Travel boots/bandages - do you/don't you?

HeyMich

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As title really.

I've had my mare (16.2 IDx, idiot of a horse) for over 3 yrs now and have never travelled her in boots, bandages etc. Similarly, the kids' ponies are both travelled with bare legs. We go out in the trailer for hacking, PC, clinics etc probably once a week on average. As far as I can tell, they have never needed them, and I think they would just make may mare in particular (more) stompy and irritable. However, some folk I know always use boots/bandages.

Am I a bad horse mother? Or just pragmatic and sensible to save money where we don't need to spend it?

Interested to know what the general opinion is! Thanks.
 

mini_b

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Think this depends on your horse, how far you’re travelling and what to.

same for travelling tacked up, some have their reasons for and against.
for example - trying to take boots off a hunter and tack it up at the meet?

don’t think you’re a bad horse mum it’s just a case of what works for you.
 

NeverSurrender

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My big horse only wears over reach boots (and whatever boots he will need at the destination, eg. Brushing or tendon) - long journeys I would probably put tendon boots on just because he's shod behind and can be clumsy. The Shetland travels totally naked.
 

9tails

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I tried them a couple of times, but my horse moved like a drunken sailor and kicked crap out of the trailer. Once they were off, she didn't make any sound at all.
 

AFB

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I use travel boots because he used to stomp around a lot in the back (although doesn't now he's traveled without a partition) and he's been an idiot coming off the ramp twice (which is a tiny proportion), one of which did result in a nasty cut where the boots at the time were slightly too small and not covering the front of his cannon bone properly - so better boots purchased and horse wrapped up!
 

Steerpike

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Mine wear small wraps/travel boots(not the tall stiff/rigid ones) on the front and a tail bandage only, always a leather head collar as well.
 
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Tail bandage and fleece/cotton rug is all mine get on for going to shows.

When the Wee Coloured Job went through a (thankfully short!) Phase of pooing down his back legs in the trailer I put knee high socks on to keep his legs clean.

I have never used boots, we dont use them at work either. I find a lot of horses travel badly with them on because they can't feel where their legs are in relation to partitions/sides, they get too hot and are generally annoyed by them.
 

TheMule

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I travel bare legged, but I have good travelers and I would use boots in some situations- next to other horses in a lorry without full partition for example.
 

tatty_v

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I use fleece bandages or snuggy hoods fleece wraps. I like both because they are soft and flexible, whilst offering a bit of protection. It’s mainly because he can be a fool loading and unloading so I feel better if he’s got a bit of protection. I always use a tail bandage and a guard as well as he likes to rub on the back bar!
 

ihatework

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These days I never use the full bulky travel boots.

Some I’ll travel bare or otherwise might use brushing & OR boots or stable wraps
 

criso

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I did for a while when mine went through a phase of issues when loading/unloading, managed to injure himself when I tried without to see if boots were making the issue worse. Now we've got over that phase, he usually travels with bare legs but occasionally if I'm going jumping, he'll travel to with tendon and fetlock boots to save putting them on when we get there. In that case he travels back without.
 

humblepie

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Current horse doesn't wear boots as doesn't like them and he is quite a warm horse when travelling. Will only wear a sheet if clipped in mid winter for the same reason.
 

MiJodsR2BlinkinTite

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I've never used them with my current horses, both cobs who do have quite heavy feathers which offer a fair bit of protection.

With my old boy I did put them on him but basically what it did was give him the clue of "we're going travelling now", and I spent the next 3 hrs trying to load the blighter :( I didn't want to jinx anything by putting them on him again!
 

DabDab

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Big horse has travel boots, initially because he use to scrape himself, now because he travels better with them. The others just have overreach boots and hoof boots if we need them where we're going
 

Wheels

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Tail bandage and tail guard for us, no boots etc but my horse is a good traveller and doesnt wear shoes.

I've travelled him tacked up and booted for SJ from time to time
 

Cowpony

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I've always bandaged mine, with pads underneath. Two horses at our yard cut themselves very badly in separate incidents. One was bare legged. The other had travel boots on and the vet said that prevented a life threatening injury.

Personally I don't like travel boots, hence the bandages.
 

doodle

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Robin wears premier equine travel boots. I have never had an issue with them moving or bothering him.

Soli wore bandages. He didn’t like boots and travelled badly in them. But he was good at bashing himself and had 4 white legs to keep clean so he wore bandages with the travel shaped pads under. Unless we were going to a local arena for hire/lesson where he travelled in his normally brushing boots.
 

SBJT

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I bought a whole bunch of fancy travelling boots and they’ve sat in the tack room gathering dust. Only thing I put on is a tail bandage as he likes to lean back on the door so much he’s ended up bending the butt bar. I’d only boot up if he kicked the front impatiently.
 

The Fuzzy Furry

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I never use anything apart from headcollar and possibly a padded tail guard (if animal sits back, like B Fuzzy does).
I trucked through Europe and most of the UK for myself and professionally and never had any wraps etc on.
 

milliepops

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Usually use something- for longer trips welsh usually wears fairly lightweight travel boots, short trips for lessons etc I travel her in brushing and OR boots which she then wears for work. Now we have a close arena to hire she travels home with her ice boots on :p

TB wears brushing and OR boots but only over reaches on the fronts, whereas K has them all round. He objected to having flappy hind feet ;) but is a clumsy dope so I prefer him to have something.

retirees are barefoot and wear nothing on the rare occasions that they go somewhere on the box :)
 
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ycbm

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I don't use them since decades ago when I had a horse hurt himself trying to kick them off. I use a tail wrap if the horse rubs its tail, but that hasn't happened since I got my little van.

.
 
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Used to use them years ago but I dont know of anyone that uses them now. The transporters dont use them and I have spent years at work watching very valuable horses coming off aircraft with very little on either. Most i would ever use is a poll guard.
 

Lillian_paddington

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Yes, always. He’s very sure footed in the trailer so it’s unlikely anything would happen to him, but it’s a ‘just in case’. He’s very chilled when travelling, if anything he gets a little cold in winter if he’s just in a fleece, so no leg heating happening. And it’s just part of our ‘show prep’, it lets him know he’s going somewhere different, and he gets all interested in what’s happening.
 

SissyTheEvil

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I use travel boots. But then again, if you do not cover your horses legs during transportation, you can get fined here where I live. Finland is a promised land of rules and regulations...
 
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