PrintRiders need to consider a boot’s weight and breathability, as well as how effective it may be in preventing concussion and protecting a leg from trauma.
Dressage horses sport signature white polo wraps in the warm-up; eventers wear rugged cross-country boots, and jumpers often have open-fronts. But are these boots doing what we expect?
David Marlin, BSc (Hons.), PhD, has looked into this topic in great depth. With more than 20 years experience in physiology and biochemistry, he’s associate dean for research at Hartpury College (England). He serves as sports science consultant to the British Equestrian Federation, chairman of the International Conference on Equine Exercise Physiology and a member of the editorial board of the Equine Veterinary Journal, as well as author of Equine Exercise Physiology with Kathryn Nankervis.
Equilibrium Products Ltd. approached Marlin several years ago to help them test and design their leg protection and bandage products. They wanted to know what a boot should do and the most important features to include.
According to a company press release, “The variations in the results were so extreme that they caused concern for the welfare of the horse.”
Although no standards exist for testing and rating leg boots for horses, Marlin, who works as an independent scientific consultant and holds a number of visiting professor positions in the United Kingdom and United States, hopes that the research he conducted will encourage companies to embrace such a system.
“That’s where it started from, and I think it’s right to raise this issue because people are going out and buying boots to protect their horses’ legs,” said Marlin. “You couldn’t pick a good boot based on appearance, brand, reputation or price. With the experience I have gained, if I take a knife to somebody’s boot and open it up, I can tell you if it’s likely to do a good job, but it’s difficult at the moment for riders to know what to choose.”
Why Use Boots?
In tests designed to replicate the blows caused by hitting a fence, overreaching or encountering a sharp object, Marlin said many boots and bandages provided inadequate protection at best or increased the damage at worst.
Still, that’s no reason to head out on a course without boots on your horse. Three-day eventer Bonnie Mosser said that a few years ago her galloping boots prevented a catastrophic injury to her horse Jenga’s tendon when he fell on cross-country: his boot was severed, but his tendon was intact. Without boots her world-class horse might have become a pasture ornament or worse.
According to Marlin the most important reasons horses wear boots are concussion or trauma from interference and from falls, and penetration. For instance, a shoe on a galloping horse shouldn’t be able to penetrate a boot, and at the same time that boot should protect against concussion.
Marlin pointed out the difficulty in achieving this balance in the design process. The easy way to protect against penetration is to put a steel plate down the back of the boot, which allows concussive damage.
“If I put a steel plate on your head and hit you with an ax you won’t have penetration, but you will have extreme concussive damage,” he said.
The greatest risk for most sport horses is to the lower forelegs—more specifically the superficial digital flexor tendons. The four main problems with boots are weight, restriction, heat build-up and discomfort due to poor fit.
