ridecamp@endurance.net: Support & boots

Support & boots

Flemmer, Linda (LFlemmer@CHKD.com)
(no date)

Some folks have mentioned that they wanted SMB for "support" for their
horses, but found rubbing problems when working at distance. I wanted
to make a comment on the "support" offered to an athlete. Sports
Medicine entered the market with a good product and a HUGE advertising
budget. It worked - look at all of the folks who are convinced that
SMB's are the best thing since sliced bread.

If an area is "supported" by SMB, knee braces, etc., the muscles &
tendons are not stressed enough to hypertrophy and become stronger. The
opposite is actually true. Rather than help our endurance mounts, we
are weakening their support structure so that they are more dependent on
the boots or supports, and more prone to injury without them. They were
never designed for wear over 50 or 100 miles, either!

The only use for boots that I can really justify is if we have
interference problems at a ride after an unfamiliar farrier replaces a
lost shoe, etc. My experience is that a moderately priced splint boot
works just as well for that as SMB's. I understand riders' concerns
over protecting the lower legs in rough territory, but I've found that
the horses are quite judicious when unprotected! In the last 15 years,
we had one incident of a puncture wound in the fetlock area from a piece
of brush. (The horse was running from a black bear at the time, so I
don't blame him if he wasn't as careful as usual!)

Linda Flemmer
Blue Wolf Ranch
Chesapeake, VA
soon to be Bruceton Mills, WV
Linda Flemmer

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