Founder horse

Question
Hey my name is Summer and I have a 10 year old quarter horse named On The Money Redneck (Redneck) who was foundered before I owned him. He is barefoot now and in a pasture 24-7 with other horses, large troughs, and mineral blocks. I had his feet x-rayed and the vet said it is a 4 to 6 degree rotation in his front left. That is the only affected foot. He is partially lame on it currently. Not very bad except on rocks and other hard surfaces. I have him trimmed every 4 weeks by a good barefoot farrier that I trust. I was told to ride him in a hoof boot and that would help him to heal faster, is this true? I want to ride him to help the blood get circulating better but at the same time every now and then he limps VERY slightly at a trot with the hoof boot on  and I get scared I am hurting him. His feet are coming along nicely (at least they seem to be) and I have him adjusted by an equine chiropractor yesterday and that helped a lot. What are your thoughts on all this and do you recommend the riding or should I wait until he is better? I don't believe in shoes and all my other horses are barefoot (including my barrel horse) and they are 100% sound. The only problem is my vet thinks he needs shoes but I did not have them put on. Thank you so much for your time and knowledge.

Answer
Hi Summer ... well, if your guy only is "ouchy" on rocks then walking him (no trotting for awhile) on LEVEL, smooth surfaces, in boots, will do him well. Yes, it does help the circulation which, in turn, helps to feed the hooves and get good oxygen flow to them. There are many horses who are "ouchy" or "tender" on rocks and need to be ridden in hoofboots but only because the horses generally LIVE on soft ground and don't have the opportunity to condition their hooves on rough, firm surfaces.  Something else that would help would be simple hand-walking, 10 mins. a day, on SMOOTH, level tarred roads WITHOUT boots. This helps to condition and toughen up the hooves.

As long as there is rotation I would stick to pretty level ground. Let your guy tell you what he's comfie with ... remember, horses don't lie!  

:) -- Gwen