Your horse is standing on the cross-ties getting ready to work. You prepare to boot him up. Do you outfit him in splint boots and bell boots to protect his legs? Sports Medicine boots to provide support? Or some other kind of specialized boot recommended by your trainer? One thing is likely—if you’re in any kind of training program, chances are the boots you choose will be identical to what your barn buddies use on their horses. That’s right—sometimes boot selection is more based on fashion than function. After all, it is important to fit in. And boots can’t hurt anything, right?
Wrong! In fact, most experienced horse people have seen instances of “boots gone wrong,” and recent research has demonstrated that boots can have detrimental effects on the tendons and ligaments they are designed to protect. Not only that, while boots do provide some benefits, they may not always have the protective effects we think they have.
In this article, we’re going to take a look at the pros and cons of using exercise boots
