I recently became an EasyCare dealer and I received my first order of hoof boots a month ago. The following week I had my first experience with boots and it was a rather dramatic one. On June 10, a client brought home a new horse named Noah. Noah is a two year old gelding that she rescued from Fallon feedlot in Nevada. Like many rescues, his feet had been neglected and were in desperate need of a trim.
Noah’s feet were quite overgrown.
Later that day, I received a phone call from the client – Noah was sore and hesitant to walk. Movement is a key ingredient to developing healthy hooves so this was not good news. It is not uncommon for a horse with neglected/overgrown hooves to have some sensitivity after a trim, especially with long toes/low heels but it should not effect their desire to move around. The next day, I drove to Noah’s barn in the morning to fit his hooves with Easyboot Trails and Comfort Pads. I was so glad I had boots and pads on hand. I walked into Noah’s corral and had to convince him first to get up, then to give me a foot and not wiggle long enough for me to apply the boot. Once he put weight on that booted foot, I did not have any trouble putting the remaining boots on.
Above is baby Noah with his new boots. Within minutes he went from “I don’t want to get up and you can’t make me” to following me around his corral accepting horse cookies as my apology. Thank heavens for hoof boots.
Ilona Chodnicka
