Knee boots for turnout?

Gamebird

Gamebird

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I am rather struggling with Mr. Fugly's turnout at the moment. I can't really change the situation: at the yard we're on we have alternate day same sex turnout through the winter (so for those who've had more than one glass of wine already
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that's amres one day and geldings the next). There is no chance of Fugly getting special treatment and having a field of his own, nor would I ask for it.

However he is a nightmare in the field - he runs up to the other horses, tries to play with them, they get p*ssed off and boot him. He is really quite persistent and, frankly, if I were one of the other horses I'd probably kick him too (hell, I'm tempted as it is!). Every time he goes out he comes back with yet more holes in his legs
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, generally on or just above his knees.

I have generally had my horses in all winter but I feel that Fugly is still very young, still growing and needs some sort of social interaction. He's fine to ride without turnout but does get a bit pushy to handle. I bring him in an hour before the others so that it avoids the 'hanging round the gate getting grumpy' period that inevitably seems to happen around 2pm. There is little grass but a ring feeder of haylage in the field and I turn him out hungry in the hope that he'll go straight to it and eat.

Has anyone ever turned out in knee boots? Are some types better than others for this? I am sick of poulticing/cold-hosing his knees and he lives on antibiotics at the moment.
 
I personnally wouldnt want to turn out in knee boots, they have a tendancy to slip/spin/rub at the best of times.

How old is he? Im not really sure what to suggest as he seems very persistant!!

I know how you feel except mine is only 18months old! He spends his time harrassing all the others in the field and no matter how many times he gets kicked/bitten he still annoys them all
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Everytime i go and see him hes got more cuts/bits added to him.
 
Good lord woman, if you are going to wrap him up in that much cotton wool now what on earth will you upgrade to when he is at Burghley proper (not just the BYEH final)?!

*whispers* not that I have ever resorted to knee boots, but I do quite like the look of those brushing boots which extend up into knee boots? Then you could tell yourself he was wearing brushing boots.....
 
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Good lord woman, if you are going to wrap him up in that much cotton wool now what on earth will you upgrade to when he is at Burghley proper (not just the BYEH final)?!


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I know, pathetic
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. I would however quite like him to have some knees left with which to reach Burghley!

Tempi - he is four, or actually technically five now but I'm in denial.
 
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grin and bare it?

My horse (who is old enough to know better) pesters who ever is out with him in field. The only way we got him to stop was to get a witch of a mare and stick him out with her
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Shoes were removed.He managed to somehow get booted on the inside of his cannon bone - idiot
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it went but scar still there. I think i have photo evidence of his "life learning"
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Tell you what though, hes a different horse in the field now though
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Agree with the brushing boots/knee protection, but are they really going to provide that much protection from a kick?
Seperation with white tape or stick him with mares to learn some horse manners?
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i'm not sure those westropp brushing/knee boots would work though as if his leg is bent at all the protection comes away from the front of the knee?

i also sympathise re the annoying, persistent young boy in the field! my (rising 4yro) is like this, hence now only has social interaction over the fence as he gets kicked to hell!

when we move yards in Feb he will be going out with 2 retired geldings who i really don't think have the energy to lift their legs high enough to kick!
 
Can you not put him in a seperate bit with an old duffer?... Soap would pester the life out of anything so he has to go in the 'special field' with the old crook dressage horse, and the worn out expolo pony! The worst they do is pull faces at him.

Was he weaned early do you know? my friend has a gelding who was weaned too early and as a result he had no horsey common sense, he couldn't seem to read their body language and would often walk straight into danger she never wanted to risk putting him in with a lairy mare so he learnt a lesson.
 
Can totally sympathise with the spaccy horse who is forever injured - I put a fly rug on my boy in the summer purely to give him some extra protection :rolleyes:

The only way I have found to deal with it is to put him out with a shetland who he can annoy but the shetland is too small to do any damage! Other than that he is on his own...
 
I've tried many different sets of knee boots for hacking.
The best ones have already been mentioned - the Westropp ones.

I'm moving T in 2 weeks and I am also thinking of popping them on for her first few forays into the new herd
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I dont really see why you shouldnt turn him out in knee boots. If he comes in a 1pm ish, its not like he out for hours on end. Hopefully its just a temporary thing. Once the weather improves, the grass grows & you are doing more with him to concentrate his mind I suspect he will be a bit quieter in the field. Just think of it as a phase!

I have a pair of skeleton knee boots with diagonal bits of elastic to stop the fronts bending up and they dont have a bottom strap so something like that would be suitable I would say. Not sure I would be keen on ones with a bottom strap, a bit too easy to get in a 'fangle' when rolling/larking about.
http://www.townfields.com/products.cfm?intCategoryID=21

Mine are like the 'free knee' boots on here but tbh I have used them on the road & you would have to be very unlucky for the them to flip up......... a bit expensive though, I've enherited mine from Parents & didnt cough up for them
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