care of hoof with bell boot- 24x7 turnout

[baylady7]

Howdy
My horse is wearing a bell boot (the pull on type) and is on 24x7 turn out. It has really helped keep his shoe on (I only have him wearing one since he only seems to lose the one shoe).

Other than the usual grooming and hoof cleaning, any advice?

[hrsgirl07]

i was leasing a horse like this for a while i would pull the boot off every couple of week and scrub and soak it in bleech while i rode.

[johnnysauntie]

my guy has been wearing pull ons all summer for the same reason. I check them nightly, brush above and under the boot. No problems, no skin inflammations or irritations. When things get muddy I do scrub and dry his ankles - he's prone to scratches - but no problems in several months.

[magnolia73]

Mine lives in bellboots. Daily she gets brought in, and I flip up the bell boots and brush off any dirt and look for any cuts or rubs. 2 times a week, I put corona around the coronet band. i leave the boots flipped up for the 15-20 minutes it takes me to groom and tack up.

I have not had any issues. I don't really scrub or clean with water or soap- try and focus on keeping it dry and no dirt. She has worn them since I bought her- 1 1/2 years- no issue with rubs. I use plain gum boots.

I will say- ONCE I chose to rush and not clean out under the bellboot. The next day she had a giant mass of ick on her coronet band. I thought it was a cut or rub... turned out to be an abcess. But I felt so guilty that I had cut a corner and caused harm.

[ljc]

One of my horses has worn pull-on bell boots 24/7 for the last two years. No problems at all (other than pulling on the damn things). I learned here that it's important to flip them up after giving the horse a bath so they can dry. Other than that, I just check under them every day to make sure all is well, wipe underneath if he comes in muddy. He eats the boots (have to sprar rap-last on them but he still destroys them eventually) and whenever I do have to take the remnants off, I leave his legs bare for a day or so just because.

[Kikki]

If you can flip them up or take them off for a while most every day that will help them dry out. The problem with bells is that they hold moisture on their feet. I also put Keratex gel on their feet every day to seal them.