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: The socks are made to have a safe level of compression and the first time you put them on, they may be a challenge until you get the hang of it or develop your own technique.  We send directions with every pair as you know, but here is another helpful thing to do. Take the socks out of the wrapper and give them a good stretch crosswise. Pull them on over your own leg to stretch them out.

Our socks arrive from the finishers washed and dried intensely. They have been drawn up in that process. Give them a good stretching every which way including at the tops and the bottoms so that when you go to put them on your horse, they will easily give to stretch across the hoof.   

As your horse wears them, you will find that they aren't tight at all on the leg. They give and are soft. It just takes a washing or two to really make them just right again.

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. They do slump down around the fetlock and pastern during the night so to not have that happen, we would take the socks and fold them in half on the leg. They stayed on the legs offering still some protection during the night, but didn't slump down around the fetlock and pastern. We have a picture of this in our How To Section.

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 socks only. Perhaps if conditions on the legs are no longer being harassed by flies and with your good care, they can have a chance to 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. Aside from development aspects such as the choice of yarns, the knit construction, and the use of Fosshield™, our goal is to offer a sock that will stay up on the leg for many hours. Unlike Whinny Warmers™, which can be stacked on the legs to keep the upper legs dependably warm for many hours, Summer Whinnys™ have to stay up as single socks so that they are cool on the legs.

We had to consider proper compression levels so that our socks continue to be safe for the horses to wear. When the socks stayed up on our 7 and 8 year old, pasture kept horses a good number of hours, we were happy.  Still, if your horse runs around all day or is extremely active, the socks aren’t going to stay up for 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. We believe these socks can provide a number of hours of protection before they have to be pulled up again.

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 than that and they aren’t toxic!

Question: Are these socks going to tear easily?

Answer:  No. Not easily! The yarn may feel wonderful and soft but it’s tough. We really worked hard developing this knit. When putting them on, we recommend that if your horse is between trims put duct tape on any rough places on the hoof before you put the socks on. If your horse is wearing shoes, put duct tape over the nail tips and the socks will slide right on up.

We have even put a lightweight 1 gal. plastic bag over the hoof and then pulled the sock on. The plastic bag allows the sock to glide over the hoof. When the sock is on the leg, remove the bag and use it on the next foot. 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. Like Whinny Warmers™, the top of the sock is the part with all of the elastic. The cuff, or bottom of the sock, is very short, only 3” or so. It doesn’t have elastic in it. The body of the sock doesn’t have elastic in it. The top elastic part of the sock is approximately 10 inches in length. Pull the elastic portion of the sock over the hoof first.

Summer Whinnys™ are all white. We have a colored yarn “finish” at the bottom of the socks. All other parts of the sock including the top are white.

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. We wash our socks often because they get dirty or muddy if it has rained. We keep the socks as clean as you can keep a horse sock clean.

Question: Are your socks still made in America?

Answer: Yes! The manufacturer is a small-family owned American business. The finishing people are a family-owned American business. The yarn producers are an American-owned business, and Foss Manufacturing, the makers of Fosshield™, are an American company. 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: Yes! We have Mini A size/B size socks. They are sold in sets, not pairs. We couldn’t create a whole separate wrapper for our “IttyBitty Whinnys™” at this time so the best solution was to package front and back together and give Mini and Pony owners a price break for the full set. It also takes a lot less yarn to make a Mini set and that is the big reason for the price break.

A size and B size are the same size socks. They fit both size Minis.

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