Hi and happy Friday! Looking for some advice on front boots for jumping. It’s been a while and as I’m working with the mare I’m leasing to start over fences, i definitely want to do what i can to make sure she has the most support. (She’s a 13 year old ottb, has jumped in the past, we’ve been building muscle back the past few months and can now canter over ground poles without her scaling them with 4 feet to clear:) Would prefer to not break the bank, but my biggest thing is safety and quality at the end of the day. What are your favorite boots, and why?
I recommend looking at basic brushing boots. What you want is to protect the lower leg while jumping, rather than try to provide support. You can spend an arm and a leg but it’s really not necessary. I look for something that will protect the tendons, something that is easy to put on, and something that is easy to clean.
I picked these up at Dover and they’ve lasted well over two years:
https://www.lemieuxproducts.com/horsewear/lemieux-boots/lemieux-brushing-boots/proshell-brushing-boots-black
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Thank you so much:)
Unless you get into the hefty sports medicine type boots with the sturdy fetlock sling, you’re not going to be providing any support. You can provide protection for the back and inside of the legs to help prevent an overreach injury to surface-level tendons and ligaments. Leaving the front open will help teach to not hit rails.
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You can use bandage liners (equifit or Eskadron has them) with Saratoga wraps for support. That’s really the only legwear that’s going to provide support, but IMO not the safest legwear for jumping. (Though I have jumped in them when the footing is hard)
Most jump boots focus on protecting the horses’ legs from getting smacked by another hoof, or smacking the jump. Brushing boots protect all the way around; they can be good when you have a careful horse and don’t want them to get a bruise from jump poles, but if your horse is new to jumping they aren’t the best choice because you want the horse to feel that pole when it hits (and then decide to jump high enough next time to not feel it again) they also can get hot, which isn’t ideal for the tendons.
Open front boots are what you see most of the time in competition; they protect the horse from stepping on themselves but also allow some airflow around the tendon.
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