I’m at that point of buying stuff for show season. Luckily I have most everything, but one thing I am debating on is shipping boots. The dressage series we will be doing is close to two hours away each direction and I am on the fence about whether I should use shipping boots.
On the one hand, Cruise is barefoot, shipped across the country with no wraps/boots and was fine, and has done many short trips bare without incident. On the other hand, we will be consistently doing longer drives and as my husband so succinctly put it, Cruise is worth quite a bit more than any horse I’ve had before. It might be better to be a bit careful.
The research I’ve done seems to go every which direction. Pros and cons both ways. So, thoughts, personal experiences, wisdom? Comments much appreciated!
My experience with boots or wraps and talking to others about them in the past- we put them on the day of the show/event before leaving home. We arrive and check in, take our time unloading and getting ready. Talk to friends and catch up, show and do our thing, collect our ribbons and by the end of the day we're all tired and just want to go home. Do the boots or wraps go back on? Nope. Screw it. We throw our stuff in the trailer or back seat, grab a drink for the road out of the cooler, load the horse(s) and bail. Seen this at every kind of event, from schoolers to A rateds.
ReplyDeleteIf you have a pair of protective boots you use when riding- use those. Something is better than nothing and the horse has the boots on when you get there and can wear them home too. Use these to see if you put them on always for all travel - or not and buy accordingly from there. If you feel the need to get something- buy wraps. If your horse has an injury you can use them for that too. Shipping boots not so much. Hope this helps.
You bring up some good points. Thanks for the input!
DeleteI used to always put on shipping boots (and before that shipping bandages). But now? I haven't done it in years. Carmen is shod so I put on bell boots in case she catches her shoe. But I think it's better for them to be naked. If I did put on something, I would do what your hubby suggested.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your experience and input!
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