To Boot or Not To Boot?

Learn the pros and cons of exercise boots, and how you can decide when you should (or shouldn't!) use them on your horse.

- BARB CRABBE

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 for your horse. We'll find what positive effects they have, as well as where they fail. Most important, we'll learn when boots can do more harm than good. With this information in hand, you'll be able to make more educated decisions about when and how to use boots for your horse.

Benefits of Boots

The primary function of any kind of boot is to provide protection from trauma. Some horses that are very narrow (or don't have the straightest legs) will interfere or strike the inside of one leg with the foot of the opposite leg. Others may overreach, striking the heel of a front foot with a hind foot when they take a step. This kind of self-induced trauma can be more common when a horse is young, green, or performing lateral movements especially when they're first learning. And there's no doubt about it, boots provide protection from these types of interference injuries.