travel bandages vs boots

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Cluelessblonde

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Hi all,

First outing with my lad to a mates yard to see how he behaves. Have travelling him a good times so far and hes a dream in the box. I have never booted or bandaged him but will in the future. Which do you prefer and why?
 
I prefer boots as it protects the feet and legs much better than bandages can. It's also much quicker to put on and if someone else helps you to get ready, you won't have to worry about bandages being too loose or too tight. The only drawback with boots is during very hot weather it will probably feel hot to wear, but then again I'd rather have the better protection in case of a crash and the risk of my horse slipping and possibly standing on himself.
 
Bandages every time. They are far more comfortable for the horse, and are easy to put on and take off once you have the knack. By all means use over reach boots for additional protection.

Travelling boots are a marketing success which IMHO are aimed at the lazy horse owner.
 
Well you have one for each option, I have no idea how much support a bandage is supposed to offer or even why a horse traveling a short distance would require support.

I would throw a 3rd option into the mix that is possibly the easiest one for a young horse and that is to use a decent set of brushing boots and overreach boots that can stay on when you arrive and if he is unsettled he can be ridden in them, it saves the possibility of them messing about before loading if they don't like the travel boots and the hassle of taking them off at the other end, once they are more used to going places then use whatever suits you and your horse, some prefer boots some prefer bandages I have no real preference other than boots do offer protection from knocks to knees and hocks and are very easy to put on and take off especially if you are alone.
 
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Tiddlypom said:
Bandages every time. They are far more comfortable for the horse, and are easy to put on and take off once you have the knack. By all means use over reach boots for additional protection.

Travelling boots are a marketing success which IMHO are aimed at the lazy horse owner.
Click to expand...

Hands up for being lazy, but they do also protect the knees and hocks which bandages do not, having had one trip and fall down onto gravel one day I think the boots protected her far better than bandages would have, yes you can add knee and hock boots but most are fairly clumsy and have to be fairly firm to stay up.
 
Boots if you just want to feel like you are doing something otherwise bandages with pads under if your horse needs protection. I have seen too many horses get agitated because their boots have slipped down.

I tend to do as be positive mentioned and use brushing boots or else travel them with bare legs.
 
Just found a rather surprising article, where they came to the conclusion that bandages run a higher risk of overheating the horse's leg.

http://saracen.equinews.com/article/shipping-horses-hot-weather-boots-or-leg-bandages

I appreciate however that there's probably loads of studies stating the opposite. Not posting this link to pick any fights with anyone - just came across the study and thought to share.

It would be really great if we could get some statistics from Teams of Rescuers (post RTA where horses are involved) about which option they think is best to use, bandages or travel boots.
 
I have a young horse and gave up on travelling boots. He hated them and I thought they were doing more harm than good so I now travel in sports boots and overreach boots.
 
My horse hated boots. He was difficult to load in them, travelled badly and always seemed to end up with one slipping down and under the hoof. I switched to bandages with the shaped pads under them and he loaded and travelled better. If I was just going up the road to use the school I just put on his brushing boots he would be ridden in and took them off when home again.
My current horse and old horse travelled in boots, I guess that means I'm being lazy!
 
Boots every time but you have to do a bit of trial and error to find the good ones! My horse is a dream to travel but I spent some money on some posh Premier Equine travel boots and they drove him mad! Shuffling and trying to pull them off. I switched back to my old faithfuls (Amigo) and he was a dream again! I find bandages such a faff and don't like the idea of wrapping them up so much at the end of an event- boots seem to be a bit more breathable! I'm sure lots will disagree though.
 
Personally I always bandage with gamgee and stick OR boots on. I find that travel boots tend to slip and prefer that, should anything happen, the leg protection stays where I want it. Appreciate that there is less protection to hocks though, but in my experience, they are more likely to bash their legs rather than cap their hocks.
 
Nothing. Never had a problem since I started using nothing but had several incidents with boots. Professional horse transporters who have collected from and delivered to me don't use anything either.
 
Boots - Amigo boots to be precise. Never had them slip, and they give protection from above the knee to below the coronet. They are quick and easy to put on and do the job, if that makes me lazy then happy to be so!
 
Its so divided isnt it?! Ill definitely go bare for the moment because I know he travels well that way but I will definitely try both I think and see what prefers
 
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