Boots for previously injured tendons

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Eddiethomas

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Could anyone advise on what they put on their horses. y ex racer has previous tendon injuries now been full sound for over a year. I can't decide weather to boot him up to protect his legs or leave boots off to keep them as cool as possible. What do others do and if used what boots are the best. ( He's had in jury on hind leg and fore leg) thanks in advance
 
Urm.... have the same issue with mine.... mine has however been pin fired prior to him coming to me.

My one vet says no - do not use boots - as they do more harm than good - but i am not convinced..... i think breathable boots would be a compromise.

So i am going to watch this thread with interest too
 
I haven't had a horse with tendon injuries (yet - fingers crossed!) so won't advise over whether to boot or not to boot as I'm not sure myself! But if you are going to boot, there are some very lightweight and breathable ones on the market - the premier equine ones are so light, and don't heat my mares legs up at all - and I know the NEW lightweight ones are supposed to be good too, though haven't used those ones. x
 
My boy did his DDFT in his nearfore badly last year. Most of the time I put bandages on athough I sometimes use exercise wraps instead. Boot fabric technology is pretty advanced now and there's plenty of breathable boots on the market for every occasion. I think you are more likely to have a problem through not booting than the other way round.
 
My mare put a hole about 50% of the DDFT in her hind leg about a year ago. She started back into work this summer and initially I did use sports medcine style wrap boots when we were doing school work or if I was going to do any canter work. Gradually I've stopped using them and pretty much don't use anything now, for me it's more important to keep the leg cool.
She's been galloping towards the end of the summer without any problems but I'm careful about what we do tho. Boggy ground is horrible and I won't do anything but walk over it as am not risking her pulling the leg again but otherwise she was back in full (for her) work before her foaly got to big for her to do much.
 
i just use a basic brushing boot on my mare (very well known brand...) and overreach....
but have invested in 'ice vibes' (by well known brand.....) and we vibe her legs to warm them up before excercise and then add the ice packs after exercise and vibe again, to cool down
she also has magnetic bots on for 12h over night
 
I really rate the Equilibrium training wraps, lovely and breathable, using them on a horse that has done both a suspensory ligament in 2 places and then 2years later did his check ligament. He seems comfortable in them and they fit very well.
 
Research suggests booting a horse with existing tendon damage IS beneficial, booting horses without tendon damage is superfluous (when looking at bandages and sport medicine type boots) this is just the support vs overheating argument though. Check out equilibrium stretch and flex wraps, they are thinner neoprene than most sport medicine boots so wont overheat so quickly, and are really well made- plus come in additional width sizes :)
 
Thanks everyone you are great so it looks like protection wins over bare legs ! So do you think wraps rather than brushing or tendon boots he will be hacking and doing low level dressage if all goes to plan Thanks again x
 
To be honest, for just hacking and low level dressage I would go naked! :D

I think the question only arises if you are participating in a sport or competing at a level where there is either a high risk of horse striking into itself or hyperflexing the ligament/tendon on a repeated basis.
 
Nope, with mine who is prone to spooking its hacking he needs the protection! He is more likely to spook and pull something than strike into himself so for him the training wraps work well, supportive and flexible.
 
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