Weigh the risks and benefits of various types of boots and wraps before strapping them to your horse’s legs

Tough, solid cannon bones, able to withstand thousands of pounds of weight-bearing yet incredibly vulnerable. Complex fetlock hinge joints filled with bone, cartilage, and synovial fluid that could leak or get infected at the slightest compromise. Long, dynamic, injury-prone tendons that take months to repair and, even then, rarely return to normal. Poorly vascularized leg skin that is, quite frankly, a bugger of a thing to heal.

Seriously, why would we ever put such delicate structures at risk—especially when we know there’s a host of commercial options out there designed to protect them?

Simple answer: Because science is also telling us those options could be capable of doing more harm than good. So, what’s a rider to do? In this article we’ll tackle the tough questions about why to wrap—and why not to—as well as the benefits and risks.

The ‘Hot’ Tendon Topic

In a 2022 Middle Tennessee State University study, researchers showed horses’ skin temperatures were higher in covered legs than in bare legs, “supporting the hypothesis that convection cooling is impaired by boots and wraps during exercise,” says study author Lucas Brock, MSc, now an equestrian coach and instructor at Morehead State University, in Kentucky.

The findings led to strong reactions on social media, with many riders expressing fear that boots, wraps, and bandages dangerously overheat horses’ tendons. But it might be too soon to make such conclusions, as Brock did not investigate the effects on the tendons themselves, says Brad Hill, DVM, of Equine Athlete Veterinary Services, a nationwide clinic group based in Williamston, Michigan.

Sizing, application, materials, weather, and other factors can affect the way tendons respond to boots and wraps, Hill says. About 90% of his clients work their competition horses in this equipment, and he says he rarely sees superficial digital flexor tendon (SDFT) injuries as a result. “I’m not trying to dispute what the study suggests,” he explains. “Just in practice, I haven’t seen that direct correlation.”

Plus, many of Hill’s clients successfully relieve chronic pain or swelling in their horses’ limbs by adding heating ointments or wraps designed to warm the leg. “I haven’t really seen that cause damage to the tendon or ligament, in my experience,” he says.

Historically speaking, riders have even used wraps to purposefully warm their horses’ legs—especially in cold weather—to increase blood flow and thereby prevent injuries, says Simone Westermann, ­DrMedVet, previously associated with the University of Vienna, in Austria. In her team’s 2014 study of leg temperatures in 10 sport horses at rest and while trotting, they showed leg skin indeed heats up under boots and wraps during exercise. But we don’t know yet whether that’s good or bad.

One thing we do know is horses’ tendons are naturally 1.4 F hotter than surrounding tissues, which have normal temperatures of 98.6 F, Westermann reports. In fact, tendons heat up to an average of 110 F during intense exercise even without boots, wraps, or bandages. While this equipment is probably heating tendons as well as the skin her team measured, we have yet to discover how hot they’re truly getting, our sources say.

Even so, scientists on previous studies have shown that overheated tendon cells can die, leading to inflammation and structural weakening of the tendons, says David Marlin, PhD, independent equine science consultant, president of the UK National Equine Welfare Council, and owner of ­DrDavidMarlin.com. In human medicine overheating has been linked to Achilles tendon injuries.

More research might help resolve the debate. But in the meantime such discussions raise awareness. “I think a lot of people have got the message now that if you are going to put boots on, you put them on at the last minute and then take them off as soon as possible after exercise,” Marlin says. “And then you cool the leg to try and reduce that tendon temperature.”

He recommends cold hosing, ice packs, or ice boots just after exercise to reduce ­inflammation—even if it’s not visible—and to “help remove the heat they acquired during the workout,” he says.

The Physical Pressures of Wraps and Boots

The biggest advantage boots and wraps offer, our sources say, is how they dissipate forces or prevent skin penetration when the horse’s leg comes in contact with a jump, thorn, or the shoe of another foot.

In that sense, boots work like a soccer player’s shin guard by protecting the bones and soft tissues from cuts, bruises, and fractures. “That interference of one leg hitting the other leg can cause a horse to ‘pop splints,’ for example,” Hill says. “Or the legs can get some other sort of traumatic injury, even a wound, while longeing or working under saddle.”

Truly protective boots prevent piercing or cutting of the leg while spreading impact as evenly as possible to reduce concentrated forces likely to cause damage, Marlin says. That’s more complex than it might sound, because a steel plate over the tendon, for instance, could diffuse forces and block foreign objects, but it can also transmit high forces to the tendon, causing soft tissue concussive trauma. A soft rubber boot, on the other hand, could spread the impact while absorbing the forces before they hit the tendon but might not effectively prevent cuts or punctures.

Marlin’s team has been testing the protective effects of boots and wraps using technology similar to that used for testing helmets, vests, and other kinds of body protection. While it’s too soon to publish results, the testing so far confirms Marlin’s suspicion that different boots and wraps can have widely different protective qualities, he says.

Polo wraps are too soft to diffuse strong traumatic forces, but they can be useful to prevent scratches when trail-riding through thorn bushes, for example, Marlin says.

Hill says in his experience polo wraps provide a level of protection to the lower limb that outweighs the proposed risk associated with an elevated tendon temperature—­provided they are applied correctly.

Critically, riders must understand that sport boots and polo wraps are not the bandages and taping veterinarians and physiotherapists use to rehabilitate legs or the specially designed fetlock boots that control range of motion for therapeutic purposes, Marlin adds. Such devices provide specific support to targeted areas after being applied by trained professionals, and they’re usually only used at the walk and occasionally the trot.

Trying to imitate such approaches for daily workouts can be detrimental, he warns. The added pressure might be too tight, or it could effectively shift forces and pressures in unnatural ways. Restricting the fetlock joint might, for example, shift shock absorption up into the knee. “This might be okay under controlled conditions with a vet or physio during rehab, but it’s not something you want to do on a routine basis, especially without knowing what you’re doing,” Marlin says. “And it’s certainly not a good idea to be doing that with intensive exercise.”

Trying to get such support by strapping boots on really tight won’t work, he adds. “It’s not going to make your horse less likely to injure himself, but it’s probably going to rub and make him uncomfortable.”

Finally, says Marlin, riders must consider the downward gravitational pull of boots and wraps. Even if their weight seems insignificant, the reality is, biomechanically speaking, even a few ounces of weight added to the lower part of swinging legs affects movement. And if the boots get wet, they get heavier. “When you go through a water jump, you’ve immediately changed your horse’s gait because you’ve added more weight onto the end of the limbs,” he says. “And that may not be a good thing.”

The Social Pressures Surrounding Wraps and Boots

Physical forces aren’t the only thing at play when dealing with boots and wraps. The use—or decision against the use—of this equipment often comes under social pressure, says Marlin. “There seems to be a great need for riders of all levels to decorate their horses,” he says. “It’s like there’s this social, or even cultural, need to show you love your horse and are making efforts to protect your horse, or you want to look beautiful in a show. That’s not related to equine athletics.

“There are lots of opinions,” he adds. “And there’s a lot of peer pressure, as well as the influence of well-known riders. People think, ‘Well if Charlotte Dujardin does it, I should be doing it.’ But essentially, we have to just always go back to the No. 1 reason for putting a boot on a horse or not: protection.”