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[RC] The Science of Sport Boots...please READ! - Kripin6904

I read this in a magazine article, and thought I would share it with you all...hope you enjoy!!
 
Sport boots are designed to safeguard a horse's tendons, suspensory ligaments and other lower leg structures.  Products vary, but most of these boots extend from just above the coronary band to just below the the knee.  Virtually all sport boots are structured to absorb shock, support the suspensory ligament and protect the lower leg from trauma without interfering with a horse's gait and flexibility. 
The earliest research into the function if the sport boots was commissioned by Professional's Choice, one of the first companies to manufacture these products.  In the late 1980s, a study conducted by William Crawford, DVM, at the University of Madison-Wisconsin, devised an experiment to measure the shock-absorbing capacity of the company's Sports Medicine Boots.  He used a device to test the concussion of ground impact on 6 equine cadaver legs, both with and without the boot.  The data showed that the boots absorbed 20% - 26% of impact energy placed on the legs.
 
A 1998 study conducted by Michael Collier, DVM, at the Equine Sports Medicine Laboratory at Oklahoma State University, produced similar findings.  When Collier tested newer models of Professional's Choice boots again using equine cadaver legs to measure concussive forces, he also found that the boots could absorb up to a quarter of the impact energy.
 
Both studies suggested that, over time, the shock-absorbing capacity if the boots increases, possibly due to the fact that, with repeated use, the boots conform to the shape of the horses legs.
 
The most recent research into sport boots focussed on their effect on fetlock joint angles, a critical concern for jumpers who place great force on the fetlock joint when leaving the ground and landing.  In a study published  last year, researchers at the University of Veterinary Medicine in Vienna, Austria, measured the maximum extension of the fetlock joint at the walk and trot in 26 horses, first while they were barelegged and then when they were wearing 3 types of sport boots and one protective boot.
 
The researchers found that the boots reduced the maximum extension of the fetlock about 1 degree at the walk to 1.5 degrees at the trot, which suggested that they also reduce tension in the superficial digital flexor tendon and suspensory ligament.  The researchers concluded that the boots could make a significant difference between a healthy step and a tendon strain.
 
Hope everyone learned a little when reading this, let me know what you think??
Personally I am thinking about trying them out in Endurance.
 
Khristin Seymore