brushing boots for turnout yeh or nay?

C

connieD

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Aug 9, 2006
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my four year old is in a paddock with 3 other horses, an oldies, another youngster (very quiet and my grils best buddy) and a slightly bossy cob.

she is very quiet in the field and i never see her playing/fighting, just eating but in the last week she has come in 2 times having been kicked.

the cob is the only horse that is shod behind.

i dont want to molicuddle her but should i turn her out in brushing boots to help prevent these injuries, the ones below the hock anyway:rolleyes:

i know to a point its best to leave them be but im worried the it could be more serious and also there are the vet bills and the fact i cant ride her:mad:

changing field is not an option at the moment. she is only out during the day and stabled during the night.

what are your thoughts on turn out in brushing boots and what are the best ones to get??
 
I put on overreach boots because occasionally Gitch will clip himself. I think as long as they don't rub, are checked frequently, and fit properly I would do it.
 
I personally wouldn't turn out in brushing boots - I'd be scared of rubs, the boots half falling off or them getting stuck on something. An hour or so at a time would be fine but if it's all day or all night then I would always be fretting!
 
Really I leave over reach boots and brushing boots on in field all day, his over reach boots have a habit of turning inside out at the mo though as the mud is sticky. However with out he does loose shoes, his brushing boots are soft ww wet suit material ones, old and more likely to break, they half come off sometimes but figure thats prob him being silly in field that does it and would prefer a soft boot to hang off rather than him brush himself- if that makes sense! Had never thought of him hurting himself or them damaging himself on them till now. Other boots do rub him though and wouldnt put any on him that did- hope that helps!
 
I would never ever turn my horses out in boots. I went away for the weekend, Mum didn't realise he still had his boots on (black boots, black legs, covered in mud) and when I came back, he had two infected and seriously rubbed legs.
 
a word of warning about turning out horses in brushing boots for lond periods of time - they could cause damage especially in the warmer weather in restricting blood flow and causing tendon damage - i've heard of a couple that have damaged tendons in this way. You can get turnout socks that are far better and less restricting - i use them on horses that get mud fever badly
 
thanks for the replys - as i said i wont be turning her out for more than 8 hrs at a time - am aware of the problems about them being left on for long periods which i wouldnt consider doing- that wasnt really what i was looking for from this thread, but rather people who do turn them out for short periods, what boots do they use and do people think it will help reduce the injuries
 
the area brushing boots cover is so tiny in comparison, that most kicks from other horses are unlikely to hit that area - that said however i've had 2 splint bone removals from kicks ( i have had over 300 horses mind!). turning out in boots to stop them striking into themselves because they're likely to turn themselves inside out (ie not been let loose for a while or introducing to new field companions) is a good idea. Apart from reasons such as these i would use turnout socks rather than boots - especially if your doing it reguarly - 8 hours is definately enough time to cause injury.
 
Last year I bought some proper (and very expensive) turn out boots for my TB because he is forever catching his own legs with his feet or getting kicked, and would come in covered in bumps and scrapes up and down his legs. He never wore the boots for more than 7-8 hours at a time and they were advertised as suitable for up to 12 hours, but they rubbed white marks all over his black points :mad: in a matter of weeks of daily wear. And I found that they ripped and damaged very easily, and were generally just unsuitable for the kind of "hard play" my horse takes part in.

This year he has gone out in tendon boots up front, brushers on back and over reach boots all round (all made from neoprene) and hasn't had a problem at all. So long as your boots do up properly without being over-tight(make sure you keep any velcro clean), you let the legs breathe in between uses and wash the boots regularly then I don't really think it's any different to using any other kind of turnout boot.
 
thanks sez - thats exactly what i was looking for.

i know the boots will only cover a small area of her legs but 2 of the kick my mare has would have been protected if she had boots on so i think its worth a go.

an ebay search for neoprene boots here i come:D
 
i use turnout socks on my horses front legs for protection , he is out for 8-12 hrs a day , they haven't rubbed or caused his legs to be too warm , although i o plan to monito the issue come the warmer waether
 
I personally don't like to see horses with boots on when they're out, soft ones just hold wet mud against the skin.
The proof in that would be that in our field of 7 mares, one wears boots, and a week after arriving had really bad mud fever and as the owner refused to stop using boots it lasted for two weeks with her in all the time. Now she has given up and taken them off.....voila! no more mud fever! :rolleyes:
 
i wouldn't want to leave them on for any length of time as they can rub or fall off as helenc said. i have turned out my mare with exercises bandages (for half a day) in snow because her skin was red raw where hair had come out. brushing boots probably wouldn't provide much protection anyway unless your horse was going to kick herself (my horse does this :rolleyes: )
 
thanks for the above replies - im not asking about a horse that will brush/over reach, its for a horse that is getting kicked by another. the fields are now drying out so wet mud would not be a problem

she would only have them on 7/8 hours during the day.
 
I don't turn out our three with boots on simply because Jacob and Lacey have legs you'd need to wack with a sledgehammer to make lame and Willow manages to get cuts under boots if I put them on anyway so why bother?

But a lot of people on my yard turn their horses out in brushing boots/over reach boots, and I can't say I've seen white hairs as signs of rubs on any of them. I think as long as they fit properly and are checked often (which you're doing anyway) they should be fine. I would hose them off outside and inside when you take them off though if they're muddy, perhaps its the mud which gets underneath which rubs?
 
I have EQUILIBRIUM HARDY CHAPS.

I use them for turnout and traveling and they are quite cheap at £26 quid a pair.

I love them and they have prevented Kia from doing anything permanently nasty or others doing it to him.

I recommend them as you can have them on for 12 hours. Dont leave them on anymore than that but.

Nikki xxxxxx
 
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