Got trodden on! Ouch!

[Boudicca23]

Yesterday (Friday 8 October) went out for a hack on the horse that I ride at my stables - her name is Shalom and she's the most fabulous Anglo-Arab mare - along with my instructor and another lady. We ride up in the Dorking Hills, up to Leith Tower which is the highest point in Surrey with a view over 5 counties apparently (on a clear day of course) but the weather was stunning, the leaves turning red, just gorgeous. I have a bit of a dodgy hip (which I've posted about here before) so normally get on and off using a mounting block. Anyway, we got back from the hack and I managed to dismount without using the block. Feeling pretty smug, I allowed Shalom to have some mouthfuls of grass but didn't look where either she or I put our respective feet. Crunch! Suddenly, much pain as she stood on my left foot. I managed to squirm it out from under her before she put her full weight on it but by the time I got home (30 mins drive away), it started to go multicoloured. Luckily nothing was broken but I remembered a tip from my old kick-boxing days (about 15 years ago). This is just a long-winded way of giving everyone a tip - for these kinds of injuries, remember the acronym RICE - this stands for Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation. Rest the injury (foot in my case), put an ice pack on it (a bag of frozen peas is ideal because you can mould it), compress it (this is tricky but you can try wrapping something tight about it, or keeping your shoes on if it's your foot,, this is to reduce swelling) and elevate it above heart level. Another tip is to massage quantities of Arnica ointment into it - this is a fantastic herbal remedy for bruising and works a treat. Today my foot is not very painful at all, not swollen but still fabulously multi-coloured.

So, the moral of my story is, when trodden on, remember RICE and Arnica but, perhaps more importantly, watch where you're putting your feet!

[JaniceH]

Just one extra - make sure that you wrap what every you use for the Ice bit, in a towel or similar or you could get freezer burns. And also dont leave it on too long (about 5 -6 mins at a time max )as extreme cold does horrible things to circulation and veins.

I hope your foot feels better soon - I have equitector equine steel toe capped boots, (brilliant, worthy buying) so I have not been trodden on and felt it yet. I have terrible problems with my circulation and dont recover from bruises very well :rolleyes: hence the boots.

[shirley]

Our little highland cross cobby mare trod on my foot the other day and somehow I managed to relax my foot and not shout out or squirm at all. I pushed her away off my foot and hobbled outside went and sat down and took a good look at my foot. Put it in a bucket of cold water for a while and arnica gel we keep for the horses when they have been kicked and hey presto the next day no ache, no pain, only mauvy bruise, but not the fabulous multi coloured rainbow one I would have expected. I think along with RICE and arnica, not tensing up must have ensured I did not break any small bones in my foot. My thought and physical control was excellent this day, perhaps the moral of the story is do not mad but get even. Even if I am not quite sure how to be even with her when she did come over and nudge me very nicely as if to say sorry. Mums a big softy really!!!!!

[missbobbie]

Oooh! Sorry to hear about your foot. Nutmeg stepped on mine the first day I met her...MY fault, not hers! I got away without much injury due to the strong boots I was wearing.:( :p

[Bay Mare]

Originally posted by JaniceH
I have equitector equine steel toe capped boots,

Yep, me too, don't like them and they look ugly but then I didn't like my swollen black foot either when the same horse stood on me TWICE in a week which is his evasion for going into the school instead of eating grass, he actually sticks his front foot out SIDEWARDS and plants it HARD. My little toe was very sore for about 6 weeks. Isn't it amazing how we learn our lessons? Foot stood on = buy steel toe caps. Skin ripped off fingers and end up in burns unit = use gloves for leading.

I hope that you're ok (and in the absence of ice at bucket of cold water is a useful option ...... the school wasn't progressive enough to have an ice machine ;) ).

[Cochise]

Firstly OUCH!! Hope you and your foot are ok! Had a pony break 3 of my toes and had to walk on the inside arch of my left foot for ages when I was about 13.

Secondly, thanks for those tips, will keep them in mind in case it happens to me in the future, arnica is incredible stuff!

Thirdly, Janice, that is really interesting about the amount of time to put ice on swelling. I had always thought that the longer the better!:o

[Alle]

Ouch! I can definitely sympathize with you there. I am very careful of where my feet are and where the horse' feet are at all times since I was last trodden. heh. And RICE does work well. I usually leave the cold pack on for about 10 minutes, then 20 minutes off, then ice it again for 10 and so on.

[Skib]

"I have equitector equine steel toe capped boots, (brilliant, worthy buying)"
Can any of you people wearing Equitector or other protective boots please tell us what stirrups you use with them?
Or do you not ride in them?
I once bought a pair of Equitector boots. I thought them brilliant too. But the school where I was learning at that time made me take them back to the shop (unused) because they said they weren't safe to ride in. Later I got stood on wearing thin jodphur boots.

[entreat]

OUCH! I know how you feel! my OH's fat fat TB (lets give a conservative estimate of 650kg!) walked on me today!! luckily he's a nice boy & didn't drop his whole weight on me, & I managed to push him off quickly.

Our old QH used to lean on to you! Grr! Just stand there with a "what's going on? Who, me??" look on his face!!

[cazrider]

Sorry to hear about your sore foot!

After several times of being stood on by my old cob, and so spending hours in agony, I bought some Mountain Horse SafeRider jodhpur boots with steel toecaps. Fab! I'm now on pair number 2, and in a different thread in this forum they are one of the things I would not be without. I remember looking down a while ago to realise my mare was standing on my foot, and just sighing and moving her off. No agony!

In answer to your query Skib, I use bent iron safety stirrups, and have had no problems.

Could have done with the RICE idea when old cob stood on my daughter's foot and I ended up spending a Sunday in casualty!

[JaniceH]

I have these boots http://www.equitector.co.uk/index.htm?ac=G8JDJ-P

I have the Chill Buster version in black and they are designed for riding as they have the balance system which helps you put your feet in the right toes up position. The only reason that I could think of that they wouldnt have liked them, is that they are slightly wider and a bit chunkier than normal rubber short boots and the standard size of stirrup used by your riding school may have been too small for you to have the right gap either side of the boot when it was in the stirrup. I had to go up a size in stirrup to get the right gap, but they were normal irons.

There are a couple of Equitector boots you can't ride in, but they are marketed as walking boots and not horsey at all.

[Bay Mare]

I've got the Chill Buster one's too but don't ride in them (though I know that they're advertised that you can) as I don't really like them and only wear them because of the steel toe cap. I use Ariat Devon Pro's for riding in which don't have the steel toe cap but are SO comfortable :)

If they say that the Equitector boots aren't safe to ride in do they say the same for the Mountain Horse High Riders etc? They look quite chunky on the sole/heel so is there the same problem with them?

[carrimclaren]

Originally posted by Skib
"I have equitector equine steel toe capped boots, (brilliant, worthy buying)"
Can any of you people wearing Equitector or other protective boots please tell us what stirrups you use with them?
Or do you not ride in them?


I've got these and ride in them. Quite a lot of people round here, including some of the yard managers ride in them so i was quite happy buying them as nobody else has had any problems with them.
Unfortunately i have a clumsy t/b and i'm pretty clumsy as well so not good when she lands on your foot when you're both having a dozy day. :) She did it the other week before i'd got these boots. Took me about 5 mins to get her off my foot the dozy tart :rolleyes:

[cazrider]

You're right Bay Mare, in that the Mountain Horse Safe Riders are wider and chunkier than a normal boot, but I found I just wore them when I went to buy my stirrups and so fitted the stirrup to the boot and found no problem. They are very comfortable and I must admit I use them for everything, including riding, with chaps. And I wouldn't give up that steel toecap for anything!! Same reason as you Carrimclaren!

There's nothing on them that says not to use them for riding, and given the name I'd assume they were safe:) As I said earlier I've been using them for years with no problem at all.

[Skib]

Boudicca23
You lucky thing. I'd love to ride on Leith Hill. Where do you ride from? Or do you have your own horse in livery?
We went for a long walk there last winter and saw riders at the top but they were on their own horses.

[rusk]

I have the Mountain Horse High rider boots which are great but are a size smaller than I usually take. Would I have to do the same with the jodhpur boots, do you think??
I too was trodden on recently, and found the Arnica a big help. I have lost the nail off my big toe twice!!:eek: so you see, it's time I did something sensible about boots.:D :rolleyes:

[cazrider]

Hi Rusk

I'd say yes. You may well need a size smaller. I did. I think it's because they're pretty wide. Great though!

[Ap Nudd]

I wear steel toecapped jodhpur boots because a pony stood on my foot over 25 years ago and I can still remember the pain.

However, I was talking to a biker recently and he was moaning that he'd bought boots for biking but was taking them back unused because he hadn't noticed that they had steel toecaps.

He said steel toecaps were not recommended for bikers because if a motorbike fell on your foot, the steel toecap could crush and even amputate your toes :eek: .

So - any people out there with missing toes?

I'm sticking with my steel toecaps, though, but also trying to be very aware of where feet and hooves are when around horses.

[Tor&Warrior]

I steer well clear of steel toe capped boots too!! I've been stood many many times with out them and never had that much damage, nothing permanent! The worst was when my 16.2hh Friesian X Reared verticle trying to load him and came down on my foot. Only had wellies and althought it was broken and hurt alot it healed quickly. But I had an instructor who had only 2 toes because she'd lost the rest being trodden on in steel toe capped boots and they just got cut off!! And I used to go out with a boy who was a farmer and got stood on by a cow and lost two toes:eek: I'd rather have smashed to pieces toes but atleast still have toes!!! Although they will save you 99% of the time I really wouldn't want to risk the 1%!!

[entreat]

I was stomped-on on tuesday. My OH said, "how about we get you some steel caps?", and I nearly blew my top at him! The horse landed on my foot just below the arch (would have broken foot if she landed there), put all her weight on it, twisted to trun around & then stepped off. If I had been wearing steel-caps, I totally believe that I would be without my first & second toes now.

I'm also a geologist & we were told from first year that if you drop a rock on steel-caps, you can kiss your toes good-bye. Plus, who in their right mind would want to carry all that extra weight in the boots while doing field work??

[Grace O'Malley]

The toes of my regular Ariat paddock boots seem reinforced, but I don't think they have steel caps. I've been stepped on a couple of times, and run into a pipe fence toe first. It hurt, but my foot wasn't injured. Most recently, I was carefully unbridling a large TB, minding his teeth and not paying attention to his feet or my own. He stepped full on my foot and just stood there for probably 30 seconds with me yelling and shoving, before he finally moved :mad: He just looked at me like "what's your problem?" :rolleyes:

These days I usually wear my all terrains, and I'm very aware that the toes are soft leather. Haven't been stepped on in them...yet :rolleyes:

Grace

[JaniceH]

The toes getting cut off scenario was one I had thought of too, but when I looked at the Equitector it had this page:

http://www.equitector.co.uk/index.htm?subj=Toe+protection

This shows that the EQUINE steel toe caps are designed to be used with soft ground so the sole is reinforced as well. Rather than normal industrial steel toe caps that can push the sole of the boot up and crushing the toe.

They have been designed to withstand 1000kg or 100 joules of pressure which is an awful lot.

I sound like an advert sorry :eek: but I have really really bad circulation in my legs, so toe squashing prevention was essential for me.

[nkatan]

I saw your message. What a load of rubbish. They perfectly safe for riding in. They are designed with that in mind and approved by the British Horse Society. Thousands of people ride in them.

[nkatan]

You can use your Equitector boot with any conventional stirrup iron as long the gap is about 3/4" wider. but that applies to all boots.

[intouch]

The Tyne Muck Boots are great, they have reinforced toes that cannot crush, and are warm and comfortable for riding & yard work. Did you know that crushed extremeties are the most common injury around horses? Yet another good reason for keeping your horse barefoot! :eek:

[Crazy Mare]

Hope the foots better. I really do sympathise.

My foot was stood on about two months ago and despite the big multi coloured bruise I too was lucky enough not to break anything.

The only thing is although the bruise is long gone my foot still has a red mark and is tender when I touch it/accidently put too much pressure on it. Has anyone else experienced this? Should I be heading back to the doctor?

Absolutely right though, it's well worth avoiding getting in the way of horsey feet if you can help it ;)

CM x

[nkatan]

"I have equitector equine steel toe capped boots, (brilliant, worthy buying)"
Can any of you people wearing Equitector or other protective boots please tell us what stirrups you use with them?
Or do you not ride in them?
I once bought a pair of Equitector boots. I thought them brilliant too. But the school where I was learning at that time made me take them back to the shop (unused) because they said they weren't safe to ride in. Later I got stood on wearing thin jodphur boots.

The stirrup width depends a boot on your boot size, but a standard 4 1/2 " Iron should be fine for size 4 1/2 to 8. If you have to choice between changing your boots or your teacher, if she insists, change the instructor. The boots are designed for riding and safer than most riding boots.

[FlyOverARainbow]

hiya ppl:D