Tell me about shipping boots, standing wraps, nothing at all when trailering

[poltroon]

[QUOTE=Sunflower;8164317]
Wow. What a range of opinions and experiences!
While my horse will likely travel fine, I am not sure what he will be like at the destination ( a show). This will be our first attempt. He might melt down. He might be fine. He might be OK with getting wraps or boots on or off… or he might not. Which option is best for a possibly unsettled horse? Seems like wraps would be-- but your thoughts and experiences welcomed![/QUOTE]

Ha ha ha. In contrast with the first reply, I prefer wraps for a horse that’s a little iffy, because I find that most horses tolerate them better.

Hedge your bets by trying shipping boots on the horse in advance, and leave him tied or cross tied with them on for a half hour, walk him around, make 'em all a no big deal thing. If no big deal, then the boots.

[poltroon]

[QUOTE=AppyMom;8164301]
I’m not a fan of shipping boots. They don’t breathe well and all they protect against is minor nicks and scrapes. They do nothing to actually protect the tendons, etc. Plus in my experience many horses do not tolerate them well and it may make them more likely to stomp and kick, therefore increasing chance of injury.[/QUOTE]

My shipping boots are much tougher than wraps, stiff with plastic strike plates and heavy cordura outer shells. They also cover more area more reliably, IME.

But we all have our preferences, and it’s all good.

[spacytracy]

If I wasn’t sure how he would react to the boots, I’d go without, because I’d be afraid the boots would cause the anxiety/irritability.But that’s just me. I haven’t encountered a reason to wrap at this point. I travel about the same amount of time as your trip, typically, about an hour.

I have an antsy pony who I had a disasterous trip with a few weeks ago. What I did was

1. Put her on the trailer often, and not go anywhere.
2. put her on with her buddy
3. let them eat grain.
4. Go for short drives.
5. Bought a trailer camera
6. Gave her some smartcalm paste

[Backstage]

I’m curious what the rationale is for putting nothing on for short trips, but booting/wrapping for longer ones. I guess I understand the general logic (i.e. the horse is on the trailer for a longer period and that would increase the chance of injury generally) but to my mind there are lots of ‘dangers’ in those short trips and I wrap no matter the distance. Incidents while loading/unloading, or two horses that haven’t shipped beside each other before and might not get along, etc.

Additionally, aren’t there statistics about more accidents happening closer to home rather than far away? The one trailer accident I ever witnessed happened about 2km from the barn!

[yellowbritches]

I agree that there are some caveats and “it depends.” My horse is a very good shipper and loader and reliably quiet upon arrival (he might be a knuckle head hand grazing or walking, but, for the most part, he is quiet when I need him to be). He probably doesn’t NEED protection because he is reliable and easy going. I give protection because it only takes one bad step or one car cutting me off and making him scramble for something bad to happen.

I would definitely boot/wrap if hauling with company, particularly company I don’t know or I know to be less reliable.

I would not boot or wrap if the horse didn’t tolerate things on their legs (or maybe ship in brushing boots for shorter trips if those were tolerable) or if the horse was unaccustomed to protection. I had a crazy ass grey horse for a while who HATED anything on his back legs and would kick like a mule and who was also a bad shipper. He went naked.

[cswoodlandfairy]

For me wrapping depends on where I am going how long and how long my horse may just stand on the trailer. I always do standing wraps. My favorites are the no bow BoT wraps. If we’re going to a horse show where he may have to stand around a lot I usually wraps so he has the support while we wait our turn. I if I am just hauling locally (under 30 miles) and know that I will be getting him off right away I typically do not wrap. It is usually me or my trainer driving.

If he ends up shipping with someone I don’t know how they drive I always wrap. For the standing wraps, if you are worried that they might unravel I usually just add a stripe or two of masking tape over the Velcro to make sure they stay up.

[Sunflower]

I remember the good old days in my childhood when we hacked over to the shows and back! So much easier ( in a way!)!

[beau159]

For shorter trips (under 3 hours), I use my home-made shipping boots. I’ve tried several shipping boots and they were all too stiff and I didn’t like how they fit. So I made my own with a few layers of fleece, as they are way easier to apply than standing wraps with quilts, while protecting the legs from minor scrapes.

http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k27/r_beau/2014%20Horse%20Pictures/Shotgun_zps66db3ee6.jpg

When hauling to an event, my one horse gets his BOT quick wraps and hock wraps.

It doesn’t happen very often, but if I am hauling over 3 hours, I do not wrap with anything. Just like you don’t want sport boots on for an extended period of time b/c they can trap heat on the legs, the same goes for shipping boots/wraps.

Or even if it is a short trailer ride but it is 80 or 90 degrees outside, they go with nothing. I don’t want any heat trapped on the legs.

[BAC]

I have seen a number of bad shipping accidents that happened very close to home, so that is not a deciding factor for me, even for short trips they get shipping boots or wraps. I also know of several accidents where the boots/wraps were damaged but prevented the horse’s legs from more than superficial cuts, including one where the hind leg sliced the back of the boot of the front leg from top to bottom like a knife. That would have been the horse’s tendon if he hadn’t been wearing his shipping boots. Some horses just won’t tolerate wraps or boots though, and for long trips, unless the driver stops frequently enough to check, or they have an overnight stop, they are probably better off being bare legged.

[zakattack]

Generally, I’d ship with standing wraps and quilts, set so that they cover the coronet band sufficiently (as others have said) or nothing at all if it’s a short trip and barring any other factors.

But, for example, one horse is always booted behind because he is a tight fit in the trailer and has the potential of hitting/rubbing his hind legs on the divider (despite trailering in an oversized stock trailer! He’s a big boy) The boots are a good option in this instance as they are easy to put on/take off which is convenient with the frequency in which they are used while still providing ample protection.

[rothmpp]

[QUOTE=Backstage;8164463]
I’m curious what the rationale is for putting nothing on for short trips, but booting/wrapping for longer ones. I guess I understand the general logic (i.e. the horse is on the trailer for a longer period and that would increase the chance of injury generally) but to my mind there are lots of ‘dangers’ in those short trips and I wrap no matter the distance. Incidents while loading/unloading, or two horses that haven’t shipped beside each other before and might not get along, etc.

Additionally, aren’t there statistics about more accidents happening closer to home rather than far away? The one trailer accident I ever witnessed happened about 2km from the barn![/QUOTE]

Definitely agree with this sentiment. 10 minutes or 10 hours, dinged is dinged.

My horse shod all around, so I would never go without bell boots. For longer trips in a standing stall I prefer standing wraps, to help prevent stocking up.

OP - I would try the different boots or wraps you may use and see how he does with them just at home. My horse hates the boots, but wraps are fine. I also wrap him and put him back in his stall for 10 minutes so he can walk around a bit and get adjusted before getting put on the trailer.

[vxf111]

My theory for longer trips is that the horses are going in a box stall/commercial shipper and there is no one to stop and re-adjust wraps or boots so it’s safer to go without.

[Mardi]

Standing wraps on all legs, with bell boots on the front.

My mares are good haulers, and I’ve always wrapped them, no matter how short the trip. (I haul them myself).

In the 1970’s, when I was a kid going to shows, all the horses were in shipping boots.

[doublesstable]

I think it depends on the horse. Most of my horses I will ship with bandage wraps. One horse in particular I also use bell boots. My current young horse I only do front wraps because he kicks with hind wraps.

I did hauling of race horses for a few years and all horses were wrapped. One horse went into the manger of an older trailer, cut up from elbows to back of the knee. It would have been worse if the horse didn’t have wraps on. Had another horse fall in the trailer and the hinds were not wrapped. She broke her hind splint bone. I do wonder if the owner had her wrapped if she would have been okay…

I don’t really like shipping boots. They are hot and can slide around. I have used them without any issues but prefer the bandage wraps.

Interesting that my horses that were imported from Europe were not wrapped.

[Angelico]

[QUOTE=Madeline;8162966]
If the serious professional shippers prefer bare legs, that’s good enough for me. Almost. We have a stock trailer, so I use bell boots.[/QUOTE]

The reason they prefer naked legs isn’t because wraps or boots aren’t a good idea for shipping, it is because of liability. Too many people out there are terrible at wrapping and the company doesn’t want to risk on of their employees by having them trying to get boots or wraps off an unfamiliar and agitated horse. They also don’t want to be saddled with the blame if a boot or wrap causes a problem.

In response to the OP, I always wrap all four. There isn’t a horse out there than can kick one of my wraps loose.