LEG PROTECTION.
‘TOO HOT TO TROT?’ THESE DAYS IT CAN BE HARD TO DECIDE WHICH BOOTS AND BANDAGES TO CHOOSE. HELEN TRIGGS TAKES A LOOK AT APPROPRIATE LEGWEAR FOR THE DRESSAGE HORSE.
B
oots are possibly the last items of equine wear to embrace colour but today you can match them to hats, to riding shirts and to gloves. Horses have never looked so colour co-ordinated! However, as with all things, advances can also bring concerns and scientific research has found that ‘over-booting’ or ‘overbandaging’ can cause problems. particularly when riders forget that boots and bandages are a form of safety equipment and should be chosen and used accordingly. Putting boots on or wrapping with ‘matchy matchy’ bandages is often automatic without thinking if they are needed or whether you have the best products for the job.
The most important consideration is the impact of heat on the tendons. When they are used they naturally get hot, and if they heat up too much, injury can occur. Exercise-induced hyperthermia occurs within the central core of the tendons and can result in localised cell degeneration. A high incidence of central core degeneration can lead to tendon rupture. Repeated incidences of overheating may even compromise cell metabolism and result in degeneration of the central core of the tendon. A 2014 study from the University of Veterinary Medicine in Vienna, and published in the American Journal of Veterinary Research, measured skin temperatures of the bare metacarpus of the forelimbs, at rest and after exercise. Temperature increased si nificantly under boots and banda es durin exercise.
ABOVE: MODERN LIGHTER MATERIALS ARE USED IN THE LATEST GENERATION OF BOOTS SUCH AS THE TRIZONE FROM EQUILIBRIUM PRODUCTS. BELOW: THERE’S A DELICATE BALANCE BETWEEN PROTECTING DRESSAGE HORSES’ LEGS FROM STRIKE DAMAGE AND AVOIDING OVERHEATING, WHICH CAN ALSO LEAD TO INJURY.
IF THE HORSE IS AN UNREGISTERED EQUINE, IT CANNOT BE SHIPPED ON IMMEDIATELY AND WILL NEED TO REMAIN WHERE IT IS FOR A MINIMUM OF 40 DAYS
BRITISH DRESSAGE // Issue 5 2021 // 53
