Boots or Bandages?

[Lucy J]

While i know all my boots and when to use what, I would like to know what the advantages/disadvantages are over bandages and boots. everyone on my yard uses bandages, and I use boots. what does everyone else use/think?

[katieB]

I use boots. Im always paranoid about over tightening bandages and find it easier to fit boots. Im not sure what the advantages of bandages are actually, anyone shed any light? :)

[Alibi]

Boots if needed, like KatieB i'm always worried about overtightening bandages. Boots are quicker to put on too!

I only use bandages for injuries. Or my old horse use to get windgalls when SJing so i used to use elasticated bandages for support and to keep the swellings down, rather than protection.

[tasha]

I use boots-mush easier than bandages and quicker too. At them moment I think bandages are becoming a bit of a fashion item over here-look at all the pics in Your Horse of people riding in bandages.

If you are happy with your boots then I see no reason to change!

[nutkin]

bandages when secured properly over gamgee are supposed to offer more protection than boots for travelling, i guess the same is true of during exercise although i guess it would depend on the reason they are being used.

[Ryoko]

i dont use either ...i dont own a pair :rolleyes: i dont know anything about them really...but i think Tasha is right about bandages becoming a fashion item .... although i can see why :D they do look very nice:p but i think boots would be easier than bandages:p

[Volvic]

From what i understand, bandages give support to the leg & boots only protect the leg from injuries i.e. brushing boots only protect the legs from injuries caused by the horse brushing & tendon boots protect the legs from brushing injuries & from the horse striking its front legs with its back hooves.

Polo or quickwrap bandages give support to the tendons etc & are useful when the horse is recovering from an injury.

I hope this is all true as what ive written is just MY understanding of it :)

[Mehitabel]

bandages provide more support than boots, but neither will do an enormous amount support-wise. the sports medicine boots that go under the fetlock are best for supporting the internal structures. they are good for suspensory ligaments.
bandages (especially the elasticated ones) support somewhat as they mould to the leg better than boots and the stretch means they hold things together a bit more. think of humans wearing knee supports and so on.
boots do only provide protection against knocks.

only the 2 horses who have had tendon injuries and are slowly coming back into work wear bandages, and one who brushes wears boots. i prefer to work the horse without, as well made legs ought to be able to stand up to reasonable work.

[Lucy J]

i would have thought that boots would offer some level of support as well as bandages - if you look at us humans we wear neoprene support bandages sometimes?

[Mehitabel]

they're elasticated though (the ones i've seen, anyway) and things like the neoprene back supports are padded in places and also work by providing warmth as much as anything else.
i've always been taught that boots don't support enough to be worth it, anyway.

[ladyrose]

I travel my horse in boots always - there was a terrible accident once at our yard when someone was travelling their horse without boots (just a 10 min drive) to a pc rally and he sliced his leg open on the horsebox - they had to call out the vet and a whole load of bother as well as expense - and then the horse couldnt be ridden for a while.

[Tor&Warrior]

One very good reason why I use bandages is because there alot cheeper!!! I can have a couple of sets of schooling and hacking bandages and a best white set for the price of a decent set of boots. And you just have to chuck bandages in the washing machine and they come out like new. One set of bandages will also fit a whole yard of horses. Travel Bandages are also much cheaper than travel boots!! And easier to wash, travel boots can be very big and hard to wash and mine never came out totally clean and they take longer to dry which is a pain when competeing regually.
But bandages can be a pain because they take so long to put of on and off and you need to make sure you do them propally!! So I personally prefer bandages but can see the advantages of boots!!

[Ryoko]

maybe one day they will invent a boot that looks as good as a bandage and supports just as well:rolleyes: .

[Lucy J]

i must admit (travel boots excluded) that my brushing boots wash extremely well. Its just i was thinking about buying a set of white bandages to match my white saddlecloth on my black horse! just to keep good of course, but i wondered whether I was best to go for white boots instead.

the bandages i am thinking about are just fleece with nothing going under them, not stretchy, so I imagine if I am going to use bandages it would be best to use gamgee under them and use stretchy bandages otherwise boots would be just as good?

also, is it true that if you use too much support on the legs it affects the strength of the horse's legs? ie if you use too much support the legs can get used to it and become weaker?

[Mehitabel]

yep - the fleecy ones i only use for travelling bandages. i always use gamgee/fybagee under them though.
and yes, always wearing bandages can eventually make the legs weaker, again like always wearing a knee support. another reason i don't use any leg protection apart from xc.

[Stella2]

I've always travelled horses in boots in the past, but I'm having some doubts about this now. It seems the latest thinking is that a horse's ability to balance in a wagon or trailer may be impaired if the legs are bandaged and boots can get caught and create problems. Last week a horse I know sustained a very nasty injury, losing part of his hoof, when his travel boot became snagged in the wagon and he thrashed around in panic. It seems that there are pros and cons to leaving legs bare or booting or bandaging.

I'm taking my horse to the vet on Friday. I have Mark Todd travel boots and I don't know whether to put them on or not!

[galadriel]

One of my horses has a scar on her LF from when she was delivered to me. She was not wearing anything on her legs and banged herself. It could have been a lot worse, but it's just a scar.

If something *really* terrible happens--trailer gets hit, or rolls, or some such--I want there to be padding on my horses' legs to do what it can.

I also don't think there's anything in my trailer which could snag a boot--but you never know. Horses are clever that way...

[T-bred]

I am buying a pair of open front boots for Caesar and am going to be paying about $90.00-$115.00 for them. And I have so many polos. I love polos I get them in all different colors to match his saddle pads. I call them his outfits!!!

Anna

[Evol_or_revert]

I would be scared that i would do the bandages wrong like to tight or to loose and they fall off while riding.

So im all for boots, hey i don't even own a bandages.

[entreat]

Originally posted by Volvic
Polo or quickwrap bandages give support to the tendons etc & are useful when the horse is recovering from an injury.

Thanks for that info!! Pippin's lameness has just been diagnosed as a tendon injury (Near front), so I want him to heal as well as possible. I'll be looking out for Polo bandages now!

[galadriel]

Originally posted by entreat
Thanks for that info!! Pippin's lameness has just been diagnosed as a tendon injury (Near front), so I want him to heal as well as possible. I'll be looking out for Polo bandages now!

Be sure to use good padding under the bandages, make sure that the padding is not wrinkled, and that the bandage is evenly tightened.

[Volvic]

The pony I loan is also recovering from a tendon injury & she has to wear polo/quickwrap bandages when ridden. If I could afford them, I would buy her the Sports Medicine Boots, as these are the best ones I've heard of.

[entreat]

Thanks Galadriel, will do.

[Volvic]

I think we may be talking about different bandages here! I was talking about this sort of thing: http://www.rideaway.co.uk/index2.php3?sessionid=862c3c4ab12e69c8b838325536229d68&page=showprod&catcode1=HBOO&catcode2=ME
They are also often called quickwrap bandages or polo bandages & they dont need any padding underneath.

[entreat]

I know the ones you're talking about Volvic, but if we don't use those, I'll take Galadriel's advice.

[galadriel]

Polo wraps, or the quick-wraps with material used in polo wraps, by itself do not offer any real support:
http://www.horse-sense.org/archives/2000026.phtml

If you want a supportive boot with polo wraps, you must use padding under the bandages; together the padding and the bandages provide a supportive wrap. Where I am this is usually used for horses who are recovering from an injury or who have worked very hard and need a rest; I understand that with different padding types they're also often used for exercise wraps.

A good "quick wrap" supportive type boot for exercise is the SMB type.

[Volvic]

Thanks Galadriel - i didnt realise that the polo wraps by themself didnt offer much support. That just means that I have to try even harder to save up to buy some Sports Medicine Boots for her :eek:

[galadriel]

Don't know what's available to you, but Professional's Choice SMB's aren't the only SMB's out there. "Performer's Choice" is a sort of generic knockoff, which to me (having several of each) seems to hold up just as well, and cost 1/3-1/2 the price. Davis makes an SMB boot out of the same material as their splint boots, which doesn't absorb water (neoprene will). They also are about 1/2 the price of Pro Choice.

If nothing else, you *can* make a supportive wrap with polo bandages and padding, but I wouldn't want to experiment with the quick-wraps. It seems to me that if something got wrinkled or the pressure wasn't just right, it could be more detrimental than helpful.

[tasha]

Try eBay! They go for £15-£20 there!

Edit: Sports Medicine Boots on eBay (http://search.ebay.co.uk/search/search.dll?MfcISAPICommand=GetResult&query=sports%20medicine%20boots&categoryid=&ht=1&category1=382&maxRecordsPerPage=100&SortProperty=MetaEndSort&BasicSearch=&?ssPageName=ADME:B:TB2:UK:21&from=R18)

[T-bred]

I'm going to buy Caesar the leather sheep skin lined open front boots this spring.

Anna

[Volvic]

If nothing else, you *can* make a supportive wrap with polo bandages and padding, but I wouldn't want to experiment with the quick-wraps. It seems to me that if something got wrinkled or the pressure wasn't just right, it could be more detrimental than helpful.
I definately agree with you ther Galadriel , but I dont think we could fit any padding under her quickwraps anyway.

Try eBay! They go for £15-£20 there!
Thanks tasha - I'll have a look.