Boots!

Albigears asked me what kind of boots I like, since I confessed I have a major hoarding problem with horse boots.

But first thing is first. We need to take a break from riding I think. Everyone else agrees to, or to an extent of that. A week or 2 off will do us good. I am pretty sick, so right now doing anything but HW is out of the question. I will go out and groom him and such, I still love my pony :) After a break we will start back up with some trick training, he gets really excited to learn new things. Gotta find my clicker now...
Then we will ease back into work. I need to MAKE time to get outside. I usually have to ride in the arena since I have class till 4pm and the barn gets fed at 4 so riding right afterwards can't happen. What I need to do is ask the employee feeding to just give him hay and I will give grain. I tried to vary stuff with lunging, long lining, dressage work and jumping but I think it all happening in the arena was too much for him.

So boots. I have about 20 pairs I think. Polos, open front, woof boots, woof boots with hard plastic on the tendon, bell boots etc!


Ok, these are awesome boots- SMB Pro Medicine Boots II. I have the navy blue colored ones. One of the things I like about these boots is the loop hook that goes under the ankle, I feel like this adds a little bit extra support and I usually do my gallop sets in these boots. Some people are concerned abut heat in the legs when using boots, but I haven't noticed much heat in his legs after use. Even though they are all material, they seem to ventilate pretty well. :)


I have a pair like this but in white. I bought them off ebay and I use them exclusively for show jumping rounds in competitions. Not a fan of the fleece but they get the job done. I am more worried about heat in these boots than any other, but he wears them for all of 20 minutes usually.

Ok drumroll please...........WOOF BOOTS! These are my all time favorite lightweight sport boots besides the Roma boots down below. They are light, breathable, moldable, easy to put on and come in tons of colors. I have more pairs of these boots than any other. I think I have 7 pairs. 2 for competition, and all the others for schooling. I have one pair with wool fleecey-ness as the liner instead of neoprene and it has a big circle brushing pad on the ankle. These are nice for galloping. I have a front pair that has a peice of hard molded plastic on the tendon; I like these for XC or jumping since Yanks tends to overreach and I feel comfortable he won't hurt himself. I have several pairs like the one in the picture for schooling. I seriously heart these boots big time.


These are Dover Pro Fleece boots. I use them for everyday schooling, especially dressage. They are easy and quick to put on with only 2 straps and they mold very well to legs after a few uses. I dislike that stuff gets in them pretty easily, esp. if used outside. Grass seeds and whatnot get into them pretty easily so I tend to just use them in arenas. They don't work well in cold though, the plastic gets stiff so I only use them in summer.


These are my MOST favorite boots and I originally bought them for shows, but I loved them so much that I use them for schooling as well. For those of you concerned with heat, I recommend these boots for sure! They were inexpensive, are easy to put on, mold to the leg and dissipate heat very well. I love where they sit on the leg and they allow for a lot of freedom of movement. The liner almost feel jelly inside.


These are wicked cool! They are called petal boots and I can't find them anywhere now. I bought them years ago when I had Spirit (see previous horses on top bar under header)and I had just started eventing. Neat thing is that you can interchange colors! I have blue and white petal boots. Sad thing is that they are wicked expensive and to interchange colors you have to buy 2 pairs. But, you get 4 bell boots and if you need to replace a petal or the strap you can. I used these in lower levels since they flap at the canter/gallop and won't guarantee coverage/protection once you get into the higher levels. I swear, my petal boots got more attention at events than me or my horse did, lol!

Now, for events and schooling I use these bad boys. Weaver double-lock velcro bell boots. These are the nicest velcro bell boots I have found, and on ebay they are like $5. Sometimes I use ankle fleece lined ones for schooling dressage. When he was younger, Yankee had to wear bell boots 24/7/365 and I used the pull on ribbed bell boots but those are too hard to get on and off for competitions. I usually don't use bell boots in stadium since he is more careful without them but they are a must for XC!

Polos- I use these for hardcore dressage training since I feel they give more support than regular boots. Only problem is that they are really hot.

To wrap up, I recommend woof boots, roma open front and the weaver bell boots.