Turnout in boots/ Turnout Boots?

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orangepony

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Moved the boys to their new yard last night, and noticed this morning that lots of the other horses wear brushing boots all round in the field.
Mine all wear over-reach boots in the field but these are checked morning and night for rubs as well as removed for exercise. so at least 1hr each day with no boots on to let skin breathe.

Is it usual practice to turnout in boots nowadays?! Brownpony is a total clutz with his legs and often manages to tie himself in knots, but i wouldn't trust to leave boots on all day for fear of hot legs and potential rubs!

A quick scout through the rideaway catalogue has thrown up equichap things which i'm guessing are turnout boots; are these any good and am I a horrid mummy for not making more of an effort to protect them from themselves?!
 
They are good, more for skin protection from mud than for over reaches, but better than nothing (if you feel he needs it) and can be safely worn for 12hours.

MEASURE before you buy. I wasted £100 on getting the wrong size because I was too idle to get a tape measure out:o IMO they come up large as they stretch when you fasten them.
 
Is your horse out 24/7?

My horse is a self harmer and would end up hurting him self on a blade of grass so he would have to be turned out in boots. I have gone through a few to find the best ones to suit him as he is very fine and rubs easily.
I bought the equichaps close contact ones for the worst of the winter to help with the mud etc but I found that a lot of the time the mud would just get stuck under them anyway and they would often turn up at the bottom when this happened. The best boots I found to turn him out in were Kitt ones they didn't rub him and were ideal for him and not too expensive either.

Hope this helps.
 
orangepony said:
Moved the boys to their new yard last night, and noticed this morning that lots of the other horses wear brushing boots all round in the field.
Mine all wear over-reach boots in the field but these are checked morning and night for rubs as well as removed for exercise. so at least 1hr each day with no boots on to let skin breathe.

Is it usual practice to turnout in boots nowadays?! Brownpony is a total clutz with his legs and often manages to tie himself in knots, but i wouldn't trust to leave boots on all day for fear of hot legs and potential rubs!

A quick scout through the rideaway catalogue has thrown up equichap things which i'm guessing are turnout boots; are these any good and am I a horrid mummy for not making more of an effort to protect them from themselves?!
Click to expand...

I would go for the Premier Equine ones a lot cheaper and they fit fantastic. I have a westphalian that has to have boots all round and I use these all year dry quickly overnight, give great support and protection. very quick delivery and if you reg with facebook discount on orders too!!!
 
orangepony said:
Moved the boys to their new yard last night, and noticed this morning that lots of the other horses wear brushing boots all round in the field.
Mine all wear over-reach boots in the field but these are checked morning and night for rubs as well as removed for exercise. so at least 1hr each day with no boots on to let skin breathe.

Is it usual practice to turnout in boots nowadays?! Brownpony is a total clutz with his legs and often manages to tie himself in knots, but i wouldn't trust to leave boots on all day for fear of hot legs and potential rubs!

A quick scout through the rideaway catalogue has thrown up equichap things which i'm guessing are turnout boots; are these any good and am I a horrid mummy for not making more of an effort to protect them from themselves?!
Click to expand...

I'm not mad on boots in fields. They can overheat the tendon if left on for long periods which is certainly not ideal. They can as you have said, cause rubs on the legs if small particles of grit get inside. At our yard we have to pay an extra 50p per day for boots to be put on/taken off, so it tends to deter people from using them.

If I was introducing a new horse to mine, I would always boot my horse well, and if he'd been on a period of enforced box rest and I thought he would be silly in the field I would boot if I wasn't sedating first, but those are the only times I would put boots on my horse outside. I used to work at our yard, and remember only too well the clogged, rain and mud soaked equichaps which we used to have to peel off horses legs, which would then need to be washed with the hose and would have no hope of being dry for the next day, or even the day after in the winter time. And then having to put them back on wet and cold the next day. Eurgh no thanks. Not if I were a horse. :eek:
 
applecart14 said:
I'm not mad on boots in fields. They can overheat the tendon if left on for long periods which is certainly not ideal. They can as you have said, cause rubs on the legs if small particles of grit get inside. At our yard we have to pay an extra 50p per day for boots to be put on/taken off, so it tends to deter people from using them.

If I was introducing a new horse to mine, I would always boot my horse well, and if he'd been on a period of enforced box rest and I thought he would be silly in the field I would boot if I wasn't sedating first, but those are the only times I would put boots on my horse outside. I used to work at our yard, and remember only too well the clogged, rain and mud soaked equichaps which we used to have to peel off horses legs, which would then need to be washed with the hose and would have no hope of being dry for the next day, or even the day after in the winter time. And then having to put them back on wet and cold the next day. Eurgh no thanks. Not if I were a horse. :eek:
Click to expand...

^^^^this!^^^^^
Not a big fan of turnout boots, due to overheating of tendons. Got an exracer with a blown tendon so in his case I definitely wouldn't, no matter how accident prone he is! Plus I find they make mud fever worse, as they can trap the mud and then heat up causing the bacteria to thrive.
 
Nope. Only once turned out in boots and that was after she'd been on box rest for 2 months and even then as soon as she was settled I ducked in a took them off. Really don't like the idea of boots being left on all day for the reasons above.
 
Dont like turning out in boots due to rubs etc but do use the hardy chaps for my old boy in winter as seem to keep him warm and less stiff. Only has them on for around 6/7 hours when out in day. Wear stable chaps overnight and never had any problems with rubbing etc.
 
I dont like turning out in boots either i'm afraid for the reasons above aswell. I use over reach boots sometimes and if a new horse is being introduced into the field then my yard insist on booting all the horses for the day so theres nothing i can do about that unfortunately.
 
It seems the general consensus is pretty much what I already thought; boots left on too long increase the risk of hot legs, and unless you need something like equichaps for mud-fever then probably far best to avoid.

Having settled in a bit more I think (secretly!) that many of the people turn out in boots as they think the horse should wear them (fragile so and so's etc) rather than any high jinks/mud fever or wobbly action from conformation.

No boots for turnout for mine I think; they already cost enough without needing to buy things I dont think i'll need (or buy and really resent come the middle of winter once they are soggy and gritty!).
 
I think it depends on your pony. I NEVER turn out in boots, dont like them on all the time, dont prevent mud fever if prevalent, rub and heat legs - BUT I dont have clumsy ponies, I cant remember them ever coming in with injuries and my old chap ive had for 20+ years. I can understand over reach boots on muddy slippey fields but thats about it for me:)
 
The only reason I did as my horse ended up with this:

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But now we have moved from a livery yard where he did this to a private yard/field with stables and better fields he is no longer in boots. Old yard had pig wire fencing which I hate with a passion so after this injury he was turned out in boots. I still have no idea how he got this injury.
 
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