Flexible soft horse boots or hard protective horse boots?

There are many horse boots out on the market today, tendon boots with a more robust outer shell, neoprene brushing boots, flexisoft boots, hard but flexible, cross-country boots with stiff plates in the strike areas and of course bandages. What will protect the horse’s leg more?

Hardshell horse boots versus flexisoft horse boots, which is best?

Hard materials tend to deflect the energy of an impact away and soft materials will absorb the energy.

Looking at evidence base what materials could be better for horse boots the hardshell tendon boots or plated cross country boots with little flexibility, or flexible soft materials? As there is no level of impact testing certification for horse boots, we need to look at materials tested for humans. Taking two published studies, one for hard and soft hip protectors, the other for industrial hard hats versus the more contemporary foam hats. Hard, energy deflecting products came out superior in both studies to prevent forces being transferred through the materials compared to the soft, energy-absorbing ones.

This makes sense as logically you would probably prefer to wear a hard hat on a building site versus a neoprene hat to protect against objects falling on your head.  To transfer this logic to horse boots a soft flexible neoprene brushing boots may not afford the same impact protection as a hardshell tendon boot or a plated cross-country boot.

What is termed a soft material versus a hard material for horse boots?

Brushing boots, made of neoprene, faux sheepskin, even with imitation leather panels tend to be highly flexible, as are many of the sports medicine horse boots. Tendon boots and cross-country boots come with varying degrees of rigidity. The more rigid the material the harder it is. It is easy to test this rigidity, can you flex along the spine or plate of the boot? If you can easily flex, these boots may fall into the soft category.  

Will a rigid horse boot be uncomfortable for the horse?

Horse boots need to be flexible so they can flex with the horses’ legs. This statement would be correct if you were wearing boots such as cross country boots and brushing boots that cover the flexing fetlock. Open fronted boots are applied behind the canon bone, this bone does not flex on movement. This means open fronted boots can be more rigid as they also do not enclose the fetlock. A fetlock boot is applied to the fetlock and is worn in such a way that it does not interfere with the moving joint. Fetlock boots can also have a rigid plate without causing discomfort.

Will a rigid horse boot rub more?

Many of us worry about horse boots rubbing and it would be easy to assume that a rigid horse boot may rub more than a flexisoft horse boot. An enclosed cross country boot that rigidly encompasses the fetlock may indeed cause interference in the movement of the fetlock and create pressure points that could lead to rubbing. The more rigid boots tend to be the open fronted tendon boots and in most cases they are shaped to fit the leg, and do not interfere with fetlock movement. This shaping means less likelihood of pressure points, therefore less chance of rubbing.

Can we combine both soft and hard materials for a horse boot?

Unlike the industrial hard hats, riding helmets are usually made of a hard outer shell that is rigid, and a soft inner to absorb impact. This makes the helmet more comfortable to wear. The dual approach of rigid hard shell and soft impact resistant foam has also been replicated in some tendon boots. Test your tendon boots to see how flexible they are, a rigid nonflexible outer will help against strikes and brushing from the other legs. One with the best hardshell outers is the Exoskeleton tendon boots, they can deflect energy away but maintain the comfort of a padded inner that also absorbs impact.