How risky is cross country?

All of the injuries I've had with horses have happened in the field, and boots wouldn't have stopped ANY of them....

Cross country is fun, and you find an extra bond with your horse, you develop trust in each other.
 
I don't think it's overly risky at all. Same as others mine has only injured himself in the field, never XC/hunting etc, apart from loosing the odd shoe :)
 
Very good point re the strain schooling & dressage cause. After doing her annular & suspensories in her hinds thats precisely what I have to take care with mine about. She is allowed to do some schooling but jumping is fine. Problem is being only 14.2 her flatwork has to be exact for a big course. She can do pretty much all the unaffiliated stuff still, but aiming for schooling above novice bd is a no go. She can still do movements above that level without damage, but working towards competing well at elem or medium would compromise her. And in theory could still hunt if not for the fact she would expect to be up front jumping everything. And not convinced that's in her interest at 23.
As far as boots for turnout go, ime injuries to horses out for a few hours in them are more common than horses out 16 hrs plus without.
 
all about Romeo said:
I disagree
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Well, let's agree to disagree, but would be worth having a chat with your vet to find out about how much damage boots can do to the fragile tendon fibres if left on for more than an hour or so.

I have a livery yard, and my liveries vary from a little pony who likes to eat small children, to a grand prix dressage horse, and a racehorse who was bought for considerably more than my boyfriend's parents paid for their house. Not one of them is turned out in boots - they all go out in groups, they get wet, they keep themselves fit, and they're happy.

I specialise in box rests, and am recommended by several veterinary practices and a large equine hospital in Newmarket, so if a box rest horse is being turned out and needs leg protection or support, they get bandages on. Never ever boots.

I have a clause in my contracts which states that I reserve the right to refuse to carry out any instruction issued by the owner, if I feel it is detrimental to the welfare of the horse - turning out in boots falls into that category. I'll never do it. Not even on my Grade A horse, who came to me having never had a day out without boots in his life. He's 28 now, and hasn't had a day lame in all the years I've had him.
 
Starzaan said:
Well, let's agree to disagree, but would be worth having a chat with your vet to find out about how much damage boots can do to the fragile tendon fibres if left on for more than an hour or so.

I have a livery yard, and my liveries vary from a little pony who likes to eat small children, to a grand prix dressage horse, and a racehorse who was bought for considerably more than my boyfriend's parents paid for their house. Not one of them is turned out in boots - they all go out in groups, they get wet, they keep themselves fit, and they're happy.

I specialise in box rests, and am recommended by several veterinary practices and a large equine hospital in Newmarket, so if a box rest horse is being turned out and needs leg protection or support, they get bandages on. Never ever boots.

I have a clause in my contracts which states that I reserve the right to refuse to carry out any instruction issued by the owner, if I feel it is detrimental to the welfare of the horse - turning out in boots falls into that category. I'll never do it. Not even on my Grade A horse, who came to me having never had a day out without boots in his life. He's 28 now, and hasn't had a day lame in all the years I've had him.
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Getting abit off topic but why are you happy to turn out in bandages but not boots??
 
all about Romeo said:
Getting abit off topic but why are you happy to turn out in bandages but not boots??
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Sorry to take you off topic - and really sorry if I've come across as grouchy. I'm half asleep and not feeling good today!

I will turn out in fleece exercise bandages if a horse really needs it (for instance, I turned one out in them today for a few hours as he is just coming back from a check ligament injury, and has been stood in with stable bandages on for two months...it would be detrimental to his recovery to suddenly chuck him out with no support for the injured leg while he hooned around the field for an hour in his excitement, so he had exercise bandages on and stayed out for a few hours, before coming in for cold hosing and to have his stable bandages bag on. In a week or so the bandages will be off compeltely, and he'll be ready to go back out properly and start ridden work again) as they are much more breathable than any kind of boot on the market, and it's much less likely for grit etc. to get in underneath them and rub. I won't turn out in bandages if it's raining as I don't think it's fair for horses to have soggy socks on all day, and I only turn out in bandages in my convalescence paddocks with are about 1/4 of an acre each, and almost completely flat.
 
Starzaan said:
Sorry to take you off topic - and really sorry if I've come across as grouchy. I'm half asleep and not feeling good today!

I will turn out in fleece exercise bandages if a horse really needs it (for instance, I turned one out in them today for a few hours as he is just coming back from a check ligament injury, and has been stood in with stable bandages on for two months...it would be detrimental to his recovery to suddenly chuck him out with no support for the injured leg while he hooned around the field for an hour in his excitement, so he had exercise bandages on and stayed out for a few hours, before coming in for cold hosing and to have his stable bandages bag on. In a week or so the bandages will be off compeltely, and he'll be ready to go back out properly and start ridden work again) as they are much more breathable than any kind of boot on the market, and it's much less likely for grit etc. to get in underneath them and rub. I won't turn out in bandages if it's raining as I don't think it's fair for horses to have soggy socks on all day, and I only turn out in bandages in my convalescence paddocks with are about 1/4 of an acre each, and almost completely flat.
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Ohhh... sorry to hear you are not well and hope you feel better soon.

I have always thought it was more risky to turnout in bandages then boots but it sound as though it is ok under certain circumstances...

He doesn't wear boots all the time, only when the ground is wet/slippery and/or he is turned out with strange horses.
 
all about Romeo said:
Ohhh... sorry to hear you are not well and hope you feel better soon.

I have always thought it was more risky to turnout in bandages then boots but it sound as though it is ok under certain circumstances...

He doesn't wear boots all the time, only when the ground is wet/slippery and/or he is turned out with strange horses.
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Thank you - ongoing illness and rain are not a good combination!

I forgot to add that I always put bandage tape on to make sure we don't have any unravelling incidents, and would never turn anything out in bandages with a horse like my youngster in the field who would just take great delight in pulling them off.

I would never turn out with boots on, but he's your boy and each to their own. He's beautiful by the way (I take it he is the lovely bay in the original post?).
 
I always thought XC was cruel and too dangerous, then i got taken off with and pony follwed a horse round a course. I'm hooked! I love it, once you have a good ride XC you won't find it scary at all.
You can just go schooling if you want, do the 70/80cm, maybe the BE80?
 
Starzaan said:
Thank you - ongoing illness and rain are not a good combination!

I forgot to add that I always put bandage tape on to make sure we don't have any unravelling incidents, and would never turn anything out in bandages with a horse like my youngster in the field who would just take great delight in pulling them off.

I would never turn out with boots on, but he's your boy and each to their own. He's beautiful by the way (I take it he is the lovely bay in the original post?).
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Hope you feel better soon... yes this rain is awful! so much for summer :(

Yeah I just assumed that was the case, that is why I said under certain circumstances, oh yes youngsters... much rather re-school then have a youngster lol

Thank you :) yes it is... not me ridding him though, he has half a winter coat and half a summer coat in this pic! lol serves me right for not clipping him out last year... never again will I leave him woolly! :eek:

I am thinking about setting up my own yard next year so would appreciate some advice from you at some point if that is ok?
 
My accident prone ex-racer injuries over past 7 years :
1) chipped fetlock on show jump pole - op to remove bone chips; week in ICU; 9 weeks of box rest with cast on for the first 5 weeks.
2) rolled too near electric fencing in field - caught leg, panicked, tore near hind skin to shreds incurring 3rd degree burns from electric tape resulting in vet visits on daily basis for a month.
3) reared and went over in field whilst arsing about and landed on only stone in the paddock and broke 3 vertebrae.

The above doesn't include all the little cuts/grazes/bruises!

XC - never had a problem -loves it! :D

My horses are horses and I don't 'do' cotton wool but each to his own and do whatever you feel is best for you.

Ex-racer is absolutely fine btw and despite appearances is the most solid, stoic horse I've ever known.
 
After falling off three times in the space of 10 minutes over a crosspole, I lost the will to jump for a long time. The reason I fell off was because I wasn't good enough. I wondered if I was missing something so I had a few lessons. WOW! Once we got it together jumping has become the most fun ever as we jump logs in the woods. It's not exactly a cross country course, but it's a start and one day ....
 
Personaly I think dressage wrecks more horses than cross country.The only difference is that the damage is seldom so immediate.
 
Nicnac said:
My accident prone ex-racer injuries over past 7 years :
1) chipped fetlock on show jump pole - op to remove bone chips; week in ICU; 9 weeks of box rest with cast on for the first 5 weeks.
2) rolled too near electric fencing in field - caught leg, panicked, tore near hind skin to shreds incurring 3rd degree burns from electric tape resulting in vet visits on daily basis for a month.
3) reared and went over in field whilst arsing about and landed on only stone in the paddock and broke 3 vertebrae.

The above doesn't include all the little cuts/grazes/bruises!

XC - never had a problem -loves it! :D

My horses are horses and I don't 'do' cotton wool but each to his own and do whatever you feel is best for you.

Ex-racer is absolutely fine btw and despite appearances is the most solid, stoic horse I've ever known.
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OMG!!! :eek::eek: touch wood mine is not accident prone... in 3 years of having him he has only ever pulled a muscle in his back... and he come off the track completely clean :)

So... I now won`t be doing any showjumping... have him anywhere near any electric fencing and I will now be turning him out in a poll guard with full padding down his spine... ;):cool: lol!!

Good to hear he recovered from all injuries and you didn't end up putting him in a padded cell!! lol x
 
Mike007 said:
Personaly I think dressage wrecks more horses than cross country.The only difference is that the damage is seldom so immediate.
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Personally I think badly performed dressage wrecks more horses than cross country.

I may be wrong here, but I believe that high level classical dressage horses have much longer working lives than your average dressage horse, especially low level competitive dressage horses who are schooled "improperly". *dons tin hat*

Other than that proviso, I agree with Mike007...
 
all about Romeo said:
OMG!!! :eek::eek: touch wood mine is not accident prone... in 3 years of having him he has only ever pulled a muscle in his back... and he come off the track completely clean :)

So... I now won`t be doing any showjumping... have him anywhere near any electric fencing and I will now be turning him out in a poll guard with full padding down his spine... ;):cool: lol!!

Good to hear he recovered from all injuries and you didn't end up putting him in a padded cell!! lol x
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I'm the one who needs the padded cell! :D
 
Starzaan said:
I forgot to add that I always put bandage tape on to make sure we don't have any unravelling incidents
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Sorry to take it off-topic again, but I just had to :P

We learnt the hard way. I arrived to see Charlie chasing Ned and a few others around with a green bandage hanging off XD It was the funniest thing I've ever seen! Thankfully no one was hurt!

Ontopic - I actually prefer XC as Ned clears everything! He knows SJ jumps will fall, so doesn't try sometimes. I don't like jumping high though, just the little ones :)
Give it ago over small ones if you REALLY want to, you might just find you love it!
 
JFTD said:
Personally I think badly performed dressage wrecks more horses than cross country.

I may be wrong here, but I believe that high level classical dressage horses have much longer working lives than your average dressage horse, especially low level competitive dressage horses who are schooled "improperly". *dons tin hat*

Other than that proviso, I agree with Mike007...
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I think we are on the same wavelength here. I would also add that bad surfaces to work on cause a huge amount of damage . The trouble is that there is so much we dont know. eg, "one stud in a shoe or two." How do we quantify the damage to the limb from locking the hoof to the ground and preventing rotation ?I threw this in meerely as an example.
 
Mike007 said:
I think we are on the same wavelength here. I would also add that bad surfaces to work on cause a huge amount of damage . The trouble is that there is so much we dont know. eg, "one stud in a shoe or two." How do we quantify the damage to the limb from locking the hoof to the ground and preventing rotation ?I threw this in meerely as an example.
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Completely agree about bad surfaces - and often the worst are deep arena surfaces rather than harder ground / roadwork which people seem to get very worried about. (I'm not advocating hammering around xc on concrete-like ground, obviously, but hacking / schooling-type work on firm ground / trotting on roads etc).

Can't say I know much about studs, never used them, but yes, plausibly so.
 
JFTD said:
Completely agree about bad surfaces - and often the worst are deep arena surfaces rather than harder ground / roadwork which people seem to get very worried about. (I'm not advocating hammering around xc on concrete-like ground, obviously, but hacking / schooling-type work on firm ground / trotting on roads etc).

Can't say I know much about studs, never used them, but yes, plausibly so.
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Dont worry about surfaces... he gets a good mix of beach work and road work (I quite like road work) obviously completely booted up to the eye balls!!! :p:D

Got studs at the ready to stop any slipping whist jumping :)
 
all about Romeo said:
Dont worry about surfaces... he gets a good mix of beach work and road work (I quite like road work) obviously completely booted up to the eye balls!!! :p:D

Got studs at the ready to stop any slipping whist jumping :)
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Theres a farrier on here that wont fit studs as he says they are the worst thing for horses legs. The slipping helps reduce the forces on the leg and therefore helps prevent injury.
 
dafthoss said:
Theres a farrier on here that wont fit studs as he says they are the worst thing for horses legs. The slipping helps reduce the forces on the leg and therefore helps prevent injury.
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I think that's what Mike was saying (and what I was agreeing with) :o
 
JFTD said:
I think that's what Mike was saying (and what I was agreeing with) :o
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Kind of what I was saying ,but I think we really dont know the answers to so many of these things . Its amazing how we are led by fashion,but perhaps that is too harsh a word. We all want the best for our horses and are frightend to stray from the (current) norm.Its one of the advantages of getting older, having seen so many fashions come and go you start to question things.
 
I am not a fan of studs in front legs, as imho, front legs are designed to slip a bit more jumping, and stopping that could cause injury. I do however use one stud inthe back leg, as I thought the back legs are meant to rotate more? But what do I know! I think of them as emergency brakes tbh, I think people stud up far more than necessary, what happened to riding to the conditions? I have been round horrendously muddy tracks, lovely sloppy stuff, and not slipped with only one medium sized stud in. If my horse was slipping/having problems I would have either pulled up or not gone in the first place.

OP - if I turned out in boots I would spend all my time fetching them off the field, as I have no doubt my horse or his 3yo (or the 21yo come to think of it!) field mate woudl take them off for him :rolleyes:
 
dafthoss said:
Theres a farrier on here that wont fit studs as he says they are the worst thing for horses legs. The slipping helps reduce the forces on the leg and therefore helps prevent injury.
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Yeah until the poor thing slips over completely...:cool: I wouldn`t have a farrier who wouldn't follow my requests :mad:
 
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