Customer Question:

“My 20 yr old App is suffering from moderate laminitis in the left and mild in the right front hooves. I live in northern Minnesota where the weather is snow/ice, however she’s wearing them and moving quite well even on questionable ground. My questions are: How often should I take them off to clean? and How frequently do I need to replace the cushion pad if she’s wearing them 24/7?”

Answer:

We recommend taking the boots off once per day to check for debris or rubbing or excess moisture. As far as how often you need to clean them, we recommend cleaning the boots once a week, or as needed, as it depends on how dirty they’re getting and how clean you’d like to keep them.

Whenever they look dirty to you, simply hose them off. You can also get them extra clean by scrubbing them with a little Dawn dish soap or Simple Green before you hose them off.  To maintain the longevity of the boot, we recommend that you keep the boot out of direct sunlight until it’s thoroughly dry.

When to replace the pads is very subjective as it depends on several factors including how heavy your horse is, how much she moves in them, and your judgement on when to replace them. Some customers will let them get quite worn down before replacing them, while others replace the pads very often to make sure that 2 degree wedge never gets squished down. It’s a good idea to just check the wear on the pads each time you remove them from the boots to clean them.