Horse owners often wonder whether their horse needs protective boots. It is an essential safety equipment that protects your horse from getting injured. Muscles and bones in the lower part of leg have no natural protection. Therefore, you should choose some top quality products in order to keep its legs safe.
Splint bone, tendons and ligaments can easily get damaged in the absence of some external support. Whether you keep the horse for racing or just as a companion, do not forget to equip it with safety equipment. Let’s take a look at some common types of boots you can get for your horse.
Bell Boots
Bell boots are usually made of heavy synthetic material, leather or rubber. It covers the entire hoof and keeps the horse safe from potential injuries. These are suitable for muddy and rough surfaces where a horse is likely to hurt itself. Make sure you get the boots of the right size that perfectly fits its foot.
Shin Boots
Shin boots cover the front part of a horse’s leg. Race horses need shin boots in order to keep the legs safe from injuries in case they collide with a jump rail.
Ankle Boots
Ankle and fetlock boots are used only for protection and do not provide support to muscles. These boots are usually made of synthetic materials or leather and are lined with some soft material such as sheepskin. The boots cover fetlock areas of lower hind legs as well as the pastern joints.
Knee Boots
Knee boots are extremely important for race horses. They protect a horse from injuries it may incur upon hitting an obstacle. Although it’s a little challenging to keep the boot in its place due to its distinct shape, you should get the boots for your horse to protect its knees more effectively.
Skid Boots
Skid boots cover lower and back areas of pasterns and fetlocks. Horses may hurt themselves during turns, on fast racing tracks. These boots keep legs safe from potential injuries. These are made of synthetic materials or soft leather so as to avoid any discomfort to the racing horse.
Fetlock Ring
As the name implies, fetlock ring protects the hind fetlock from injuries. Fetlock is a joint between pastern and cannon bone. The protective ring covers the hoof and keeps the joint safe.
Leg Wrap
Leg wrap is the traditional method of keeping a horse safe from any injuries. Standing bandages are suitable for stable horses, whereas you should opt for track bandages and polo wraps for your racing horse. You need to be careful while wrapping them, or else you may end up hurting tendon. Make sure you wash them and wrap them again after a ride.
Open Front Boots
Open front boots or schooling boots are used only for front legs. These boots are intentionally left open from the front so as to enhance the performance of the horse in a race. If they get hit by an obstacle on their cannon bone, they are likely to refrain from slowing down again.
