Tuesdays with Tony – These Boots Were Made For Trotting

While clicking through the internet over this long holiday weekend I came upon this picture of yours truly:

It got me thinking about boots.  I make these boots look darn good.  This got myself, Teannie, and our weekend guest, a charming horse name Goose, talking about boots in general.  We marveled at all the colors, textures, patterns, and types of boots that humans have for their feet.  Teannie and I remarked that as the perfect creatures we are, we never have to wear such things.  OK, so that one time I had to wear a cast for a long time after Teannie broke my foot when I made, what she considers a disparaging, remark about her ears, but other than that, no foot wear.  Goose informed us we just didn’t know all the fun we were missing.  He gets to wear boots all the time when he works, and he finds them stylish and comfortable.  I wasn’t going to be the one to tell him we don’t work.  However, Goose’s statement did make me head off for some research about boots and horses.

My first question to you humans is REALLY??!!??!? Do you really need all of the 8,482 different types of boots I found? There are open front boots, support boots, cross country, splint, ankle, bell, and galloping just to name a few.  And the colors and patterns.  Don’t get me started on all that.  Let’s just say I am never wearing anything in tie dye.  Especially not on my feet.  Looking in to the why so many freakin’ kinds of boots did inform me that many different kinds are needed for all the crazy things you guys do with horses.  Lots of people like the all around support kind.  If you jump over things, you like the kind open in front.  If your horse hits his ankles you like the ankle kind.  You get the gist.  Anyway I will give you all the different kinds.

My next question was can they seriously do all the things they say they can?  Here’s where life gets a little fuzzy.  Let’s start with support.  When it comes to the equine limb that is a tricky statement at best.  Support what? If you support the fetlock, then more concussion goes up the limb and that can be damaging to the shoulder.  With all the weight horses bring to the game, it turns out “support” can’t be done without compromising range of motion, which means no more daring moves of athletic prowess.  So how about concussion? This one does turn out to have some validity.  When you ask horses to turn quickly around trash cans, jump over sticks, and prance sideways they have a tendency to tangle up those long legs at some point in the process.  Those tangles can have some serious forces behind them.  A good boot will absorb some of the concussion and prevent lacerations from hooves.

Goose pointed out that sometimes his legs get hot in those boots.  Seems reasonable in this ridiculous Florida weather; also important for the health of your horse’s tendons and ligaments.  Tendons and ligaments can take normal heat but researchers have found temperatures of up to 145F following exercise!  Newer boot manufacturing techniques are looking at the heat build-up problem and working on solutions.  I would certainly put boots on just before exercise and take them off just after work to keep those legs happy.

In case you need a good reason to make your horse wear boots, watch this video at around 18 minutes in.  Words of warning it is a bit graphic: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QsvS6gEBJuE

And on that note, I’m off to ponder my new line of feline footwear.