sport medicine boots - help or hinderance?

[dottylottie]

so once lily arrives, we’ve got lots and lots of long walks ahead of us because she’s been out of work for 4/5 months and wasn’t particularly fit before that, so she needs to start virtually from scratch building it up.

My question: will sports medicine boots support her legs during this, or do more damage than good? i want to do everything i can to support her legs (and the rest of her!) and they *sound* good, but i’m inclined to think PE’s marketing team aim towards people like me who feel better reading that this product will “support and protect”? and that actually, they don’t provide that much support/protection. i know they’re recommended in rehab situations, but starting from scratch im torn.

I also know i’ll get mixed answers no matter what! but any viewpoint is appreciated - i think so far i’m leaning towards no haha.

 

[TheMule]

Absolute rubbish, most likely to heat legs (although affects of that at walk will be minimal) No support offered, it's impossible to support the legs with a piece of material.
Progressive build up of muscle will support the legs more than anything else

 

[Caol Ila]

Absolute rubbish, most likely to heat legs (although affects of that at walk will be minimal) No support offered, it's impossible to support the legs with a piece of material.
Progressive build up of muscle will support the legs more than anything else

As above. There have been some studies showing that a thin piece of cloth or neoprene doesn't support the weight of the horse on its suspensories. There are also studies suggesting that overheating tendons can cause damage, though like TheMule said, you're probaby not going to do that at walk.

Boots are useful if you have reason to believe your horse will hit its own legs with its feet or whack a jump.

 

[Mrs G]

Boots can protect the horse from knocks, scrapes etc but thats all.

 

[dottylottie]

Absolute rubbish, most likely to heat legs (although affects of that at walk will be minimal) No support offered, it's impossible to support the legs with a piece of material.
Progressive build up of muscle will support the legs more than anything else

Boots can protect the horse from knocks, scrapes etc but thats all.

As above. There have been some studies showing that a thin piece of cloth or neoprene doesn't support the weight of the horse on its suspensories. There are also studies suggesting that overheating tendons can cause damage, though like TheMule said, you're probaby not going to do that at walk.

Boots are useful if you have reason to believe your horse will hit its own legs with its feet or whack a jump.

Thankyou! decision made - i’ll just get her some mesh ventilated brushing boots for when we start doing a bit more. now do i get black to match her legs, or brown to match her tack?!?

 

[poiuytrewq]

Thankyou! decision made - i’ll just get her some mesh ventilated brushing boots for when we start doing a bit more. now do i get black to match her legs, or brown to match her tack?!?

Wait to see if you need them first! No point buying what’s not required. I only ever boot to lunge (when I think of it and they are handy!)

 

[Birker2020]

Yes definitely well ventilated boots, the PE air cooled ones are really good and very smart.
If you can borrow beg or steal Ice Vibe boots I would thoroughly recommend for warming up and cooling down situations

The benefit of Horseware Ice-Vibe Boots

Through a combination of cooling and vibration, the Ice-Vibe horse boots help heal inflammation of the tendons. Blood circulation in the leg is improved, swelling is reduced and dead cells are removed. For this purpose, the Ice-Vibe boots feature battery operated ice packs and vibration packs. These massage boots can be used with the vibration packs before riding to prepare the legs and, especially, the tendons for work. This should reduce the risk of injury.
After riding, the boots should be fitted with both ice packs and vibration packs to cool the legs without overly reducing blood flow.. This should prevent inflammation. These massage boots with the combination of ice packs and vibration packs can also be used to treat existing tendonitis.

 

[Elf On A Shelf]

I quite like ice vibe boots. We have some at the yard but they aren't used any more. The boss is a great one for buying all the latest gadgets, using them for 6 months then condemning them to the cupboard only to be seen when someone thinks of it for a day or 2. Then back to gathering dust ??

Sorry, got sidetracked, boots will only prevent your horse from knocking his own legs but they offer no support what so ever. If the horse needs them get well ventilated ones. If it doesn't don't bother.

 

[First Frost]

I never wear boots on the flat or hacking on a horse that doesn't need them for a specific reason. For example brushing or preventing a splint from being knocked. I use open fronted tendon boots for SJ and ventilated boots for XC. The less opportunity for the legs to heat up the better.