hoof coating for parades - anyone know of one

[motorgypsy]

I've been told that endurance riders in some cases use some type of composite to coat the hoof for the ride. That it lasts through the ride and wears off little by little. I would think that a silicone type material would absorb shock well and add grippiness. Anyone tried anything like this?

[appyday]

I have stuff on this...I am headed out to feed and will post when I get back..and you can tell me if it is the same stuff...kinda neat and a good good idea I might look back into it...

[Terri]

Follow up question. I know everyone is concerned about hooves on that hard pavement, but what about the effect of cortoing down that hard pavement on their joints, ligaments and bones? Am I over worrying?

[TrueStepPaso]

Terri......My horses are barefoot. I cortoed and largoed, and finoed in place at times - FOR TWO HOURS - with the rest of them....My horse then trailered for like five hours after that. He was leaping off the trailer and pulling me to the stall. He was FINE.
As a matter of fact, the next day..I trailered him over to del Fuego (after I had to TRIM his hooves), and rode him on a four hour trail ride.

Rio would be fine, trust me. Its the shod horses who have more vibration and concussion runnning through their joints on pavement.

[motorgypsy]

It really depends on the horse and ther road surface. Concrete, brick and stone are very bad. Asphalt gives and absorbs impact and is probably easier on the legs than hard clay. The foot slammers are especialy at risk. One of ours will get windpuffs if we ride her in gait for several hours on hard clay. Several others have the feather light footsteps so are much less likely to injure any thing but this is why I'm looking for this coating I've heard about. I want to reduce impact without using Eesy Boots. By the way - supposedly impact is worse with metal shoes than barefoot. We do parades and everything else barefoot and have had only one ride that we had to restrict speed on and that was because it was newly laid large sharp gravel that our horse actually sank down in to the fetlock. Terrible stuff!

[Mellifluous]

Twinkle Toes is my fav hoof coating - probably not what you are looking for though... 8-)

Phoebe went bare in the Clarkesville parade and gaited up a storm. She and her hooves were just fine and had plenty o' grip.

[GeorgeGuns]

By the way - supposedly impact is worse with metal shoes than barefoot.

This is a proven fact - Dr Chris Polit studied it quite extensively.

Horses need to be condidtioned for rides like this. If you are used to plopping around an arena and go to a parade, it could be rough. A good trail hard horse should be able to handle the odd parade though.

The coating you are probably referring to is Hoof Armor, and yes it will prevent excessive wear to the soles (this is appropriate for a horse that is not in a perfect hoof yet, or a better-safe-than-sorry day) but will do nothing to minimize impact.

I may well boot mine next year.

[motorgypsy]

Well then we need to come up with one that does absorb impact. Like a temporary glue on silicone shoe.

[Pasogirlz]

I have heard that putting a rubber barrier between the shoe and hoof absorbs a lot of impact. :idea: I saw this done by Alex Gutierrez on a Galopando DVD

[CarolU]

Metal is also very slippery on asphalt and concrete. Horses who parade are better off barefoot UNLESS the pavement is very hot. Then the shoes provide a heat barier that protects the soles.

I do believe gaiting on concrete/asphalt is very hard on your horse and can cause permanent damage. The key word is 'moderation'. If you are going to do it, don't do it often. I like to give a linement rub down for a few days following a parade. I know MY joints/feet would hurt after a two hour parade dancing on them.

I would really love a 'tennis shoe' type shoe for parades. Something that provides cushion and traction.

There is a temporary shoe that they sell for Endurance riders on the trail if they loose a shoe. You essentially have the horse stand in a shallow pool of glue that adhears to the side walls of the hoof, then stand in sand so the sand sticks to the glue. You then have a temporary 'shoe' with an abrasive protective barrier for the hoof that lasts a while.

[motorgypsy]

I wouldn't think heat would be that much of a problem. I'm sure you've seen farriers hot shoe a horse and asphalt doesn't get nearly as hot as the hot shoe.

The glue and sand thing sounds really neat. Pehaps we could glue a think layer of silicone to it with the sand???

I too want a horse tennis shoe with rollar blade type rachet latches which are very easy to tighten and REALLY tighten.

[Terri]

Sorry Abby, don't really mean to be a worry wart. Erin will tell you that I am nuerotic (she has watched my feeding routine - and rolled her eyes). Wring hands and whine for a minute. But I think of all the bad things that could happen and am just looking for opinions and assurances that I am over worrying. Cause I really, really wanna do this very fun thing. Thanks for all you opinions.

If you guys find those horse sneakers let me know!

[TrueStepPaso]

T, don't apologize, silly! Its a good question.....its answer is also tried and true in my barn ;-)
..........take it from Kira & Pj..........straight from the ponies' mouth....

[ErinC]

Terri it would not be any different then the 2 hr ride we did in VT. that was just as hard! and he was FINE!

[Donelle]

I found a website called HorseSneakers that has some interesting boots that look easier to put on than some of the others.

[Barbwire]

Terri, have you forgotten that you have pleasure horses? Quick yer fretting, and enjoy yer critters, for cryin' out loud! :D

[motorgypsy]

Someone said we need a lending pool of tack including boots. That sounds like a great idea! I hate to plunk out that much money and not like the product and they aren't very good about taking back used stuff!

[Abejita]

yes hot asphalt can make a horse tender.Had one here who went barefoot and every weekend we would ride in the county park .HAd to ride on the road 2 or more miles depending which entrance we went in..as the spring turned to summer and the asphalt got hotter..he would get tender by the time we got to the park and then was sound when we came out until we were almost back to the farm he would get slightly ouchy again And the trails in the park were rocky and they didnt bother him (once his feet cooled down after getting off the road awhile)

[Terri]

fretting: it is what I do best. Everybody has to have a hobby.

I bet walking on the hot asphalt is like walking barefoot at the beach on a hot day. OUCH, OUCH, hop, OUCH.

Erin you are right, we cortoed/largoed for 2 hours up in VT on hard packed clay and he was fine the next day. In fact I couldn't get him to slow down.

[CarolU]

They have a big parade (Days of 47) here every year on the 24th of July to celebrate the pioneers arriving in the valley. It starts at nine a.m., but is usually already blistering. The one yeaar it was 104 degrees and the asphalt was measured at 135 degrees.

The difference with it and hot shoeing is that hot shoes are applied only to the outside walls of the hoof, where the hoof is already 'dead.' Hot asphalt 'cooks' the whole sole and frog. Shoes provide some elevation, gets the frog off the surface and a little air space for ventillation for the sole.

[Edurne]

Concrete was unlikely to be very hot, the weather was cool, and there was a strong breeze. ... remember that NY is on the water and is usually cooler than down here in Md.

[PattiB]

I used Vettec expoxy on my gelding for a trail ride last weekend. A very rocky ride, the toe of one front foot was gone by the end of the two and a half hours. It is difficult to put on to get a good set. You have to use a heat gun on the foot to get all moisture out, so to replace at a ride is not practical. You can get the Adhere one to epoxy shoes on, haven't tried that yet. I have used it to help underrun heels, works good for that as long as you aren't riding hard.

[TrueStepPaso]

AND....the parade is in early JUNE...so chill.

BTW, a "CORRECT" bare hoof will be elevated off the ground naturally by the hoof walls....just like a shod horse. If its flat, then ya got problems, and hot asphalt should be the least of your worries at that point.

[CarolU]

Metal is also very slippery on asphalt and concrete. Horses who parade are better off barefoot UNLESS the pavement is very hot. Then the shoes provide a heat barier that protects the soles.


I think that I stated this only applies to hot asphalt in my first paragraph. I wasn't hot and don't need to CHILL ;-)

I didn't make this point about JUST this parade, but as information for people who do parade their horses eleswhere or at other times. We go riding on a 90+ degree day, we often don't think about the ground temperature, but it can be 30 degrees hotter then the air temperature.

But I have experienced like Sheri, horses 'lame' from hot surfaces. It does happen.

[motorgypsy]

I always leave about 1/8 or an inch of hoof or less, but a "rim", when I trim just because it was logical to leave them a "gripping edge". So the rest of the hoof wouldn't be on the ground on asphalt or a really hard surface. It is interesting to see a farrier trim it flat though even during a trim only. Just didn't seem logical to me.

[Serendipity]

I've thought on this at the show you are not allowed pads but I wonder if you put that rubber pad just around the where the shoe is if that would be legal?

[motorgypsy]

When Brandy was injured we put pads on with duct tape but somehow I suspect it wouldn't holdup for 40 blocks. If Easy Boots weren't so darned expensive I'd cut tabs on them and glue them on. I just don't like the attachement system on them. It's very poorly designed. I want something like my rollarbades have.

[Cindy]

Nicole, no that would not be legal. No pads at all.

[TrueStepPaso]

Ooops, sorry Carol! I wasn't trying to be mean to anyone, just letting them know NOT to worry (Terri ;-) ), and yes, I'm sure that can happen to hooves that are flat and have more direct exposure to the ground.......and, I dunno, by the looks of your avatar...you look pretty HOT :shock: ;-)

[Edurne]

the route is 2.4 miles

[Serendipity]

Thanks Cindy!

[GeorgeGuns]

MG's have you tried Boa boots? That has to be about the easiest tightening system, and you can get quite snuck with them. I like the looks of the breakover on them too. The only drawback is that they do come up over the coronary band and ya need pastern wraps with them.

I wouldn't recommend taking a flat soled horse bare on any hard surface - too abrasive and chances are that low sole is a bit thin.

So is the NY parade mostly concrete and not asphalt?

[pnalley]

Right now we are dealing with hoof issues with Caliente. He currently has shoes on front, he's turned out with no riding other then when he jumped the fence & was ridden back home. My farrier is putting a woven piece of material under the shoe so when he nails the shoe down it holds the material. Then to the material he puts a silicone barrier (he has to squeeze it out of 2 tubes directly on the hoof/material). This creates a silicone pad that doesn't allow dirt & yuck to get under it. It's squishy feeling. I guess he's wearing gel pads. Whatever it is, he is much more comfortable with it. Most definatly a step up from the old pads that used to allow dirt under them, then thrush would set in, NASTY!

[motorgypsy]

No we haven't tried boa boots. Perhaps if enough people go to naitonals we can all bring the boots we have and have a boot evaluation session???