TB's and their legs

[dcp]

Ok as you know I've got a TB. We have just moved yards and are really enjoying the hacking. We were out for over 3hrs yesterday. The ground is quite rough, uneven and stoney and everyone does a lot of trotting on the road. They have chunkier horses and I'm worried that my horses legs/feet aren't made of the same stuff and he may suffer in the future.

Here are my questions

Are his legs more fragile?
What can I do/use to protect his legs?
Is it safe to trot on the road and what health problems can it lead too?

Thanks

[No_Angel]

tbs actually have quite dense bone on their legs, my tb has the same, if not more bone than my idxtb.
i trot mine on the road, not for really long periods, but i do trot her. we trot on stoney ground and all sorts.
i think as long as your sensible about it, and not hammer him along, he should be fine.
i dont think boots will support his legs from the road, unless you use hoof boots, as the concussion comes up his leg.

[The Flying Irishman]

I agree with NoAngel, if you are sensible about it he should be fine, I trot my TB on all sorts of ground and he is ok. A bit of concussion does their hamstrings good (or so I was told)

[Pink's lady]

He'll be fine. 'TB and their legs' tends to be cause they're highly-strung idiots who galloped about like nutters, and injure themselves :rolleyes: Just make sure his feet are well balanced so stress is minimal.

Trotting on roads in fine, but you'd really want to build it up, if he's used to working on softer ground.

[Shiny McShine]

It doesn't really matter too much if a horse has fine bone, so long as it is proportionate to his body size and weight. A horse with heavier bone in the leg usually is so because they are heavier in general and need the large column of support.

What is important is that like I said the amount of bone is proportionate, the cannon bones are not too long and the legs are straight. If the horse has all of these then they should stand up to a lot of hard riding, if not the chances of breaking down are increased.