Hoof Boot Miracle!

My super compassionate and awesome barn owner allowed Shorty to wear a pair of Soft Ride boots the past couple weeks https://www.softrideboots.com/. He was turned out in these until we could find our own boots to use. Lo and behold, he felt fantastic in these boots! Who knew! He trotted with them in the pasture, down the barn isle, and moved and turned like a pro across concrete and rocks. I got a video of him going in the pasture one day and guess what! He was not only moving correctly heel first, but he was tracking up more from behind and trotting exactly how I have been wanting him to all this time! The video includes the slow motion where you can see his toes flip out and land after his heels, especially when he begins moving more forward after the first 10 seconds. He also moves more round and totally comfortable!

I was soo excited to see this, and I was now even more excited to find our own boots. After a lot of research, reviews, and talking to the Cavallo rep, I decided on the Cavallo Trek boots. https://www.cavallo-inc.com/?products=trek-hoof-boots
His hoof length measured at 120mm and width at 114mm, so I confirmed with the Cavallo rep that he would probably be a size 2 Slim. I ordered them last Sunday and received them Thursday. My farrier was out on Friday morning and he checked fit and also cut the Thinline pads I bought to put at the bottom. I knew that the Soft Ride boots were providing him a lot of additional padding, and Thinline material is known to be very good at absorbing shock and providing therapeutic support. The boots ended up being a great fit and Shorty also got his feet trimmed up in more of a barefoot trim. As soon as I let Shorty go in the pasture with his new boots on, he took off galloping to the hay that was out. I think he likes them!

He has been trotting into the barn for dinner and really looking nice and comfortable. Tonight was our first ride in them and it went great! Luckily, I had a knowledgeable friend to ride with tonight who kept telling me how comfortable he looked and how nicely he was moving. He continued to track up more from behind than before. He was super responsive and easy to go forward, almost too exuberant at times!

We are definitely going to run with this success that we have found! I have always believed that everything happens for a reason. If we had never gone on that trail ride and lost those shoes, we would never have taken this path! We saw good days with bar shoes, pads, wedges, injections, etc., but besides that one day where Shorty showed of his incredible floaty, knee snapping trot about 2 years ago shortly after getting bar shoes, he just has not done anything like that again and I had yet to be satisfied with the way he was moving. Everyone please cross your fingers and think good thoughts for long term improvement. We do expect him to be able to live out just fine barefoot after another cycle or so while he transitions. At that point, we'll just boot up to ride. It's possible that after this "rehab," he will probably be able to handle some arena work and dressage shows without them again.

I just gave Shorty his monthly dose of Pentosan as well. He seems to be a very happy boy right now. What an adventure!