Booting	Casting

Why We Use Boots

Using boots is a very good idea for when we remove shoes from the horse, because usually the hoof is very weak and has thin and crumbly soles, and also because the horse has not used his foot properly before because he has had a steel ridged shoe on with no flexion for the foot to work properly. Also the shoe elevates the foot of the floor by 1 ¾ cm. And yes so does the boot system but with a big difference from a shoe, with a boot the foot can still have flexion and it is always being stimulated from the heel first landing. Usually from taking the shoe off and setting the horse up for boots for the first time the horse owner can ride straight away, good news for horse owners! After a period of time in using the boots you will us them less and less as the hoof gets stronger. I have been using the easycare boot system, available from. www.trelawneequine.co.uk . I usually use the Epics and the Gloves, very good boots indeed but for the lame horse we use the RX boots too.

Pads In Boots

Using pads is a good idea because they bring comfort to the hoof if the boot is just not enough. There are a lot of different kinds of pads out there that we use from hard, medium and soft comfort, depending on the situation of the hoof problem. There is even a system specifically that you can get to help with difficult hoof and frog problems, such as thrush. This is called the comfort pad system. They come in as a kit so you can see what kind of pads you need for each foot on the day. They are the easycare range comfort pads, there are even more on this site, www.trelawneequine.co.uk. 

Casting

This is a fairly new technique to me, but when I started using the casting material it was brilliant to see what it could do for the horse. I am using this system for horses having their shoes off for the first time because we need to cover up the foot from getting bruises from the ground and even thin soles and pain in the back of the foot too. This system is so good because they can feel the floor through the cast and the hoof is getting the flexion it has needed. There are even pads that we can use as well for the casts, you can do so much with the casting system it is so good. I have found as well you can even soak the feet through the casting material if there is a need for it. Just another tool for the box although be aware that casts are not suitable for riding in and are just used for the initial hoof problem. The cast itself is made from epoxy resin which starts as a flexible bandage like material which sets rock hard when applied to the foot, www.equicast.us.