Hoof boots for logging work?

[Gabe Ayers]

One of my logging team, and Belgain/Percheron cross, has been struggling with white line disease in her front hooves for some time now. We got the hooves paired back to healthy tissue, and they are growing well now. But, I cannot get shoes on her and it will likely be late fall before it is possible. I need something to protect the short front hoof walls while we work this fall, and my farrior suggested I try hoof boots from Easycare. Has anyone ever tried the Epic boot for use in the woods? I have ordered a pair and am going to give them a try until the hoof is long enough to re-shoe. Thoughts?
-Brad

[Anonymous]

I have not tried the boots but out of need I did try using a two part acrilic hoof compound to rebuild a geldings feet some years back. It comes in a thing like a caulking gun drys very fast and can be nailed to just like real hook wall. More recently (and I know this sounds very redneck) I used duct tape wraped around the hoof wall and the bottom edge to protect a horses feet wile working bare foot when it couldn’t be shod. Had to add tape during the day but it got the job done.After being through some situations much like your problem, my advice would be if at all possible would be to let the mare have some time off till her feet grow out a bit.She will probly grow out faster with less chance of brusing or abcesses out on soft ground. I don’t like using other peoples horses but some times it’s an option worth looking at or getting a cheap short term horse to use and resell.

I’m kind of in the same boat as you I have one mare who I have decided to put out to pasture due to a injury and an other who has a foal still nursing.Which leaves me with one horse ready to go to work. Next week we start back in the woods on a big rocky hill cutting single tree selection in a spruce and hemlock stand. I thought about weaning the foal early or risking bring the injured mare hoping she had enough time to heal. In the end one of the guys I work with offered his horse to use untill I wean the foal. I guess thats what I’m going to do.

Best of luck
Tristan

[Does’ Leap]

Brad:

I have used these boots in the woods on one of my geldings who has thin soles. They work well. Keep an eye out if you go through any mud as they can pull off in those conditions.

George

[Jim Ostergard]

Brad,
Like Tristan, I used the acrylic compound when I had Zeb. He near foundered at the same time as having severe hoof rot on one side and we couldn’t get nails in. So using duck tape as a form we used it and was able to get a shoe on. That stuff really holds. When it came a time I didn’t have to use him I would let him go barefoot. It took almost a year before he had grown out enough to discontinue use of it. Good luck.

[Iron Rose]

Tristan
Do you by any chance remember the name of the product that you used. Have a horse with a bad back quarter due to a Snake bite.

Thanks
Dan
SE MN

[Jonathan Shively]

I rode a QH/Belgian cross when I was on the Sheriff’s Posse. That is when I bought my Easy boots. No matter the time of day or night we were called out I could slap them on (easier getting them on then off!). What I didn’t realize when I bought them but really came to appreciate was the bottom of the hoof being covered (along roads in glass and junk). Never had them come off in mud/muck/water. Liked the way they provided traction coming off of wet grass onto blacktop.

Dan, if you know anyone at a dentist office and can get the powdered material to make false teeth, mixed with water to make a paste in a dixie cup (for the wax protection, will get hot) with the crack cleaned out well, that stuff will bond and can be cut with nippers as the hoof grows out.

[Does’ Leap]

The other thing we have played around with on our thin soled horse are hoof casts. They work really well for comfort and are nice and tight fitting…but we would wear through them quite quickly on our gravel roads and they became expensive. However I recently found a very cheap source of casting on Amazon which works out to about $5 for a set, and they last 10 days to 2 weeks. You can look at the equicast website for information on how to apply the cast etc, but the materials are quite expensive there.

Kristan

[Anonymous]

@Iron Rose 36347 wrote:

Tristan
Do you by any chance remember the name of the product that you used. Have a horse with a bad back quarter due to a Snake bite.

Thanks
Dan
SE MN

I can’t remember the brand. It was given to me at the time by my vet to try out. He wanted to see how it would work in the rocky conditions I was working in. I had some perchrons and they were pullling shoes alot in the rocks after a wile there just wasn’t any good nailing. That was 11 years ago I’m sure most ferrier supply stores cary a product even better that I used back then.

[Gabe Ayers]

After a great deal of consideration, I have decided to just rest my mare for the rest of the fall and winter. She is growing good hoof now and I want to see how she does with time off. I am making arrangements to have her housed for the winter and I have two possibilities for horses to pair with my gelding for logging work for now. I hope that she will come around with time and rest, and maybe in the long run I will keep three horses so that if one is unable to work I can continue on with the healthy pair. Thanks for all the advice, as it helped to make a good decision.
-Brad

[fogish]

An answer Iron Rose’s question: If hoof boots won’t work I use a Vettec product called Super Fast. It is good for building up artificial hoof, can be trimmed and rasped and lasts several weeks, I have even had it stay on between an 8 week trim. Adhere is another product they make and it is used for glue on shoes. These are not cheap, that is why I suggest boots if possible.

[Author]

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