Product Review: Soft-Ride Equine Boots

by Karen Pickering

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Last week I got some disappointing news. My mare, April, was diagnosed with navicular disease. This was very hard to take, especially after the long road to healing with her PSSM issue that started in the spring.

The first ride we took this fall went very well. She’s such a willing horse, athletic with a great attitude. After cooling her out, I noticed she was standing with her front feet out in front of her. She was noticeably limping as I led her out to the trailer and unsaddled her.

I gave her some bute to ease the pain and inflammation but still noticed discomfort for a week. I assumed I overdid the ride. When I finally took her to the vet for some x-rays, the news was not good. It clearly showed shadows in the bone, which we were hoping not to find. Dr. DeYoung recommended a product called Soft-Ride to give her some relief on those sore feet.

My farrier pulled her shoes off and I called Debbie Ruetenik at Soft-Ride to see about getting some of her Equine Comfort Boots. She was incredible to work with and sent a set off to me overnight so I could test them out. I used the boots with just the standard gel inserts, and April experienced immediate relief. It was so nice to see her move around after she had spent the past few days lying down most of the time since her feet hurt her so badly.

I would highly recommend this product to support and protect the feet. Many people use these boots when hauling long distances as well as for laminitis or navicular issues. If you want to protect your horse’s feet, you can find out more at http://www.soft-ride.com/