Arguments for and against using boots / bandages

[antares]

Just a musing really and trying to decide what is best for my youngster. On my older horses I have usually used boots for jumping and some schooling sessions and one horse in particular wore boots all round for everything as he did like to step on himself!

At what point do people choose bandages over boots? I know a lot of dressage riders do school in bandages but how necessary is this for an average horse training at medium level?

My youngster isn't really prone to knocking himself although we do have the odd silly moment. I just want to do what is best for him.

I am aware that there is a train of thought where hot tendons are more prone to injury but I cannot find any specific research on this, does anyone have a link to any study? I would have thought the opposite in that injuries occur if the tendons are too cold and they aren't stretchy enough but maybe I have this completely wrong

[june]

The theory is that because tendons and ligaments don't have a good blood supply, they don't cool down quickly if they are heated up. It doesn't take a lot of heat to change the molecular structure of a protein so if you start exercise with a bandage or boot and then increase the temperature with exercise you could get to that critical point quite quickly where the tendon or ligament structure starts to change, making it more prone to injury.

I have seen research on this in the past but don't remember where. All the boot manufacturers recommend removing boots every 3 hours to allow the tendons time to cool down. In competitive polo the very last thing that goes on before the horses play are the bandages and the very first thing that comes off when they've finished playing are the bandages and the legs are hosed off with cold water.

[jen1]

cooks tendons, according to Dr Hilary Clayton, all boots were tested, and the maths done to see how hot sinue's were and the centre of ligaments, so in all if they/you need boot to ride,to stop them from kicking themselves, should we be riding? or maybe working on the horses posture ? chicken and egg? i possibly would have a re-think if its heavy competing , and a boot out there kept tendons cool, but they dont,

[jennyb]

I have NEW Airflow brushing boots for Gazdag but he rarely wears them any more. I used to boot up all round with him as he was prone to turning himself inside out and was *very* athletic with it! But now he's mainly calm and sensible and is a straight mover, he doesn't wear boots.

I have yet to figure out how bandaging horizontally around the legs can support the vertical tendons and ligaments in the lower limb, but I know some swear by it..... At best I think boots/bandages offer protection against knocks, and if I was starting a youngster again I would boot all round with airflow boots until I was sure they were sensible enough not to strike themselves by accident.

[Deleted]

Can anyone find the research by Hilary Clayton? Is it publicly available?

I've never bothered booting unless a horse actually strikes itself as I just think it's another waste of money and time. As for needing bandages to do dressage - if the horse is fit enough for the work it is doing I don't see why they would ever need support, if their legs aren't capable of what they're being asked to do then I would prefer not to ask them to do it.

However, on the flip side I have lost count of the horses I've ridden and known ridden in bog standard brushing boots every day and I only know maybe two that have had tendon problems, and I don't think one of those wore boots, he was worked too hard and fast on concrete for his level of fitness by an irresponsible owner. So I can't help but wonder how big an impact it really makes for the average horse.

Also since Talin had cellulitis I am having to bandage his legs at night to prevent fluid build up which could lead to further infection. Although he's not working in them he is wearing them for about 14 hours a day, I don't and can't go up and remove them every 3 hours and after 6 weeks of it he hasn't had any issues.

[antares]

Thanks for the input everyone.

I will keep looking for research on the subject. My youngster isn't close in front or behind so in normal circumstances he shouldn't brush but he is a youngster who is still not totally coordinated and will obviously have the odd spook from time to time which could increase his chances of whacking himself one. He is barefoot though so this should decrease the chances of a serious injury. He has worn brushing boots on a few occasions and I agree that their legs get very hot even when wearing them only for a few mins

[mandal]

Dec 27, 2012 11:53:56 GMT 1 @michellep said:

Can anyone find the research by Hilary Clayton? Is it publicly available?

I wonder if it's in one of her books? I found this but it is only a quote of a quote lol.
Taken from here. www.thehorse.com/articles/20331/boots-and-bandages-to-support-and-protect


But, Clayton brings up another important finding: "There's the concern about overheating of bandaged tendons. Temperatures around 45°C (a few degrees higher than normal tendon temperature) have been recorded in the core of the superficial digital flexor tendon, even after strenuous exercise of short duration (Goodship, et al., 1993). Heat is generated by the stretch-recoil cycle in the tendons, yet bandage wraps reduce normal cooling of the legs by convection." Heat that develops in the central core of a tendon should be allowed to dissipate as quickly as possible following work to avoid tendon degeneration.

Clayton says, "I recommend cold hosing the legs after removing wraps if the horse has worked hard, especially when using sports medicine boots."

[arabiangem]

I don't use anything for work. On a long ride my horse could be working for 8+ hours. I also want her to know where her legs are and I do wonder if putting boots on will make her careless.

Bandages for travelling though.

[BJMM]

Didn't Kelly do an article in the IH mag a couple of years back? I don't boot or bandage Blaze. She has enough feather to protect her and she is careful anyway. I did buy Jas boots when I started her, but she has hardly worn them and she doesn't seem prone to knocking herself. Even if she did, she probably wouldn't feel it, she has no nerve endings ;D (only joking!!)
Marygold has got to 16 years old and done loads of endurance with Arabiangem, without boots, so I don't think I will be needing any for her!
The only boots I always use when jumping are overreach boots. I've seen some nasty overreach injuries over the years.

[cassiejane]

A lot of the research is in the mcphail website, google mcphail dressage chair. The research is very clear, boots do more harm than good to tendons.

[Deleted]

I've been trawling the MSU website and Hilary Clayton's site and can't find anything, all I can find is quotes on fora.

All the quotes seem to relate to boots or bandages during exercise though so I don't suppose it really applies to us anyway. The risk of allowing his legs to fill is much greater than possible damage by bandages.