An equine therapy boot that has an insulating shaft that can be securely fastened at multiple locations on an equine leg and hold a volume of therapeutic media to treat the equine hoof and leg is disclosed herein. The equine therapy boot includes a sole member, an internal securing mechanism, and an insulating shaft configured to retain therapeutic media. Advantageously, this equine therapy boot secures the horse's hoof to the sole member such that the insulating shaft is not displaced from the horse's hoof and leg during the treatment period. Also disclosed herein are methods of treating a diseased or injured horse's hoof and leg with the disclosed equine therapy boot.

A size-adjustable animal paw boot and method for donning provides a paw boot that fits over the paw and lower leg portion of a dog. The boot includes a tubular body member having a paw portion with a bottom side, a top side, and a closed end. The paw portion is sized to surround a paw of an animal. The body member also includes a lower leg portion having an open end that surrounds the lower leg of animal. A cable joins to the lower leg portion for wrapping around and fastening the body member to the lower leg of the animal. An adjustable sole overlays the bottom side of the body member, and is fixedly wrappable to reposition along the bottom and top sides of paw portion for accommodating narrow and wide paws. Hook and loop fasteners wrap around the paw to secure the sole to the paw portion.

A utility hydration pet vest is worn by a pet, like a dog, for protection and carrying water and liquid retention items. The vest is fabricated from Cordura fabric. The pet vest comprises a body portion defined by an inner surface that engages the pet when adorned, and an outer surface. The body portion has a shoulder section that forms a pair of openings for the fore legs of the pet to pass through and move freely. The body portion is further defined by a rear section with an overlaying outside pocket layer. The outside pocket layers is formed together along a dividing line to define an isolated liquid compartment comprising a liquid bladder for carrying liquid, and a utility compartment having access openings for holding a collapsible liquid bowl and liquid tube to conveniently water the pet. The vest may also include cooling and heating elements, and dog boots.

An orthosis is fitted to a body joint, in a preferred embodiment the equine fetlock, by locating the center of rotation (COR) of the joint; measuring the bones comprising the joint at points located with respect to the COR; selecting the appropriate orthosis from a selection of models thereof; and custom-fitting the orthosis to the individual by heating it to soften a layer of thermoformable foam on the interior of the orthosis and clamping the orthosis in place over the body joint. A kit of tools for performing the measurements is disclosed, as are a method for location of the COR of the body joint by palpation and a preferred heater.

Systems and methods for detecting lameness in a limb of an animal are described herein. In an embodiment, a lameness detection system comprises a plurality of wearable footwear elements. Each of the footwear elements comprises a housing that is configured to fit snugly on a paw of the animal during ordinary gait. Each of the footwear elements comprise a sensor or matrix of sensors that is configured to detect and generate data representative of pressure or force exerted by the paw on a ground surface. Each footwear element additionally comprises a wireless transceiver that is configured for short-distance communication of the data captured by the sensors. The system further comprises a computing device with a wireless transceiver configured to communicate with the transceivers of the footwear elements and instructions which, when executed by the computing device, cause the computing device to analyze lameness in a limb of the animal based on data received from the sensors.

A breathable fabric sleeve provides varying elastic support to help heal strains, sprains and bruises to the ligaments and tendons of an animal's fetlock and pastern joints. Preferably the sleeve is made of a seamlessly woven elastic fabric. The sleeve is applied over the fetlock of the leg of a horse or other animal, from the pastern up to below the knee, on the front leg, or to below the hock, on the hind leg. The sleeve has uniform elastic strength around the circumference of the sleeve, but provides variable compression, so that an upper part of the sleeve provides greater circumferential compression and the lower part provides less compression. The variable compression can be produced by using a looser weave in a bottom end of the sleeve, and/or by increasing the diameter of the bottom end, relative to that of the central portion of the sleeve.

A hoof boot for use on a horse that provides enhanced impact shock absorption and dissipation is disclosed. The hoof boot is comprised of two polymers of different hardness wherein the tread and insole of the hoof boot is softer to provide cushion to the impact of the hoof on the ground, and the skeleton of the hoof boot is of a harder polymer to provide strength and shape to the hoof boot.

A hoof pressure measuring system is configured to wirelessly communicate pressure of a horse's hoof to a remote device. The hoof pressure measuring system has a plurality of pressure application cylinders is arranged on a thickened ledge in a top plate. A bottom plate is joined to the top plate, and further includes a bottom plate wire cavity that penetrates the bottom plate and is arranged thinner than a peripheral wall ledge. A plurality of resistive force measurement sensors is arranged between the plurality of sensor location cavities and the plurality of pressure application cylinders. A microprocessor is electrically coupled to the plurality of resistive force measurement sensors and is programmed with instructions to measure an array of force measurements with respect to time from the plurality of pressure application cylinders. Force measurement data is wirelessly transmitted to remote viewing devices via Bluetooth or other communication protocols.

A cooling article includes thermally conductive material and heat absorbing material comprising a phase change material having a phase change temperature greater than 0 C. The cooling article may be used to cool a subject or the limb of a subject. A cooling article may include passive cooling material and reinforcing fibers configured to support the passive cooling layer, where the cooling article is configured to conform to a portion of a subject's body. The cooling article may be a sheet, a blanket, or a sleeve. A method of cooling a subject includes cooling the cooling article to a temperature below the phase change temperature; and applying the cooling article to the subject.

A modular lower leg and hoof wrap configured to hold one or more therapeutic devices proximate an animal's hoof. The invention is intended primarily for use with horses. The components attach to a sole, which is intended to be positioned beneath the animal's hoof. One or more retention panels extend upward from the sole. A first wrap panel and a second wrap panel also extend upward form the sole. Elastic and VELCRO attachment features are preferably used so that each of the components may be positioned in a suitable location for a particular animal's anatomy. Other closure devices, such as buckles or snaps, could also be used.