Shipping boots????

should I spend the $40 on buying shipping boots or can I just use my polo wraps for when I'm trailering my horse to show to show? Couldn't I just buy some quilted leg wraps or something and then just put my polo wraps over them? or should I really get shipping boots?

Shipping boots????
it really depends on the horse. when i trailered my horses to gymkhanas and barrel events i started off just using polos. they worked great- i already owned them and i didn't have any horrific injuries. eventually i got shipping boots just because i had a TB that would somehow always hurt himself in the trailer.... i say if your horse confident and well-adjusted to the trailer go for it. wrap them just like you wrap them for riding and dont worry about it. if you start to notice he is starting to hurt himself, invest in some really good boots. (if you watch the sales you can get them cheap- i got mine reg $150/pr for $70 for all four)





bottom line- its up to you. do what makes since given the distance and horse.
Reply:Shipping boots are really not that necessary unless you have a horse who trailers very poorly. Also, if you choose to buy shipping boots, plan on spending a lot more than $40 on them. Some of them are really poorly made and are filled with overly stiff foam that is closer to cardboard and can do more harm than help and make it hard for the horse to move. If you want some protection from nicks and dings I would do standing wraps (pillow wraps). They will give you more cushion than polos. I wouldn't do both though, that would be a whole lot of pressure on the leg.
Reply:If you get shipping boots, be sure you get the right size. I got some one time and they were huge. They fell off when the horse was walking. I have never seen a size for them and this was a 15.2 H horse. I figured they would have fit, but they didn't adjust down that far.
Reply:My opinion is that you can use your polo wraps, and wrap them regularly. If you wrap them looser, there is more of a chance of them coming off and injuring your horse.





But if you are going to go with shipping boots, please be extremely careful as to make sure they are done up right. I'm not trying to sound snobby, but a friend of mine was shipping her horse, and had him in shipping boots. I guess they weren't propperly applied, because when they went to unload the horse, part of his shipping boot that was sliding off got stuck between the ramp and the horse panicked and started flailing his leg around in attempt to get it loose. As he yanked a final time, I was told he slammed his leg so violently into a bar on the trailer that it caused his pastern to shatter.





I cannot stress enough how important it is to take propper precaution, with the polo wraps as well.
Reply:You can use your polo's, nothing wrong with that and cheaper when you already have them.





The only thing i use the boots for ( I dont have polos) is just to keep their legs clean on the way to shows.
Reply:Shipping boots are the easiest way to prevent injury to legs when hauling because they are almost impossible to put on too tight and they typically cover the leg from the knee all the way down to the coronet. Too tight a fit can lead to tendon problems so for just plain old cushion and padding, shipping boots are the way to go. Whats forty dollars compared to the cost of vet bills and the loss of riding time if your horse's legs get hurt?





If you have someone to show you how to properly wrap legs, quilts and wraps are good to use. However, putting on wraps requires real attention to how you wrap and you must be careful not to make them too tight as I mentioned before so as not to put pressure on the tendons. Also it is very important not to pull a tendon to the side when putting on leg wraps.


If your horse is a quiet hauler and balances his or her weight in the trailer, maybe the boots would be best. They will prevent hair being rubbed off or scrapes if the horse puts its legs against the walls or dividers of the trailer.
Reply:If your good at wrapping the wraps are fine. We use pillow quilts and polos for under four hours. Long hauls we do track banadages over pillow quilts. Do it the same way as u would a standing wrap, rolling both ur quilt and ur wrap the same direction and always wrapping tendons 'in'. left side rolls counter clockwise and right side rolls clockwise. They should be about as tight as standing wraps. The main thing is to make sure they aren't too tight (which is why u roll instead of pull ur wrap) and aren't so loose they wrinkle, slip or come off. For long trips or bad haulers take a strip of ducktape and place over the velcro of ur wrap as a precaution against ur wrap coming undone and them stepping on it. Ur wrap should cover from just below the knee all the way to the top of the hoof/cornet band. Some people stick bell boots on and then wrap over them to prevent hoof injuries from pawers or if the horse falls and catches a front foot with a back foot.
Reply:You can use towels or diapers and ace bandages. Same rules, don't put seams and creases over tendons, wrap smoothly and your fine.



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