Leather knee boots while hacking out.

[Toby_Zaphod]

I posted about this many years ago & it's still serious enough to re post it. Years ago I saw the state of a horses knees when he'd gone sprawling on tarmac when being hacked out. It was horrible & it took ages to heal. As far as I'm aware he still carries the scars. Since before then our horses have always worn them when out hacking & today proved why. This particular horse is normally very good on the road & on hacks, nothing much worries him. Today was out hacking & a pair of dogs came out from nowhere snarling & barking & they really worried our boy. He spooked, lost his footing & went down on his knees. He's 16h2", he's a big boy. Fortunately he was wearing knee boots. They took beating but they saved his knees. I'm probably preaching to the converted but please consider using knee boots, they prevent injury, save vet bills & concern & there is no lay off time to get better.

 

[Tihamandturkey]

Preaching to the converted here - always use them hacking out the road - my mare is very nosey & forgets where her own feet are sometimes ?

 

[Kat]

I never hack or hunt without knee boots having seen the damage caused if a horse comes down on the road. It amazes me how many people risk it. I don't get it, there is pretty much no downside to knee boots but they can save such horrible injuries and permanent scars.

 

[tallyho!]

Definitely if shod. I always did when my boy had shoes on.

Couldn't even imagine being on the road now with shoes nowadays though - so slippery, I can see now how hard it must be for horses with shoes on tarmac these days. Every footfall involves a small slippage.

 

[Red-1]

Preaching to the converted here too, when on a shod horse that is a mover and a shaker.

My cob doesn't, but then we mainly hack on grass and stroll.

 

[awelshandawarmblood]

I have a young WB who I hack out in hoof boots & brushing boots, I've tried numerous knee boots & none will stay up! The only thing that stops any sliding down is having them done up uncomfortably tight The best ones I've found size wise are Caldene (he has HUGE knees!) but they come down too.

Any suggestions for boots that you don't have to cut the circulation off to get to stay up?

 

[Kat]

I have a young WB who I hack out in hoof boots & brushing boots, I've tried numerous knee boots & none will stay up! The only thing that stops any sliding down is having them done up uncomfortably tight The best ones I've found size wise are Caldene (he has HUGE knees!) but they come down too.

Any suggestions for boots that you don't have to cut the circulation off to get to stay up?

Yes the westropp brushing boot style ones.

 

[Tihamandturkey]

Definitely if shod. I always did when my boy had shoes on.

Couldn't even imagine being on the road now with shoes nowadays though - so slippery, I can see now how hard it must be for horses with shoes on tarmac these days. Every footfall involves a small slippage.

Road pins help a lot

 

[Tihamandturkey]

I have a young WB who I hack out in hoof boots & brushing boots, I've tried numerous knee boots & none will stay up! The only thing that stops any sliding down is having them done up uncomfortably tight The best ones I've found size wise are Caldene (he has HUGE knees!) but they come down too.

Any suggestions for boots that you don't have to cut the circulation off to get to stay up?

Jeffries leather & felt old fashioned type are great ?

 

[OldNag]

Yes the westropp brushing boot style ones.

Another vote for these. They are fantastic.

 

[HappyHollyDays]

Jeffries are just the best knee boots but they are expensive, however, offset the cost against a Vets bill for damaged knees and they are worth every penny. If you want cheaper leather ones I use Gibson’s which are great quality for the money. Mine get used every time I ride, trashed in mud every winter, dunked in hot soapy water and then slathered in Stubben leather cream to keep them supple and come up looking like new. They do black or brown, cob or full size and at £42 are a bargain. I’ve never had them fall down once and DP doesn’t leave the yard without them on.

 

[HappyHollyDays]

Don’t often put pics on here but I have one of DP in Hoof boots, Gibson knee boots and overreach boots cantering on a fun ride.

 

[PapaverFollis]

I use Westropp on the one who does high knees sometimes and has had trouble keeping the Jeffries ones in place and Jeffries on the more conservative mover. We don't go out without. I've never met another person in real life who uses them though. ? I think we only use them because MrPF had his old boy go down while napping and being a pillock and mess his knees up a bit, a very long time ago. I'm glad we're in the habit as when we had a farrier that was a bit rubbish The Beast did trip once out on the road and the boots took the fall and she was 100% fine. She no longer trips at all but we still use them.

The amount of times people have said "does she/he trip a lot then" and given the horse a filthy/skeptical look ... there seems to be a stigma attached to boot use that might put some people off!

 

[PeterNatt]

I use Jeffries and yes I do them up tight to stop them sliping down but have been using them for 40 years now without any illeffects!

 

[paddy555]

Don’t often put pics on here but I have one of DP in Hoof boots, Gibson knee boots and overreach boots cantering on a fun ride.View attachment 76384

I've got these and very pleased with them. They have lasted well.

 

[tallyho!]

Road pins help a lot

Then those cause imbalance to the hoof so it’s trying to fix an artificial problem and adding to lameness in the long run.

 

[TPO]

I've got an older pair of JHL knee boots. They were a budget option over Jefferies because of the minimal road work I've ever done. The leather pads feel solid to me and quite thick.

No idea if they still make them but possibly another option. I've only used on TB knees so cant comment in how theyd fit something with bigger knees

 

[Callieann]

I wouldn't dream of riding without knee boots. Many years ago one of my horses went down after spooking on bridleway. Her knees were cut but would have been really bad if I had been on the road.

 

[ILuvCowparsely]

I posted about this many years ago & it's still serious enough to re post it. Years ago I saw the state of a horses knees when he'd gone sprawling on tarmac when being hacked out. It was horrible & it took ages to heal. As far as I'm aware he still carries the scars. Since before then our horses have always worn them when out hacking & today proved why. This particular horse is normally very good on the road & on hacks, nothing much worries him. Today was out hacking & a pair of dogs came out from nowhere snarling & barking & they really worried our boy. He spooked, lost his footing & went down on his knees. He's 16h2", he's a big boy. Fortunately he was wearing knee boots. They took beating but they saved his knees. I'm probably preaching to the converted but please consider using knee boots, they prevent injury, save vet bills & concern & there is no lay off time to get better.

I know not politically correct but I love and use the old travel knee boots every time now after my mare went down on the road. We have a few injuries from going down on the roads.

I posted about this many years ago & it's still serious enough to re post it. Years ago I saw the state of a horses knees when he'd gone sprawling on tarmac when being hacked out. It was horrible & it took ages to heal. As far as I'm aware he still carries the scars. Since before then our horses have always worn them when out hacking & today proved why. This particular horse is normally very good on the road & on hacks, nothing much worries him. Today was out hacking & a pair of dogs came out from nowhere snarling & barking & they really worried our boy. He spooked, lost his footing & went down on his knees. He's 16h2", he's a big boy. Fortunately he was wearing knee boots. They took beating but they saved his knees. I'm probably preaching to the converted but please consider using knee boots, they prevent injury, save vet bills & concern & there is no lay off time to get better.

After a few incidents I always use knee boots the old traveling type, I prefer leather over knees than plastic ones.


Does anyone else use the old travel knee boots that went with the hock boots??

 

[Tihamandturkey]

Then those cause imbalance to the hoof so it’s trying to fix an artificial problem and adding to lameness in the long run.

One on the outside of each hoof does not cause an imbalance & certainly not lameness - my mare is sensitive to everything and my Master Farrier is excellent and extremely exprienced ?

 

[ILuvCowparsely]

sorry duplicate post

 

[tallyho!]

One on the outside of each hoof does not cause an imbalance & certainly not lameness - my mare is sensitive to everything and my Master Farrier is excellent and extremely exprienced ?

It does believe me. Two balanced either side would be better then the hoof wouldn’t twist. Take slow motion picture next next time on tarmac and see what happens.

 

[Tihamandturkey]

It does believe me. Two balanced either side would be better then the hoof wouldn’t twist. Take slow motion picture next next time on tarmac and see what happens.

She's been shod like this for seven years with absolutely no issues and I'm not up for any more argument thanks

 

[Kat]

She's been shod like this for seven years with absolutely no issues and I'm not up for any more argument thanks

Of course you can do what ever you think best for your horse and don't need to discuss it with anyone on here but there is no way that a single road pin on the outside of the hoof doesn't cause an imbalance. You might argue that the imbalance isn't detrimental but there is definitely an imbalance.

 

[AFB]

I used to use my Westropps religiously, I rarely do roadwork now but I'm glad of this reminder for the odd occasion - thank you

 

[holeymoley]

Mine has 2 road pins at either side on each front hoof- is this still as bad?

 

[paddy555]

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0737080620300915

Highlights

•
Pelvic movement symmetry in horses trotting on tarmac can be altered by the application of a tungsten road nail to the lateral heel of a hindlimb shoe.
•
Subtle variability in pelvic movement symmetry can be quantified as the difference in displacement amplitude between left and right tuber coxae (hip hike difference).
•
Changes in pelvic movement symmetry can be explained by increased weight bearing and propulsion in the hindlimb with the road nail.

 

[Tihamandturkey]

Of course you can do what ever you think best for your horse and don't need to discuss it with anyone on here but there is no way that a single road pin on the outside of the hoof doesn't cause an imbalance. You might argue that the imbalance isn't detrimental but there is definitely an imbalance.

I'm confident that my Master Remedial Farrier with 40 years experience knows what he's doing and I reiterate yet again that my horse has had NO issues so please can people stop insinuating otherwise - thank you.

Plus if you read to the end the findings in the article quoted above were inconclusive at best ?

 

[Tihamandturkey]

To get back to the original post I hope you've found knee boots to suit OP

 

[Kat]

I'm confident that my Master Remedial Farrier with 40 years experience knows what he's doing and I reiterate yet again that my horse has had NO issues so please can people stop insinuating otherwise - thank you.

No one has insinuated that your horse has any issues.


It is however a simple matter of physics that if you apply something extra to one side of the foot this will affect the balance and symmetry which people should be aware of. That isn't personal to you or your farrier.