All Wrapped Up: Review of the "Hoof Wrap"

Injuries are seldom positive, but looking on the bright side Rufus's has provided some husband/wife/horse bonding time.  

Soak, soak, soak

Along with that, I've also gotten the chance to use a few products on a long term basis that I otherwise might not have encountered.  On the off chance that my experience might be helpful, I thought I'd review a few of them over the next few weeks.

New wrap

I mentioned the Hoof Wrap in my last post, as the final layer of protection that allows Rufus to be out and about with the herd.  He's been wearing one  24x7 for the last going-on-four months - a pretty fair test of usefulness and durability.

• What it is: the name actually describes it well.  It's a soft, easy-on, plasticy/canvas wrap with hook & loop fasteners and a removable pad. 
• What it does: protects the sole and hoof (and any injuries) from the ground.
• How to put them on:  Remove the backing from the velcro squares, attach the pad to the wrap, and then just follow the numbered tabs.  After multiple applications, I found actually found it faster to pre-fasten all but the last two tabs on the wrap, then simply slip the wrap on and do up the last two tabs.
  
  
• Where to get them: you can purchase direct from the company's website, but I've been ordering  from Valley Vet : quick shipping, reasonable prices, super helpful customer service, and a slight discount when you buy two or more at a time.)

Rufus has worn his:

• In the mud: some wet does seep in, but cleaning the wrap isn't hard.  Either wait until it's dry and let it slough off, or if it's stuck on, it soaks off easily. The fasteners do collect some gunk, and they don't stick closed as well when they're covered in muck, so having a second clean wrap on hand to change out doesn't hurt.
  
  

  

  After a few wears

• On extremely hard ground: when it's super dry - it's drought-stricken northwest Kansas out there, so there's never a shortage of dry - the interior pad compresses faster.  Rufus would walk a hoof-print shaped depression into a pad in a day.  In dry conditions, I could use the same wrap until it fell apart, but the pad needed to be swapped out at least every other day.   Pads do puff back up enough to reuse several times before they stop recovering.
  
  

  

  Interior of the wrap with pad after several uses

• While turned out:  the terrain in the big pasture (10 acres) is uneven and brushy. Initially I was worried the wrap would catch and pull right off.  I wasn't completely wrong, as he come in sans wrap more than once.  But hey, those hours I spent walking concentric circles gave me a chance to work on my tan, right? And overall he lost his fly mask a lot more frequently.  The wraps actually stayed put much better than I predicted. 

Horse approved? From the first, Rufus had no objections to wearing the wrap.  It provides decent traction, at least on dirt and pasture, and doesn't cause rubs or irritate his skin.  (We do wind on a layer of Vetrap, both to prolong the effectiveness of the Corona as well as to provide a buffer between horsehide & the stiffer fabric of the wrap.)

Bottom of the wrap after about a week of use, without duct tape

 Another reason to like the wrap?  Unlike most of the boots I looked at, I didn't have to know what size shoe Rufus wears, or take measurements, or order different ones for front and back.  Hoof Wraps come in one size, which they say will fit 80% of horses.  Just looking at one, I would not expect it to fit drafts, minis, or small ponies.

Toe view of a well used wrap - this one I retired, but you can
see how the outer reinforcing layers had worn through. 
The velcro fasteners were shot on this one by this point.

On average, wraps lasted 2-3 weeks before the bottoms wore out.  I did have to do some restitching on the front tabs of a couple of them, and I started reinforcing the toe area with bright pink duct tape, both for extra wear and for better visibility in case of loss.

Reinforced, for visibility and longer wear

Still in use, but showing some wear.

I've been so pleased with how well the wraps have preformed I even wrote the company, to say how much I like them, which I almost never do.

Rufus in the wrap, walking - very brief

 

If I could make any changes, I would:

1. Use stronger thread to attach the fasteners. (Those were what I ended up sewing back on on a couple of occasions).
2. Make the fasteners and/or the wraps in bright colors to make locating lost ones easier I never would have guessed basic black would be so difficult to spot!
3.  Supply additional velcro stick-on squares with the replacement pads, because I always ran out of those before I exhausted my supply of pads.  (Velcro does make a stick-on product that will adhere to flexible vinyl, but it can be tough to locate around here.)

Minor details aside, I would highly recommend adding a Hoof Wrap to whatever emergency kit is in your barn or trailer for a quick, economical, easy to pack, temporary solution for stone bruises, thrown shoes, etc.

July: an injury

A hot, mid-July Sunday.  Middle of the day, and too sticky to ride, so I had the radio cranked while I cleaned out the tack room and granary entry way.  The horses were dozing in the shade of the barn, stomping flies. 

Not the same day, but you get the idea.

In the length of time it took me to run up to the house to use the bathroom and re-fill my water jug, Rufus somehow managed to split the inside of his right hind hoof clear up to the coronet band.

The pictures of the initial injury are on my cell phone - can't figure out how to get them transferred.

To this day I have no idea what he connected with, but he was three-legged when I got back to the barn.  I called the farrier, of course.  Repeatedly.  No answer. 

We both called around to several area horse-owners for other farriers with no luck - either they weren't taking new clients, were not traveling to our area, or didn't want to deal with Arabians.

Tuesday we ended up at the vet, who trimmed the hoof back pretty radically and recommended Bute, soaking, booting, & restricted movement.

July 17, 2014

A week later the farrier finally returned my call.  After a visit during which he confirmed too big a chunk was missing for a shoe to help (and called the vet a hack),  he said what we were doing was probably going to work as well as anything else.  So there we were...

In the meantime, I'd gone online hunting for long-term horse boot solutions, and stumbled on Hoof Wraps at Valley Vet (love that place).   For weeks we soaked Rufus's foot twice daily in warm water & Epson salts, followed by applications of Vetericyn wound spray (recommended by our previous vet from SD) on the exposed lamina and Coronoa hoof dressing along the coronet band, Vetrap and a Hoof Wrap to cover.

 

No Bute at all, as amazingly, after the vet trimmed the ripped triangle of hoof away, he was barely off, and progressed speedily toward completely sound.  I hate medicating if it's unnecessary, and the padding provided by the Wrap allowed him to walk, trot, and even lope without soreness.   Needless to say, he hasn't been ridden at all.  But he has been able to go out in the big pasture with the other three without any ill effects.

August 3, 2014

As his hoof grew out, we ceased soaking.  By late September, the lamina was no longer exposed and we transitioned to once daily changing of the cotton pad coated with Corona followed by Vetrap & the Hoof Wrap.

August 31, 2014

His hoof continues to look better.  He's on a hoof & joint supplement, which I think is helping, and I'm cautiously optimistic that he won't have a long-term crack running down from where the split went up into the coronet band.

Oct. 12, 2014

Oct. 26, 2014

Oct. 22, 2014
Rufus, second from left

Slipper Feet

Shetland pony toes...

The farrier came earlier this week.  It was 102' in the shade.  The ponies were more than content to stand politely in the shade and get their feet worked on.  We were his last stop, and I'm sure he was more than glad to be done for the day and crank the AC on his two hour drive home.

We were talking about how hard the ground is - he asked if we had rocks in our pasture because Sunny's feet were so chipped up.  Nope, the ground is so dry it's like concrete, though.  They've all been wearing the edges off, and stamping flies sure doesn't help.  Taking a breather between horses, he pulled these hooves out of the truck for show & tell.  He'd trimmed the pony the night before - poor little thing was walking spraddle-legged so she wouldn't hit her belly with her feet...

He said he had to use a hacksaw to trim off her toes before he could even start to make her hooves look right, and would be making several trips back to adjust angles so that she wouldn't continue to walk on her heel bulbs.  The owner wanted to know why he couldn't make her feet pretty immediately.  Some people should NEVER own a horse of any size!!!!! 

With the new goal of riding at least one horse per evening, I rode Thunder Wednesday after work.  He's got 'whoa!' down cold, that's for sure.  I'm thinking he's going to make a great trail horse, as he seems happiest when he's exploring new territory.  I rode all over the yard and up around the tractor trail out to the cow pasture.  The other three stood at the gate, Sunny whinnying occasionally, but Thunder paid him no attention.

I wrapped up in the orchard where I could do some circles and worked on walk-trot transitions.  He wasn't real enthused, and I'm thinking I may get the bumper spurs out next time.  I need to reinforce my heel enough that he doesn't fall out of gait whenever he feels like it.

Thursday was an exceedingly long day at work.  My brain was mush, and getting focused enough to direct four additional feet just wasn't in me.  I retrieved the horses, did my chores, took a shower, spent some lap-time with Nu-nu and fell into bed.  Day two and no horse ridden.  Yeah, I'm a great goal setter, but apparently not so great in the carrying out department... sigh.

With the new gate into the pasture I've been able to go from leading all four of them at once up the road and back, to leading two at a time cross country.  (I'd take all four, but the creek bed crossing is narrow, steep, and not really safe for more than three of us to navigate simultaneously.)

While my folks were here we experimented to see what the reaction would be if I took two and left two behind, and while there was some whinnying, nobody tried to climb the fence or push the gate down, and some hollering from the ones left back has continued to be the extent of the fuss.  I expect it helps that once they have their halters and leads on, they know they're going.  Well, that and the fact that it's been too hot to want to race back and forth.  

I've been round-robining the pairings so that nobody always gets left behind and they don't have a designated "partner".  Considering that the pair leaving is completely out of sight for half the way - it takes about 5 minutes round-trip for me to get up and back - none of them have even thought about charging the gate or dragging the human on their way to catch up to the other two, I'm giving them a gold star for manners. Even Sunny.

Friday night we hit 104' again, and the fly hatch from Thursday morning's token sprinkle was vicious.  Once we'd navigated back through the herd of cows that had decided the creek pasture with it's shade trees would be a cooler option the horses headed into the barn immediately.  Between the heat and the bugs, I couldn't justify dragging any of them out to torture.  Today's supposed to be a repeat, but tomorrow's forecast is for 90's, so I'm thinking maybe I'll load up and head in to the arena in town, ride all four, and get back on track.

Spring Maintenance

No, not fences, although those are definitely due for some attention after a winter of deer-induced trauma; last night the boys got their feet trimmed, and today they get their vaccinations.  I'm sure they'll be thrilled.

I was very happy to hear from the farrier that she'd be able to squeeze Sunny and Thunder into her schedule on such short notice, and after a cool, cloudy, grey and rain-threatening morning (it never materialized, unfortunately) the sun came out and the temps rose into the low 60's.  It was a gorgeous evening.

I got to the farm in plenty of time to get as much newly-loose winter fuzz brushed loose as I could.  They've reached the point where it's coming off in big handfuls, although neither of them look like they're molting yet.  They were quite content to doze while we waited, and I think Sunny actually slept through most of his trim, as well.

L didn't actually take much off Sunny's toes at all - between the drier winter and more frequent riding, the ground has kept his hooves worn down pretty well.  And working on getting the muscles in his topline built up and trying to get him more collected and balanced has impacted his feet, too:  he seems to be traveling more evenly and wearing his feet more evenly than he has in the past.

Sunny post-trim

Thunder stood well, but was less relaxed than Sunny.  He "talked" to L, nickering when she picked up his feet and snuffling her sweatshirt when she paused to tell him what a good boy he was.  He's still much less suspicious with women than he is with men.  But hauling him hither and yon with Sunny has been really good for building patience and increasing his comfort level with strangers.

Wow... bow-legged much?

Poor Thunder - he's not nearly as crooked in front as that picture makes him look.  I really should have squared him up before I took it.

I was going to clip bridlepaths tonight, but I forgot to plug the clippers in, and apparently they need to charge a full 16 hours.  Grrrr!

Shoe shopping...

Sunny and I have logged over 32 miles of gravel road this week.  Calendar-wise, he should be about due for a trim, but....   

  

 I think he's already plenty short, if a bit ragged around the edges.  

Except for the few months he was with the trainer as a three-year-old (and covering several miles of gravel road every day, with all the resulting hoof-wear), he's never needed shoes.  Good feet, and he wears them pretty evenly all the way around.

 Front right

 

Right hind

Unlike Rufus, who we've pretty much determined needs shoes to be comfortable on anything other than pasture, Sunny doesn't get sore-footed on gravel.  But he is getting pretty short in the toes.  Rufus will get his shoes pulled while T's gone unless I decide to ride him a lot - but I'm contemplating having shoes put on Sunny.  I think it's that or invest in some barefoot boots for him, but there are so many varieties out there... Anyone have any experience with those?

Rufus and the farrier

I keep pondering Rufus and his aversion to the farrier....

Personally, I LIKE new shoes. But for Rufus, chaps, nippers & especially shoes seem to be the monster under the bed - a big hairy deal!

Sunday his behavior as I groomed him before our ride was an absolutely typical for him: doze while being brushed, give each foot politely when asked; ready and cooperative for each hoof. He actually anticipates slightly, shifting his weight off the next foot in line, propping the toes of the back hooves as each front sets down.

I dug and pried at caked in mud and crud, each foot loose in my hand, horse relaxed against my shoulder.

This is the same sweaty, whites of the eyes showing horse that spun circles, popped his front end, and kicked at the farrier last weekend.

Checking his feet for rocks after the ride was a replay of his earlier behavior - each hoof raised easily for my hand when I asked. He's not just like that with me, he enjoys being brushed and fussed over, feet included.

He never seems at all worried about the farrier initially - he's fine with being greeted and petted, at least until the man gets out his tools. It's frustrating...do I start hauling the grooming tools out a rattling box and tapping on his feet when we ride? Maybe...

Happy feets!

The boys & girls all have nice short feet, and they all stood very politely for the farrier. She was very complimentary, saying she was impressed with how patiently they waited. It was good to hear, but today was a sunny, lazy day, so that helped!

This time I had them all caught and ready for her (I was mortified last time to still be collecting them when she drove in - she shouldn't have to wait on me!).
The upper lot is well-fenced in sucker rod & railroad ties, but the ties are getting old enough to be suspect at the bottom, and I'm afraid if somebody really tested one, it might snap.

I wasn't anticipating any disasters. Still, in the interest of safety I only tied the ones that like to be nosy to the posts I know are solid. The other four I haltered and just let stand guarding posts with their leads looped rather than tied. They were still standing politely without fussing when we finished up 2 hours later.
(Embarrassingly, Thunder and Sunny - two of the tied ones - self-released not once, but at least twice apiece. Note to self: must remember to bring out more green Tabasco sauce to discourage rope nibblers!)
I miss them during the week. And given the amount of wind-tangles the mares accumulated amongst them this week, they missed me, too! I didn't get all of them quite tangle-free this afternoon, so I think tomorrow will be a pony spa day at the farm.

Worming, but no farrier

The farrier was due at 9 a.m. yesterday morning, which was great, because not only were we supposed to be the first appointment of the day (better chance of an on time arrival), but it would still be cool.

We were there early. I wanted to get them all wormed.

It's been raining here for about the last week, and yesterday morning was crazily foggy - not a common sight here. We we drove up the horses, all but one lone sentinel standing guard duty, were lying down in a rough circle napping. Very cool. Unfortunately, I was driving and on the wrong side of the truck, so didn't manage a picture. Disappointing.

Worming went well.

But the farrier didn't show up. Again. And he wasn't answering his phone. After an hour and a half, we finally decided he was going to be a no-show. I told J to call me if he did happen to appear, but she said if he did she was telling him to go away, she'd wasted enough of her day (!)

I get it in principle - I'm not big on wasting my time, either. But the horses still need their feet trimmed. This is either the third or fourth time he's failed to appear. And it's getting a bit old.

I wouldn't mind so much if he'd call and at least say, "Hey, I'm not going to be able to make it." But so far that hasn't been the case. Running late is understandable, although a phone call to let us know how much longer he'll be would be greatly appreciated - and I know he carries a cell phone, because it fell out of his pocket last fall when he was here, and one of the horses stepped on it. We had a conversation about cell phone insurance.

So... I think I'll be trying someone different.

24 down, 8 to go

Mark zipped through 6 horses this morning before heading off for his tax appointment. The ponies were mostly good, which I expect, but which doesn't always happen. Inevitably one of them is a snot, and quite often which one surprises me. Thunder was polite - he snorted a couple of times, but from a horse who was a quivering, snorting, scaredy-cat he's come a looonng way, baby.

Mark said these lesion-looking things...

(pre-trim pictures taken a week or so ago)

on Foxy's feet are places where little abcesses(!) have grown out. They likely blew out at the hairline, and have been growing down as her hooves grow.

She has four of them. One on her left front, two on her left rear, and another one on her right rear. All at the same level - the one on the left front is the largest.

Huh!

She was never lame or hesitant to move around past few months that I can recall. Of course, she's the one who gets chased - so being hesitant to move wouldn't have served her very well. And it's tough to be lame on three feet at once. Makes it difficult to pick which one to favor, and if she was ouchy, would have made it harder to catch - at least that's what he said.

The good thing is, she's sound now. I just wish I knew what caused multiple abcesses in the first place.

He'll be back hopefully tomorrow morning to catch the last two horses, schedule permitting.

Waiting on the farrier

The farrier has a day job.

Don't get me wrong, I'm happy for him. (Sorry that he's not making gas money shoeing & trimming, but hey, the guy drives two or three hours in all directions for ropings, cuttings, shows & clients on a regular basis - not cheap these days!). But his day job involves lots of driving and on call type jobs. So he's never sure from day to day where he'll be, how long the job will take, and when he'll be home.

In the last several months he's gone from mostly reliable to usually unreliable. AND HE DOESN"T CALL!

Once again last night I spent two hours waiting for him to show up. The horses were cranky and twitchy - it was cold & damp and they wanted to be down in the pasture tucked out of the wind. The lot was still gooey in spots, mostly concentrated in front of the posts I usually tie to, so I couldn't skip a post between them - which I usually do to give the farrier space to work.

I'm still short two halters. (My best one went on the sold mare because J thought it was hers.... And one is still in the other car, I think). I can usually leave the two oldest mares loose, as they'll happily stand and snooze, but last night at least one of them was in heat. Both of them were causing trouble picking on the tied horses. Grrrr! So they got tied and the two youngsters got locked out of the lot to keep them out from underfoot.

I used the time productively enough, I guess. De-mudded all of them and got the majority of the wind tangles out without cutting any chunks of mane loose. After three days of wind & rain most of them had elflocks - thankfully not to the dreadlock stage!

Overcast skies meant that at 7 PM it was dark, the farrier hadn't arrived or called, and wasn't picking up his phone. So feet are still long. Bah.

It may be time to start asking around about someone else to trim. I'm not looking forward to the prospect though.

New feet pictures

I said the other day that I'd try to get after pictures of Sunny's feet. Well, I didn't remember the camera until a week later, so these are not exactly fresh from trimming, and they're dirty....

Fronts - before

Fronts - after

Hinds - before

Hinds - after

Not great shots, are they. The difference is probably most noticeable in the hinds - he was starting to get pretty toe-y.

Today the sun is out, and I'm going riding. Yippee!

New feet!

Farrier came, and none too soon. Sunny's feet weren't terrible, but he was getting a bit long, and I've been wearing his feet down riding. The others were definitely in need of a trim.

BeforeFront

Rear

It's tough enough to find a good farrier, and when you do, then general rule is that everyone else locates him/her, too. As per usual, he was a bit late, but that's par for the course. I used the space between ETA and actual to detangle manes, apply several coats of fly spray, and attempt to locate several missing halters.

Never did manage the last - I swear, gremlins carry them off. I was three short this time - one may be in the back of the car with my bridle. Car is in Sioux Falls at the airport, so.... BO said she'd pick a couple up next time she's in town, so maybe next time.

It's not really a huge problem. Only a couple of them are nosy enough to bother anything if left loose, and they're all easy to catch when you want them. The senior mares can be turned out as soon as they're done. Sunny remains tied for the duration as do the younger ones - they can use the post time for patience building.

I was pleased with Thunder's progress. The last trim he was better, but still not exactly a fan of the stranger in his space. This time he was only mildly snotty about holding still, and not at all snorty and big eyed. A good thing, because the farrier was not exactly his usual patient self.

He was late (not a big surprise, as I said), and beat besides. He said he'd had 60 horses booked for the week, and of course there are always extras and emergencies. It's 4-H and county fair horse show season, and ropings, barrel runs, and rodeos are all fairly thick on the ground this time of year.

After the fourth horse, with the kids not fed yet, it was closing in on 8:30, and he was so achy looking when he straightened up I suggested that maybe he would like to come back next week. He ended up doing one more, our filly, so that both of mine would be done (and I could pay him, so at least he didn't leave empty handed).

Actually, the horses earned themselves a compliment. As the farrier was collecting his tools I apologized for the antsy behavior he'd had to put up with from a couple of them. (Mostly attempts to get a foot back so they could stomp flies - nothing really obnoxious, and fairly understandable given the fact that the little buggers were sticking to everything. But I'd like to keep this guy coming back, so....) He said as a general rule, this bunch are some of the easiest he trims! Imagine that - high praise from a died in the wool QH person :-)

I wanted to get some after pictures of Sunny's feet for comparison, but ended up forgetting and he was out in the pasture by the time I remembered. Maybe tomorrow.