Bell boots in turnout?

[Scarlett 001]

Skeeter just had his new shoes put on after his recent lameness, and I am working with a new Natural Balance farrier. He suggested I might want to put bell boots on Skeeter for turnout, as with his weak hoof wall and the design of his shoes, it is possible could he could pull a shoe (and we don't want that to happen and cause more nail holes etc.).

Can you leave bell boots on all the time, or will it irritate the skin/hair? Skeeter is on full board/livery and is turned in and out by the barn people. I am unsure if my stables will put on bell boots each morning and take them off each night, although I would buy velcro to make it easier. Assuming my barn won't deal with the bell boots, or wants to charge a bit much to do this etc., is it an option to leave them on most of the time or would this be bad and he could get some irritation at the top of the boot? I think I've heard of horses in 24/7 turnout having them on all the time. :confused:

[connieD]

i know lots of people that turn horses out with over reach boots on and as long as someone checks they are not rubbing it should be ok to leave them on.

may be better to go for the neoprene ones though. the rubber ones can cause rubbing when they get wet and muddy.

also, on my mare who has sensitive skin they caused friction burns when i turned her out in them. i stick to the neoprene ones now:)

[Scarlett 001]

So I guess the neoprene ones don't collect the moisture (rain/snowmelt etc.) too much? Do they repel the water adequately and not trap it in at all?

I see my horse 4-5 times a week, so I can keep an eye out for rubbing etc.

Thanks. :)

[Em 1]

I turn my boy out in rubber bell boots all day as he has a very big movement and used to frequently pull shoes when turned out. I also tried the neoprene ones but found that he lost them on a daily basis - they didn't stand up to the over-reaching. I suppose it depends on why they pull the shoes off!

I wouldn't leave boots on all the time because they might rub and will cause a warm, damp environment around the hoof and heel which might lead to thrush or a bacterial infection.

If I were you, I'd talk to your YO and see if the boots could be put on/taken off. I'm on full livery and have never found this a problem:) .

[connieD]

i found the neoprene ones dont hold the water too badly, however as eml said, they can come off if its muddy - ok when the field is dry though. it depends which ones you buy. i have found the ones made by woof are good as they have a sort of 'bump' in them which keep them in place and keep the velcro on top so less likely to come off

[lamprellsarah]

i use rubber ones as i find the other materials hold too much water and tend to trap the mud in close to the heels.

i am lucky though as in winter my friends brings in and takes them off and i put them back on in the morning. i would avoid leaving them on all the time as when i have done in the winter i have felt under them in the morning and it is fairly warm underneath and this would worry me with mud fever and bacteria infections and all that!

in the summer i have pull on ones and she wears these 24/7 without any problems!

[KarinUS]

DJ used to wear the same type of shoe and on farrier's recommendation we put bell boots on for awhile.
There were two problems with this: At first it rubbed his hair off. I put vet wrap underneath and that worked okay as long as I could switch it out frequently.
When it was really muddy though it seemed like the bell boots turned into some new type of horsey work-out gear - 20 pounds of mud on each hoof.
So unfortunately during the muddy season when he was also most likely to overstep and pull the front shoes off, he was also most likely to collect the mud inside the bell boots.
I tried different kinds. The ones that are easy to put on are also easy to come off. ;)
We eventually gave up on them and just called the farrier out to put shoes back on whenever he pulled them.

They aren't too expensive though, so you could always try and see how it works for you. Get a bright color so you can find them in the mud. :)

http://users.wireweb.net/rdbaker/guiltyhorse.jpg

Here is DJ in the good old days, sporting his aluminum NB shoes with vet wrap and red booties. :p

[Scarlett 001]

I wondered about the hair loss/rubbing. Skeeter has *not* pulled his shoes for at least a year now, including a bar shoe he had on that left fore for a few months (and bar shoes are quite vulnerable to pulling).

Are the alum NB shoes actually more vulnerable to pulling than regular shoes (or more specifically the bar shoes, which are very vulnerable to this) or is this just the farriers being cautious? As Skeeter did not pull the bar shoes maybe he'll be okay. Skeeters hoofwalls are much stronger than they used to be and progress has been made on that left fore in particular, so I have not had a pulled shoe problem for well over a year now.

[KarinUS]

Actually I think it the way NB shoes are applied rather than the shoe itself.
When you look at Skeeter's new shoes you will see the squarish more rolled toe and you will notice that it appears as if the whole shoe sits a little further back than traditional shoes. It puts the breakover point farther back (more like in a natural hoof. I am guessing that's why they called them Natural Balance). At the same time the ends of the shoe will most likely stick out a bit behind his heels. It's those ends where they tend to step on with their hind hooves and thus pull the front shoe. Does that make sense?
If he does pull it, it's much preferable that the shoe pull straight off though so it's a bit of a balance between putting them on tough enough to stay on for the duration until he gets shod again and not creating too many obstacles (like those side clips) that would tear off bigger pieces of hoof wall in case they do get pulled off.

If Skeet doesn't overstep much then I'd probably just see how it goes before messing with bells in turnout. The rubs and the mud are just not fun and you may not need them.

[Scarlett 001]

I have pics and they don't look too too far back (just looked at a photo), not as likely to be pulled as the bar shoe I would think which has a bar right across that entire back of the hoof just waiting to be pulled. It is an interesting trim, isn't it? The way they roll the toe over the front of the shoe etc.

I am thinking of testing things without bell boots perhaps. It is hassly and to get the barn to take them on and off each day could be an issue. Maybe see how he does this first shoeing and reassess if he does pull it in this first cycle.

[Gracie]

Here is DJ in the good old days, sporting his aluminum NB shoes with vet wrap and red booties. :p

OMG Karin, that picture must be pretty old, because I believe I remember it from quite a few years ago, and I think you had some kind of caption about DJ sneaking out... I alwayas remember this picture when I think of DJ.

Sorry that this doesn't relate to the post! I just had to comment on it!

[KarinUS]

LOL. Yes! He looks so guilty because I caught him raiding the trash can. ;)

[Cicada<3]

Once you put em on you don't wanna take em off unless you absoulutly have to.

[Lucy J]

a while back i needed them on my mare due to her shoes beignn set back. her skin did get rubbed, but i smothered vaseline on and that stopped the rubbing problem.