Bell boot horror story!?

[euroeventer]

X-Posted in eventing forum.

Hi COTH,

Today, I was hacking a a fit 17.2hh TB who was wearing these specific bell boots (had never used them other than on this one horse, who came with them and had worn them for quite some time):

https://www.thinlineglobaluk.co.uk/s…re-by-thinline

At one point during our ride, the boot had come off and I looked down to see a red hoof! The whole front of his left forw was bleeding and he had a downward-facing chevron cut, with somewhat of a skin flap hanging down. This horse can be slightly careless - hence the bell boots - but I fear that these boots caused this injury. I will certainly be writing to the company tomorrow, but wanted to get some input from fellow riders who are familiar with the boots. Anyone had similar experiences? I also talked to a mentor of mine who has completely sworn off bell boots when riding out. Thoughts? All constructive input is welcome and appreciated.

Horse is sound, happy, and well, and seems to not even really notice this cut that looks so horrible to us humans. So that is a relief - he matters most.

[euroeventer]

Sorry - forgot to mention that the cut is on the front! No way his hoof could have caused it. And yes, he is shod!

[Guilherme]

If a device fails in use it will sometimes cause an injury. That just means the human must ensure that the device is appropriate to horse and task and that it is applied IAW with the design requirements. If it fails in use after being properly applied then it’s a device problem. If it fails because it was improperly applied then that’s operator error. A small, third category is devices that are so complex or the instructions for use so vague that proper application is unlikely in routine use. Not many things fall into this “box.”

Sorry for your horse’s injury. Hope it’s not serious.

G.

[irish_horse]

It wouldn’t surprise me that a small stick or similar got wedged under the bell boot, pulled it off, and cut the horse. Even without noticing. I was once riding, felt a few off steps, and a stick was wedged between hoof and shoe in a weird way. Had to get off and really pry it out!

Most folks I ride with never use leg protection, it seems like it can do more harm than good on the trails. (Debris, heat buildup, etc). Hope your horse heals quickly.

[Denali6298]

@euroeventer

Sorry - forgot to mention that the cut is on the front! No way his hoof could have caused it. And yes, he is shod!

So what on the bell boot could have caused it? My mare forgets she has four feet sometimes and I’ve seen her step on the opposite hoof in front before.

[CHT]

Those look like a good concept in bell boots. I have never seen them.

But, I wonder if your horse stepped on the bell boot and the strap was at the front. It might be possible that grabbing the boot hard enough to pull it off might cause the strap to cut into his leg. I can only see this happening if the bell boot was too long/loose though, but it does seem significant that the boot came off. Was it still done up?

[Suspiria]

I’ve had a stick get wedged into a bell boot and be stabbing my mare in the foot right above the coronet band just like you describe. Thankfully it was during a short xc school instead of a long hack, but it could have been a bad deal. I never use leg pro on trails any more.