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| Happy Father’s Day from Soft Ride |
| Hello,
Happy Father’s Day to all the horse-loving dads out there! As we officially usher in summer, longer days and warmer weather mean it's prime time for riding, turnout, and enjoying the outdoors. As much as we all love our time in the sun, summer can introduce health challenges for horses. Five conditions that are especially important to watch out for during the hot months are dehydration, heat stress, bruised hooves, sunburn, and insect bite hypersensitivity. Staying on top of your horses’ comfort ensures you and your horses can enjoy a safe, healthy, and fun summer together.
Soft Ride Team |
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| | Dehydration occurs when a horse loses more fluids than it takes in, diminishing normal body function. In summer, increased sweating—especially with exercise—can push a resting horse’s water requirement from 6–10 gallons to 15 or more per day.
Causes: Extreme heat, exercise, inadequate water supply, or poor water quality.
Signs: Lethargy, dullness, loss of appetite, dry/red mucous membranes, sunken eyes, and slow skin rebound when pinched.
Prevention: Offer unlimited access to clean, cool (45–65 °F) water. Clean buckets daily and troughs weekly; check automatic systems regularly.
Management: If dehydration occurs, encourage small, frequent drinks (every 10 minutes) until rehydrated. Monitor closely and consult your veterinarian if symptoms persist.
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| | Heat stress arises when a horse’s body can’t dissipate enough heat, causing an internal temperature rise. It’s common in prolonged hot, humid conditions or during intense activity.
Causes: High ambient heat and/or humidity, heavy workloads, inadequate cooling.
Signs: Increased respiration, high temperature, decreased performance, and sweating abnormalities (e.g., dry coat).
Prevention: Exercise in cooler parts of the day, offer shade and cool water, use fans or misting, and allow gradual acclimation.
Management: If you notice your horse is suffering from heat stress, stop activity, move to shade, apply cool water or ice packs to neck/chest, offer water/salt, and monitor temperature. Call your veterinarian if signs worsen.
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| | Bruised hooves happen when the sensitive inner tissues of the hoof wall or sole are injured.
Causes: Uneven footing, rocks or gravel, abrupt movements, or fluctuations between wet and dry conditions.
Signs: Lameness that worsens on hard ground, heat or tenderness in the hoof, and sometimes bruising that can be seen on the sole.
Prevention: Ensure well-fitted shoes or barefoot trims, and check footing in turnout areas, decrease time between farrier visits if necessary.
Management: Rest the horse, apply cold hosing, clean the hoof, and use Soft Ride Boots to support the hoof and decrease ground impact concussion. If severe, consult your vet for possible radiographs and treatment.
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| | Sunburn in horses occurs on pale or unpigmented skin exposed to strong sunlight, particularly around ears, nose, and white markings.
Causes: UV exposure, light-colored skin/coats, lack of shade.
Signs: Redness, peeling, blisters, and tenderness on affected areas.
Prevention: Provide shade, turnout during cooler hours, use equine-specific sunscreen (or zinc-oxide) on vulnerable spots, and dress in sun-blocking gear: masks, sheets, hoods.
Management: Clean and soothe sunburned areas with aloe or gentle ointments, keep horse shaded, ensure hydration, and contact a vet if severe symptoms persist.
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| 5. Insect Bite Hypersensitivity |
| Also called "sweet itch," this is an allergic reaction to bites from midges (Culicoides) and other insects.
Causes: Overactive immune response to insect saliva proteins.
Signs: Intense itching along the mane, tail, belly, ears, and head, leading to hair loss, broken skin, bald spots, bleeding, and secondary infections.
Prevention: Use insect repellents, fly sheets, fans in stables, and avoid turnout at dawn/dusk when midges are most active.
Management: Reduce bites with repellents and protective gear; treat skin with topical steroids or antihistamines prescribed by your vet. In severe cases, corticosteroids or immunotherapy may be necessary.
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| | Keeping it in the Family: Summer Break |
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| Roger and Betty Ruetenik, parents to Soft Ride’s founders and current owners, out for a ride, circa 1950 |
| Soft Ride has worked over the last two decades to be a global presence, shipping internationally to over 50 countries, being stocked in over 6,000 veterinary clinics, and in use in every veterinary teaching hospital in the US, Canada, Europe, and Australia.
But, at our heart, we’re a small family business. Our operation is very close knit, employing just a handful of people across the US. Many of us are direct family members, or staff we care about like family. We have always made the quality of life among our employees a top priority. That means we make a point of having two one-week vacations a year, one in the summer and one in the winter, so our staff can take the time to focus on their families. Our summer holiday this year is June 30th through July 7th. We will reopen for shipping and customer service on Tuesday July 8th. Our website ordering system will continue to operate normally during that time and any order placed will leave our facility when we reopen. We appreciate all our loyal customers giving us this time to focus on our human and equine family, and who knows, maybe when we’re all together this break we’ll brainstorm the next amazing Soft Ride product to help keep your equine family safe and comfortable!
Learn more about our origins here:
https://www.softrideboots.com/our-mission.php
Learn more about Roger Ruetenik here:
https://www.softrideboots.com/roger-ruetenik-article.php |
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| Texas Equine Veterinary Association Summer Symposium |
| This conference will provide continuing education and wet lab opportunities for veterinarians and vet students. The conference includes dozens of equine practices from across the state of Texas.
Event Information Horseshoe Bay, Texas
July 31- August 2, 2025
Horseshoe Bay Resort 200 Hi Circle North Horseshoe Bay Texas, 78657
Visit for More Information: https://www.texasequineva.com/continuing-education |
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| Equine Sports Medicine Symposium |
| This conference will focus on understanding metabolic and muscle conditions for the modern-day sport horses. It will feature speakers Dr Sammy Pittman, Dr Lauren Schnabel DVM, and many others.
Event Information: Pittsboro North Carolina August 22 & 23, 2025
Chatham County Convention Center 1192 US Hwy West Business Pittsboro, NC 27312
Visit for More Information: https://equinesportsmedicinesymposium.com/symposium-home |
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| All American Quarter Horse Congress |
| The AQHA Congress is the largest single-breed horse show in the world. Congress is held in Columbus, Ohio, and hosted by the Ohio Quarter Horse Association. OQHA is committed to setting the standard in the equine industry by engaging equine enthusiasts through world-class competition, recreational activities, education, and engagement of the next generation of participants and industry leaders.
Event Information:
Soft Ride Booth - 602
September 27 - October 26
Ohio Expo Center
717 East 17th Ave.
Columbus, OH 43211
info@quarterhorsecongress.com
614-505-7200
Visit for More Information: https://www.quarterhorsecongress.com/ |
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| American Association of Equine Practitioners Annual Convention |
| The AAEP Annual Convention & Trade Show is the world’s largest continuing education event dedicated to equine practice, anchored by more than 100 hours of continuing education and a 300-exhibitor-strong trade show featuring the newest products and services for practice.
Event Information:
Soft Ride Booth - 2351
December 6-10 Location: Denver, CO
Colorado Convention Center Exhibit Halls ABC Phone: (859)233-0147 Fax: (859)233-1968 Email: aaepoffice@aaep.org
Visit for More Information: https://convention.aaep.org/ |
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| We LOVE hearing from our customers and getting updates on how your horses are doing! Please send us your story and a photo of your horse in their Soft Ride products for a chance to be featured on our social media, in an upcoming issue of our newsletter, and to be entered in a Soft Ride giveaway!
Email us here: socialmedia@srboots.com Tag us: Facebook: Soft Ride Equine Comfort Boots Instagram: @soft.ride |
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| As we continue our drive to keep your horse on his feet, we've received more than 15 patents, ship to over 50 countries, and work with more than 6,000 veterinarians around the world, as well as every veterinarian school in the United States, Canada, Europe and Australia. And with horse owners from every discipline using our products, we can safely and proudly say, "The best in the world rely on Soft Ride." |
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