Supportive tendon boots for schooling in a field

[Janetterose]

I am moving to a yard without a school but we have a lovely flat paddock where I can school. What boots would you recommend for different ground conditions - I wont school him when the ground is excessively hard or soft though.

 

[helenhorse]

we cope fine with open fronted tendon boots or cotton/polo bandages.....if any boots at all!

 

[sachak]

BOOTS WILL OFFER PROTECTION NOT SUPPORT IF YOU WANT SUPPORT USE ELASTICATED EXCERSISE BANDAGES

 

[lucym]

no boot or bandage will support a horses leg. how can 4metres of fleece support half a tonne of horse?
tendon boots will protect against strikes in to the leg and brushing, bandages would protect against brushing and light knocks etc
i think your horse would be fine in any kind of boot, the main enemy would be the hard ground, but as you say you wouldnt ride on it, then it shouldnt be a problem

 

[Toby_Zaphod]

Ditto peachesandcream

Boots prevent self inflicted strike injury, they don't give support to tendons

 

[kerilli]

absolutely agree with the above, no boot or bandage (apart from a vet-applied Robert Jones bandage from elbow to heel!) can support the tendons. and an exercise bandage is, unless expertly applied, just as likely to do harm as good.
if the ground's fine, the horse will be fine... the only thing you can't really do on grass without studs in, is tight turns, 10m canter circles etc... the horse might not trust itself not to slip.

 

[teddybrowne]

I would disagree with the idea that correctly applied bandages cannot support a horses leg. The idea is not that it will support the entire body weight, but that it can support the fine structures such as tendons and ligaments.

I do however agree that a poorly applied bandage will cause more harm than good - so unless you're confident in your skills, or have someone experienced who can help you, I would settle for a simple set of brushing boots.

 

[flyingfeet]

Blimey so you think the strong structure of a horses leg and tendons can be held together with elastic????

No bandage or boot truly supports, apart from the one dalmar made for recovering tendon injuries:
http://www.simviation.com/dalmar/treatment.htm

The only choice you have is to protect the leg, in which case chose a material that will protect the leg from strikes and knocks

 

[rcm_73]

So what about Sports Medicine Boots and similar things that claim to provide support to tendons and suspensories?? My mare had a suspensory ligament injury last year and after 3 months box rest and 6 months turned away I don't ride her anywhere without her boots that claim to provide support for her suspensory.

 

[RachelB]

SMBs only really heat the leg up (which is damaging to tendons) and prevent strike/knock injuries...
Absolutely ditto all the sensible people who have re-iterated that boots and/or bandages do not support anything in the leg!

 

[kerilli]

SMBs do not support the tendons. I've read a very detailed report on comparisons made in vitro (on a horse cadaver's leg) of the relative supportiveness of SMBs, exercise bandages, no boots, and the dalmar boot... only the latter provided any support... not surprising when you see it.

 

[teddybrowne]

There have been many such studies Kerilli.

Here are some excerpts of some others:
"Nonrigid support bandages are often placed on the distal
limbs of horses in an attempt to provide protection and
mechanical support to the flexor tendons and suspensory
ligaments during athletic activity. Bandaged legs have been
reported to absorb significantly more energy than unbandaged
limbs when loaded in vitro and, hence, reduce the overall
energy available for tissue disruption" (Crawford et al. 1 9 9 0 )

Whereas bandaging reduces fetlock extension during
weightbearing in horses exercised to fatigue (Kobluk et al.
1988), it does not alter the maximal strain on the suspensory
ligament when standing or at the walk (Keegan et al. 1992). It
is unclear whether such bandages achieve their reported effects by direct mechanical support or if they function, as is the case in taping of ankle joints in sportsmen, by enhancing proprioception (Robbins et al. 1 9 9 5 )

I have no experience with SMB, and have never been tempted to use them, as I have always thought that they are too bulky, and none supportive. However, I have used bandages to see many tendon injuries through sucessful rehabilitation and strongly maintain their usefulness.

Cotswold - "Blimey so you think the strong structure of a horses leg and tendons can be held together with elastic????"
- No, as I said previously, a bandage 'supports' the structures of the leg. In the same way a walking stick supports - it would have to be of an entirely different design if it were expected to bear entire weight! Humans have substantial muscle mass below the knee which supports the limb and reduces the risk of over exertion. The horse however has no muscle below the knee - a bandage in effect provides the support of a muscle.

This is where a deluge of equine science courses, producing a plethora of fresh faced self indulged labratory taught grads, has fuelled the huge gap between classroom based studies and practical common sense applications. And they wonder why no one wants to employ them!

 

[flyingfeet]

It would also be fair to say damn lies and statistics. Not to mention the fact that everyone who sets forward a hypothesis is desparate to prove something!

I would agree that a tight elastic bandage would in theory provide more support than a boot, however its questionable whether its good to work the tendons under these conditions and whether the high temperatures from bandaging are detrimental.

What is for sure is that if you want to prevent a tendon problem, you should not be trying to support. Instead protection from strikes is the only sensible course of action.