Question: What is the best way to get the socks on for the first time? They seem like they would be very tight on the leg.

Answer: They are not that tight on the leg. The are just right. There is no over compression on any of the socks. When our socks come from the knitter, we do not "Scald" them. Scalding sets the elastics and yarns. We have instead chosen to allow your first experience putting them on to be more of a pleasure than a challenge. We enclose a plastic bag with each set. Put the bag on the hoof. Pull the socks on over the bag. Take the bag off the hoof. Set the hoof on the ground. Adjust the sock. It's not hard once you get the hang of it. Let the socks stay on a day or so, but if they are falling down below mid cannon, take them off, wash and dry the living daylights out of them. Use a hot dryer. This will set the yarn and elastic and give you much longer lasting stay-up. We recommend you wash and dry the socks every 3-5 days.

 

Question: Can I leave them on at night?

Answer: We do. We left them on our horses nearly every day and every night all summer long. We adjust them in the morning and we adjust them at night and pretty much, the socks seldom slip below mid cannon. If they start slipping lower, we wash and dry them again. If your horses run around in the pasture, or rub their faces on them, or use their hooves to "scratch" an itch on the lower leg, the socks will come down but for the greatest amount of time those socks are on our horses, they stay up great.

 

Question: How do your socks protect horse legs from flies?

Answer: It is the knit that does it! The knit is very compact. Flies can’t bite through it. The knit is thick enough to deter the big flies and tight enough to frustrate the gnats.

 

Question: I don’t want my horse’s legs to be hot in the summer and wonder how your socks keep their legs cool.

Answer: Our high-tech polyester yarn is the same yarn used in many top end socks made for athletes. It wicks moisture away from the skin and as it does, the sock feels cooler on the leg. Summer Whinnys® are also white to reflect the sunlight. We wear the mini sizes on our arms when working outside in the heat and as the socks become moist from our perspiration, we feel cooler.

 

Question: Can Summer Whinnys® cure sores on my horse’s legs?

Answer: Sox For Horses, Inc. makes no claim(s) that Summer Whinnys® can heal or prevent conditions on equine legs. Silver and copper ions are present in the sock fibers only. The copper and silver ions inhibit the growth of bacteria, fungi and mold in the socks. The fact that you put a clean environment on the leg and protect wounds and sores from the flies will go a lot toward helping these conditions heal.

Go to www.fosshield.com to read more about the many uses of this technology.

 

Question: How long do the socks stay in place?

Answer: We can’t make a claim to how many hours they will stay in place. We have designed both the Summer Whinnys® and Whinny Warmers® to give in the joint areas during movement so that strain of movement does not pull on the socks. They stay up great for a lot of horses and we hear people every day about how well they work. They work great on our own horses that are pasture kept. If your horse runs around all day or is extremely active, the socks aren’t going to stay up for hours and hours. Most horses aren’t running around like crazy in the summer when it’s hot and when they need the protection the most. They are trying to find a cool place out of the sun. You can expect under normal circumstances, sans any horse induced rodeo activity, for the socks to stay up all day. Adjust them again at night and you should see them up on the leg in the morning.

But ask yourself how long does your fly spray work? How much do you pay for that fly spray? We haven’t found a fly spray unless extremely toxic that works for longer than an hour at best. Our socks work better way better than that and they aren’t toxic!

 

Question: Are these socks going to tear easily?

Answer:  No. Not easily! This is a very tough yarn! You may find holes in the “foot” of the sock if the horse steps on it at any point, but you will not see the sock come apart because of a hole in the foot. The foot of the sock covers the hoof itself. Our socks are on their second summer and they still perform. We occassionally have to do a zig zag stitch on a small hole, but we have never had to throw away a sock to wear and tear yet! Use those bags to protect the sock from horseshoe nails and rough hooves and beyond that, not much else can really wreak them.

Make sure your horse doesn’t freak over plastic bags before you try that one! Our horses don’t care.

 

Question: How will I know which is the top and which is the bottom of the sock?

Answer: If the socks fall down right away, it’s good clue that you put them on upside down. Summer Whinnys® have a colored yarn finish on the bottom of the sock. The colors are relative to sizing for us, but they tell you it is the part of the sock that should be down.

All Whinny Warmers® are now the extreme temperature socks and only come in gray at this time. Again, there will be a colored thread finishing at the bottom of the sock. It maybe harder to see than on the Summer Whinnys®, but the thread at the bottom gives it away.

 

Question: How long will the socks last?

Answer: That depends on your horse and how easy it is on horse clothing. Wash them every two or three days. They spring right back into shape. All of our Summer Whinnys® are on their second summer. The Whinny Warmers® have made it through their first winter and still look great and ready to wear next winter. Don't forget, all of our socks are Made in America. Our knitters an spinners are the best technical people in the business. We've made our socks to last.

 

Question: Are your socks still made in America?

Answer: Yes! The knitter is a small-family owned American business. The yarn spinners are here in America too. Foss Manufacturing, the makers of Fosshield™, are located here in America. We are not negotiable on this issue. My company won’t be a reason for any Americans to lose their jobs to foreign countries.

 

Question: I’ve been waiting for socks to be made that fit Minis. Do you now offer those sizes?

Answer: We are getting there. They are going through a new round of design and yarn changes, machine changes, but we intend to have them back very soon.

 

Go to Whinny Warmers® FAQs to learn more about our socks for horses.

Go to www.fosshield.com to learn more about Fosshield™ and the silver and copper ion technology