To most non-horse people (and even many that are) here in CT, and all over the world, diapers and duct tape are in completely different categories. However, to me, they belong together like peanut butter and bananas (which are two very different categories, yet something many people like together).
When a horse loses a shoe, the hoof wall becomes damaged where the nails were torn from the hoof. Depending on the shoe, how it is held on and how it was torn off, the damage can be anywhere from minimal to lame-making.
In order to prevent more damage to the hoof wall, most people keep their horses in a stall or very small, non-rocky soft turn-out until the farrier can arrive; and sometimes this can be days!
Confining a horse for too long when it is not necessary can be annoying to the horse and cause boredom, which can lead to pawing and weaving (wood chewing and cribbing are signs of long term boredom and rarely are formed simply because a horse was confined for a few days).
You could go out and buy an expensive horse boot, but those usually have to be ordered online and can take a week or more to arrive. I have known of some folks to take a diaper and throw it on the effected hoof with a bit of vet wrap or duct tape or even a diaper. But this method never lasted long and within a half day, the horse's hoof will be exposed and could get chipped up even worse.
I used to use this method and got tired of my horse coming in with yet another bare foot, so I perfected a technique that will last for up to 3 days, even on large turn-out, is extremely inexpensive, easy to do and will perfectly protect your horse's hoof. My horse was once on 70 acres in Northeast CT with dozens of other horses, and even if he lost a shoe (which he did quite a bit), he would still come in that night with my homemade boot still in tact.
My farrier told me I should teach classes on making this boot, so I decided instead to make this video when my horse lost a shoe several days ago. All you need is a roll of duct tape and a bag of large diapers (for a Quarter Horse sized horse). I use size 6 diapers as they cover the hoof and the "waist" area where the tabs attach together fit perfectly around the horse's fetlock.
This technique should take no more than 10 minutes with horses accustomed to having their feet played with. Once you are used to the routine, it should take less time.
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