this, please pass it around!

 

 

 

 

 

Copyright

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.