Weighted boots

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Kelly1982

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On behalf of my friend, what is the best way to use them??

Do you warm up in them at shows and then take them off for your round or do you keep them on to warm up in and jump??

Brief history is that horse never knocks at home or in the warm up arena even when my friend gets him in deep, but when he goes in the ring he gets lazy and knocks with his front. Its very unusual for her to come out with less than 3 knocks but any other time he jumps really well.

So she has purchased these boots as no amount of schooling, raised trotting poles or grid work is helping him with rounds so whats the best way to use them??

I said warm up in them then take them off for her round but she is worried that after the first few jumps he will realise and start knocking again.
 
I *think* its best to tke them off before your round, so warm up in them then jump without. Has she tried jumping him without front boots at all?! Not something which would normally recommend, but it can help....
 
I know someone who uses them in the warm up, they are tightened before going into do their round and taken straight off when theyve finished.
However, get it wrong and they can be the cause of NOT having the bestest of rounds
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So two points of view then
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I think she should take them off so he feel lighter in front and picks up better but she was saying abuot leaving them on so he feels like he has to make more of an effort.

She hasn't tried him with no front boots, tbh i dont think that will make much of a difference as he just doesn't seem to care. If he knocks in the warm up (which is very rare) then he gets a good sharp smack with the whip and he is fine after this but obvioulsy in the round my friend doesn't want to smack him after every jump he knocks and i think he may be clued up to this as he knows he wont get a smack so doesn't put in as much effort.
 
when i was a young thing (one word her BB and you are dead!) we always used them immediately before a class and took them off just before going in, if you ever worn weights for doing gym/PE you will know this probably has some effect. on using them the other way, it certainly didnt work for one of ours, as BB said it seemed to make him worse and actually once rider gave horse more rein over fence it stopped having them behind anyway.
another world champ showjumper that i worked for said once that if a horse wasnt naturally careful with good technique you might improve it with various methods but it would never be reliable/top class.
 
Is your friend the only one who rides this horse, it just seems wierd that his jumping only ever falls apart in the ring. Whether its the atmosphere or maybe your friend rides slightly differently when under pressure? I would persevere, take him to lots of small shows and try someone else on him, it might just be that he gets tense. I can't see why being in the ring is the only contributing factor. I think the boots will only cover up the symptom but not help the real cause.

EC
 
I've not heard of them being used on the front before. You sound put them on for your last few jumps in the warm up and in the ring. She could try jumping a few steep Xs before she goes in as it should make him bit neater in front. Evil_cookie does make a good point (a sentance I never thought I would write, it sounds funny!)
 
it'll take a bit of trial and error but generally its best to warm up with normal then put weighted boots on for last few jumps before going in. be very careful though...she needs to be a very good and accurate rider and use these boots sensibly. some horses react too well to the boots and if she misses and horse is jumping very careful it could cause all sorts of problems.
 
I personally think she is a good rider and she doesn't have this problem with her other horse which is at the same level and wins nearly every class it goes in but i do think she could benefit from a few lessons as an instructor may see something or come up with some ideas we haven't thought of but i cant make her have them if she doesn't want to pay out for them.

He just seems to be very lazy in front, he clears the jumps well but dangles his front legs. She has tried grid work with him, pacing poles, raised trotting poles and he jumps fine at home but maybe thats coz its only a few jumps and not a whole course.

He does love his jumping and takes her to the jump still keeping a nice rythmn but then dangles his legs and has them down so she thought the boots might help him pick up and be a bit neater in front as nothing else she has tried has worked.
 
I've only known them be used behind, not in front, and then they were put on for the warm up and used for the round as well.
 
I didnt realise you were using them infront *shakes head*
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Ive only heard of them being used behind.

I think DD said it, personally i would just make him jump a good sized fence before going in to the main arena.

Make sure shes actually riding her turns and keeping the horse together.

Winston for some reason gets stage fright - and again would lower the odd pole when in actual fact hes a very careful horse.
The only thing i can do is keep taking him to venues and making him get acustom - on that same note, i know i freeze going into the arena too so I am fully aware some of what my horse is going through is down to me.
 
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Sounds cruel to me!!!! Poor horse!, should put weighted boots on her and see how she feels.!

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Lots of top riders use them.....including a certain 'princess'
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Why is is ok to put them on the back and not the front then
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Sorry if i am being stupid but i have never used them before so dont see the difference in the front or the back?? They sell them for the front afterall??

BBs she has had the horse about 5 years and he has had a lot of show experience he also came from a professional so its not nerves he just seemed to get really lazy over the summer. She gave him a break for a while and he came back much better and a lot more enthusiastic but is still being lazy in front. He had a good couple of shows a few weeks ago and my friend thought she has finally cracked it but the the last show was a complete disaster.

I have suggested to her lessons and i have also suggested going XC and doing other stuff with him as he may be getting bored of just schooling and SJ (she does hack him out too but its hard in the winter) but she said she doesn't want to take him XC as someone told her this would encourage him to go long which she has worked hard to get him out of.
 
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I didnt realise you were using them infront *shakes head*
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Ive only heard of them being used behind.

I think DD said it, personally i would just make him jump a good sized fence before going in to the main arena.


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I've only seen them used behind too, but they may be okay in front.

Personally, I would jump him over a few solid fences and let him learn that way.

BTW - I know the horse and rider in question, and they are a good and successful combo, but the horse can drop a leg from time to time, and gets a bit carried away with his job
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Well unless she *touches him up* at home i dont think theres a lot you can do. What level are they jumping at? and what did he do with the professional before? He obviously knows the score and *doesnt care* if he roles a pole.
TBH I dont think Weighted Boots are the answer.......
There are many a horse who has been riden by a professional but once sold doesnt do 1/2 as much with the new rider - not because the new rider isnt any good, but the professional has *touched it up* so much that the horse ends up not caring.
So apart from the usual, grids, getting the horse working over difficult lines and distances to *wake him up* poles on the ground etc and making sure the horse is working properly she may have to just accept he isnt gonna always be careful.
Is it because he goes sleepy? winston does this through the summer and its so frustrating - so i have to have him as fit as i possibly dare and fed on high performance mix!
However, now, hes on cheapo nuts lol cos i can barely sit on it
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I dont think he had done too much with the pro as he was only 5yo but he was extremly well schooled and had been out jumping but it was so long ago i cant remember exactly what he had done.

She has been jumping him about 1.20/1.25 but like you say he just doesn't care if he roles a pole or not. She took him into a 1.35 not last summer the summer before which was the biggest and hardest course he had done (HOYS qualifier). He had the first 3 down and then once he realised how big the jumps were he flew the rest of the course perfect inc a double, triple and related distance
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So its not the height thats the problem but defiantly his attitude.

He is also on high performance mix to give him a bit more energy and even though its made him a lot more enthusiastic it hasn't helped with him rolling the poles.

TBH i think it all started to go wrong when she got her second horse, she concentrated so much on her as she was a youngster that i think things slipped a bit with him and now she is finding it hard to get him back.
 
Maybe he's well able to jump higher so not really trying over smaller fences - however how i can say a 1.25 is small, if he did perk up over a 1.35 then perhaps she needs to jump bigger.

have no real idea at all about weighted boots and frankly why they are generally only used on back legs? seems odd to me...

she does need to vary his work, and a bit of a hit over an xc fence may help?

also take front boots off altogether so he feels the poles, although he's probably in open fronted boots anway...

good luck mate.
 
He is a horse that puts more effort in if challenged but trying to find somewhere that jumps them sort of heights is impossible.

Agreed she does need to vary the work load but again with these winter nights you cant hack out so all you can do is school during the week and at the weekend she takes him to comps. She does lunge him and he has days off during the week and she does try to break the schooling up but its hard this time of year.

And yes he does have open fronted tendon boots.

I really feel she needs lessons on him as i think she has come to a dead end and needs that extra bit of help but you know what she is like and she wont pay out for them so in a way she is her own worst enemy.

I also think that maybe he needs to go to someone that has more time on their hands. She has to juggle her two around after work etc and i think he is one of these horses (like BBs said) that needs to be kept in top fitness to get the best out of him. He only gets ridden for half hour maybe 45mins at a push each night. Thats fine for her other horse but maybe he needs that bit of extra help
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She has had him 5 years though and this is only a recent thing so who knows.
 
Weighted boots are good we use them a lot on some of our v good horses that get a bit lazy, but usually behind!
You should warm up with out boots then as you are stood waiting to go in put them on! The horse feels the sensation and reacts in the ring not the collecting ring! The minute they leave the ring take them off!
 
They tend to just pick up even better cos they don't quite know whats on there legs! If you watch there action when you put them on they pick up further in all there gaits!! It can be quite amusing to watch!
 
This thread off another forum may be of interest to you and answer some questions! Also shows a picture of a horse who had them on in the past:
Clcik here

As far as i know they can only be used on the hind legs because the weight in the boot pushes on something in their hind leg to get the effect of the picture in that post.
 
I think some people see them as cheating as you are trying to change the horses natural way of jumping, but as someone said on that post their horse clamped his backend and the boots seemed to help him

And the fact that it could go horribly wrong with the horse either freaking at havng them on or as someone said in a few posts above if they get it wrong to a fence it may not be able to help the rider out and could cause a lot of trouble
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They are also saying that you cant get them for the front but my friend has just brought some
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I dont think he will be one to freak out as he is too laid back but if they make him any worse then she is gonna have serious problems
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Post was over a year old so maybe you can now, don't quite know how they are going to work because they normally open up the back end and you can't do that to the front...

Worth a try but I'd try them at home to see if they have any effect on his technique to what it was before he had them on

Good luck
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Post was over a year old so maybe you can now, don't quite know how they are going to work because they normally open up the back end and you can't do that to the front...

Worth a try but I'd try them at home to see if they have any effect on his technique to what it was before he had them on

Good luck
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I'm guessing they work on the basis that the horses legs feel heavier if you use them to warm-up, then when you remove them just before going in the ring, they will over-compensate and pick up more
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That's just my theory though lol!
 
Could be very true! Perhaps thats why you can get front ones now but the back ones were something to do with pressing on a tendon or something similar to get the flick behind...I'm going to go research now i find it really interesting *geek*
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