boot fitting service/ fit kit / seedy toe help please

[happy-horses]

I'm trying to take Splash's front shoes off ( hasn't had rear shoes for years) and he's footy, I think he will need boots.
Is there a trimmer that will come out to Bedford to measure up and fit boots? Or does anyone lend out a fit kit ? I'd rather someone came out really as I don't want to get the wrong ones. The last boots I had must of been the wrong shape or something because they came off at the trot, but hung on by the gaiter almost tripping Bertie up  
splash also has seedy toe   Its about the size of a drawing pin head on each toe with a crack approx 1.5cm at the from on the hoof. I've been cleaning and using tea tree oil, and now I have this stuff http://www.equinepodiatrysupplies.co.uk/Red-Horse-Products/Sole-Paint which I used yesterday. Anything else I should be doing?
Thanks
Laura

[Cloud_cirrus]

I lend out a fit kit but these are only for Gloves, I have both the standard and wide kits so can either send out the whole lot, or what people seem to prefer to do is go half a size above and below what the horse measures and then try these in standard and wide, eg six shells.

I often think and an initial soak is good for seedy toe, then keep on top of it with regular topical applications.

[abuela]

Clean it out all the way.

Some speaking fotos here:
http://www.canovasferrador.com/seedy-toe.html

quote:
Be aware that there may be a hidden 'gallery',  a hollow area inside the hoof wall, that can stretch quite high up towards the coronet.

From the outside the hoof looks normal, but you can compare it to an oak door that is being ravaged by termites.

[happy-horses]

Ek! those pics     I have hydrogen peroxided them and purple sprayed once and have been cleaning them, they seem clean, they don't smell or anything.
What do you soak them in?

CC - will measure his feet after work and, I hope they are small enough for Gloves. Thing is, the shoes have just come of so his feet are still a little shoe shaped. I'm not sure how much they will change and how that will effect fit. I know Bertie's look different now they have been barefoot for a few years, hope that makes sense.

[happy-horses]

also thinking of trying this http://www.appliedequinepodiatry.org/perfecthoofwear/index.html#HowItWorks
interesting article on seedy toe

http://www.appliedequinepodiatry.org/articles/SeedyToe.pdf

[Candy]

Hi there, There's a lot you can do for Splash's seedy toe. Seamus had it (except it was at his quarter I think) at the end of last year. As it grew out the hoof wall broke off revealing the hole! The wall grew down pretty quickly (a couple of trim cycles I think). He then started to go lame on and off and it all culminated in an abscess which took ages to come out and eventually had to be dug out! He only really recovered in June (maybe later - a long time anyway) Woody knows. I'm sure that if I had been more vigilant with soaking and keeping it clean the abscess could have been avoided. Cleantrax is fantastic for soaking. You have to use a special boot, soak for 45 mins and then put a plastic bag over the foot/leg so the vapours do their bit. The liquid is good for two feet so you could use it on both fronts. I wish I had used it more regularly. Luckily Seamus's problems seem to have cleared up now - hopefully for ever! I also used field paste and various things to bung up the hole once it was clean to stop dirt getting in.

[happy-horses]

Thanks Candy, sorry to hear about your horses abscess  Will order the Cleantrax 

Measured his feet: Left 165mm / 160mm -  Right 165/156mm so Easyboot Gloves are out of the question 

[winnieandben]

Thats a shame about the gloves, I have some for Jinx and they are really good 

[happy-horses]

Thats a shame about the gloves, I have some for Jinx and they are really good 

It's a shame they don't do bigger sizes  I've read loads of good reviews 

The bigger boots are more clumpy so I'm wondering if the wraps would be a good idea while he transitions.... perhaps I'm being to hasty about boots/ wraps, he has only had the shoes off a couple of weeks   

[Cloud_cirrus]

Measured his feet: Left 165mm / 160mm -  Right 165/156mm so Easyboot Gloves are out of the question 

If those measurements are correct I think you need to wait for a trim, he is too big for all Easycare boots bar Epics, Bares and Boas, he may go down to a Trail however.

[happy-horses]

If those measurements are correct I think you need to wait for a trim, he is too big for all Easycare boots bar Epics, Bares and Boas, he may go down to a Trail however.

I looked at the Trails last night, I think they look really good, much easier to put on then the Bares Bertie had during transition 

[rvialls]

In my experience, the more aggressive you get with a seedy toe, the more problems you have down the line. The kind of wall resections that vets and farriers recommend are often counterproductive.

Using strong disinfectants like peroxide is also counterproductive. That's because the infection in question lives on damaged horn - so if in the process of killing the infection you also damage the healthy horn around the seedy toe, you just create more food for the bugs (which are everywhere, in the soil, etc.).

Ideally you want to plug the hole with something that is flexible (hard wax-based products just crack away from the sides of the hole and allow moisture in behind them), disinfectant enough to attack the bugs but not so strong as to damage the healthy horn, and sticky enough to stay in the hole to prevent further stones/dirt getting in. The best product I've found for this is Red Horse Hoof Stuff. Just use an old nail and/or hoof pick to pull as much of the powdery rubbish as you can get out of the hole and then pack it with Hoof Stuff in around 3 layers (so if the outermost layer comes out, it doesn't pull the lower layers out with it). Then wait. Seedy toes often initially go right to the coronary band (as damaged horn that can rot rather than as a hole in itself) and so can take months to fully grow out. You need to change the Hoof Stuff periodically but I find it easily stays in (and continues to work) for a week or few (I often see it still in place after as much as 8 weeks although ideally I'd replace it before that if possible).

[SueWhitmore]

Happy-horses, if you do find anyone who will come out to fit boots, I'll share the cost of a visit with you, I'm only 15 miles from Bedford. I can't get down far enough to get them fitted, and my farrier hasn't a clue what he should be looking for in boot fit! BTW, I've got a whole box of old hoof boots, I think they include a really huge pair, I bought them as "spares or repair" , but mainly to use for fitting to see what would be the right size to buy. I could let you have those if you like.

PS I hoped Richard was going to say he would come out and fit for a huge fee!  He would be worth it.