# Iconoclast support boots vs. PC venTECH elite smb boots



## Cant Biya Love (Feb 15, 2013)

Anyone? Even if you have just used one of these, what did you think of them?


----------



## COWCHICK77 (Jun 21, 2010)

I have the Iconoclast boots but never tried the VenTechs so I I can't compare them. 
I have used polos for years, matter of fact, the last set of support boots I had bought was back when the original PC SMBs came out. With that said I do like my Iconoclasts. They are faster to put on then polos when I'm in a hurry and easier to wash if I was in a muddy arena.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------



## Cant Biya Love (Feb 15, 2013)

Did the Iconoclast boots work well on your horse and provide noticeable support? The smb boots? Could you tell that they made a difference?


----------



## boots (Jan 16, 2012)

Why does your horse need support beyond what proper conditioning would provide? Are you working one with a past surgery or serious lameness?


----------



## MiniMom24 (Mar 13, 2013)

I haven't tried the PC Boots but LarryTrocha swears by the Iconoclast. I just bought a pair and I really love them. I do find they protect allot more than SMB's (a brand I have tried). A couple of girls at my barn seen my Iconoclast boots and everyone says they look like they protect so much better than their SMB's. Below is what Larry said about the boots. (Leg Problems | Horse Training Videos and DVDs)


----------



## Zexious (Aug 2, 2013)

Boots--Many riders use boots as a safety precaution.


----------



## beau159 (Oct 4, 2010)

No sport boot is going to "support" the fetlock joint in the lower leg. All the companies claim that they offer support (some even go so far as to say 45%), but if you look at studies that have been done, a more realistic value for "support" is in the single digits under 10%. 

In the grand scheme of things, is that going to make much difference with a 1,000+ animal? Maybe a small bit, but nothing that is going to be noticeable. Polo wraps are in the same playing field. May provide a _little _support, but honestly, nothing that's going to be substantial. 

I use sport boots on my horses not for the purpose of support, but for the sheer fact of having some sort of physical protection on their legs. A boot is much easier to replace (and cheaper) than horse flesh. 

I myself use Professional's Choice SMB 3 on all four legs, with Classic Equine Dyno-Turn bell boots on the front. I have not tried the Elite but they are somewhat similar to the 3 version. I've been very happy with Professional's Choice. For me, they hold up well and I love how they fit their legs so well. 

I have not tried Iconoclast so I cannot speak for that. However, I do know people who have them and like them a lot. 

Personally, I feel that sport boots provide more physical protection than polo wraps, and they are easier to apply, so that is why I use sport boots. 

As boots kind of hinted at, is there a particular reason you are wanting to use sport boots on your horse?


----------



## Cant Biya Love (Feb 15, 2013)

Thank you all for your responses! As Zexious said, I would like a pair as a safety precaution. Also, our older horse has some arthritis. I guess, you can never be too safe.


----------



## beau159 (Oct 4, 2010)

Cant Biya Love said:


> Thank you all for your responses! As Zexious said, I would like a pair as a safety precaution. Also, our older horse has some arthritis. I guess, you can never be too safe.


What sort of riding do you do with your horse?

For how long?

If you are simply going out on the trail and enjoying your horse, I really would not waste your money on sport boots. If you horse has arthritis, you are better off spending the money on Adequan or Legend, which are injectable joint supplements. 

If you were not aware, sport boots really are not intended to be worn for longer than 2 hours. The material of the boots trap heat, which can damage tendons and ligaments. There are some "breathable" sport boots on the market but I don't believe they are breathable. 

For most general riding purposes, boots aren't required. I only put them on my horses for high speed maneuvars such as reining, barrel racing, and jumping where they are at greater risk of hitting another leg, just because of the speed involved.


----------



## Cant Biya Love (Feb 15, 2013)

Training and trail riding right now, jumping in the future.


----------



## beau159 (Oct 4, 2010)

Honestly for general trail riding and training, sport boots really aren't necessary. For jumping I would wear them. 

IMO
_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------



## PadenPaint (Apr 27, 2014)

I like the SMB personally, I use boots all the time when I work/ride. Even on the trail, I would rather pull stickers off the boots then out of his leg hair..... and also, the 1 time I didn't put boots on my horse on the trail, he spooked and jumped sideways into some fence on the ground, got cuts on his legs, would have been nice if part of his legs had been protected. 

not only that but the question was which one do you like better... not should I put boots on my horse.... just saying.


----------



## Zexious (Aug 2, 2013)

I would maybe use splint boots for trail riding, I don't think you need much more than that. For jumping, get open fronts...


----------



## Cant Biya Love (Feb 15, 2013)

Thank you so much PadenPaint! I totally agree. And thank you for the reminder of the original question!


----------



## beau159 (Oct 4, 2010)

PadenPaint said:


> , the 1 time I didn't put boots on my horse on the trail, he spooked and jumped sideways into some fence on the ground, got cuts on his legs, would have been nice if part of his legs had been protected.


Horses can get hurt when they are out in the pasture too. Should you keep boots on them 24/7?

On that thought, maybe you should keep your horse in a bubble. But then they'd find some way to hurt themselves in the bubble. :wink:




PadenPaint said:


> not only that but the question was which one do you like better... not should I put boots on my horse.... just saying.


Just saying that this is a public forum and while the OP is free to ask any question he/she wishes, we are free to give any advice that we feel is warranted. It is my personal opinion that wearing boots for general trail riding activities is unnecessary. It's your horse; do what you want.


----------



## MiniMom24 (Mar 13, 2013)

I just got this email from Larry. 


Leg problems and solutions

Performance Horse Leg Problems... Causes, Prevention 
And The Best Solution Invented, So Far.
If you participate in reining, cutting, barrel racing, roping or any activity 
that puts a lot of strain on your horse's legs, the information you are 
about to read could really help your horse.

Hi,

Larry Trocha here.

If you've been with me awhile, you know the majority of horses I train 
are cutters and reiners.

I've also trained my fair share of barrel horses too.

Those three disciplines are some of the most demanding on the 
horse's body when it comes to athletic ability and physical stress.

I've been lucky.

Very, very few of my horses have ever gotten hurt or gone lame.

However, I've had plenty of horses brought to me that came from 
other trainer's barns that WERE hurt.

They've come with bowed tendons, torn suspensory ligaments, 
curbs, strained check-ligaments, navicular syndrome, strained 
ham strings and the list goes on.

Of all these ailments... strained or torn SUSPENSORY LIGAMENTS 
are the most common and the most frustrating.

To tell you the truth, if you're riding a good athlete who possesses a 
lot of "try", injuring a suspensory can be pretty easy to do.

It can happen in the blink of an eye and... they take a long, long 
time to heal.

HERE'S THE PROBLEM

On average, it takes 9 to 12 months of absolute rest for a suspensory 
ligament to heal right.

To make matters worse, if that suspensory develops scar tissue as 
it heals, there's a good chance it'll be injured AGAIN.

A torn suspensory to your show horse or a horse on schedule to go 
to a futurity, can certainly be the kiss of death.

If there was ever an injury you want to prevent, this is definitely the one.

Now, I can tell you right off the bat, I'm going to receive a lot of emails 
in response to me writing this.

Most of them are going to say...

"Well, if those horses had good "BONE" they wouldn't be going lame 
like this".

My response is... "Good bone has nothing to do with digital tendon or 
suspensory ligament injuries".

The only thing related to bones that could be a contributing factor, 
would be pastern bones that are too long.

Here's the other comment I'm going to receive...

"If those horses were trained and handled right, they wouldn't be getting hurt".

Here's my response to that... I go to great lengths to take good care 
of the horses I have in training.

As a result, very few of my horses get hurt. Inevitably, it's going to 
happen occasionally, though.

Performance horses are ATHLETES engaged in an ATHLETIC ACTIVITY.

Equine athletes, just like human athletes sometimes get hurt. That's reality.

The only athletes that never risk injury are the ones that never perform 
well enough to win anything.

Let me translate that.

The really good horses are always at risk of injury because they try hard.

Mediocre horses never get injured.

Why? Because mediocre horses seldom put out much effort.

HERE'S WHAT CAUSES THE LEG INJURIES

Let me explain what CAUSES these kind of ligament and tendon injuries.

In most cases, injury is caused by the horse's fetlock joint HYPER-
EXTENDING (dropping down too low).

This hyper-extension taxes the ligaments and tendons beyond their capacity.

Next thing you know, the ligament or tendon is either badly strained or 
actually torn.

Either way, it's bad news.

What causes the fetlock to hyper-extend?

It's usually caused by the horse exerting a lot of effort while performing... 
a reining horse doing a hard stop or fast spin, a cutting horse holding a tough 
cow or a barrel horse making a sharp turn around a barrel at high speed.

All these activities (or others like them) can cause the fetlock to hyper-extend 
and result in an injury.

Also, asking a horse to perform when he's exhausted or fatigued will 
greatly increase the chance of injury.

PREVENTING THE INJURIES

In the past, I tried to prevent ligament and tendon problems by "wrapping" 
my horse's legs.

Especially, if I was going to be doing stops or spins.

I'd use top quality polo wraps and I'd apply them with a special "wrapping pattern" 
that helped prevent the fetlock from dropping too much.

In my DVD, Teach Your Horse to Rollback and Spin, I demonstrate how I wrap a 
horse's legs like this.

Unfortunately, there are two big problems related to wrapping.

#1. Unless you apply the wrapping pattern EXACTLY the way I demonstrate, 
the wraps really aren't going to do much good.

#2. What's even worse, if the wraps aren't applied with smooth, over-lapping, 
even pressure, they will cause the horse to BANDAGE BOW.

That's right.

Wrap your horse's legs WRONG and you can bow his tendons just from 
applying the wraps!

Makes most people shy away from even attempting it.

SIDE NOTE:
If you go to the big money shows, you'll see a lot of the horses being 
ridden with their legs wrapped.

The trainers do this in hopes of preventing injury.

In reality, 80% of those horses are wrapped in a way that's not going 
to prevent anything.

They are applying the polo wraps by simply going around and around 
the leg... a simple compression bandage.

If you're going to do any good, you have to apply the wraps in a way 
that LIFTS UP on the fetlock and prevents it from dropping too far.

Few people understand how to do this.

I was fortunate to learn it many years ago from a race horse trainer 
who owned cutting horses as a hobby.

By the way, I wouldn't trust wrapping instructions from anybody except 
an unquestionable expert.

Many of the people posting "wrapping" videos on websites like youtube 
or expert village, probably aren't that expert. (Strictly my opinion).

I should also point out that polo wraps have their limitations.

While they can help a horse to a certain degree, they are by no means 
an ideal solution.

POPULAR NAME-BRAND SPLINT & SUPPORT BOOTS... 
REAL HELP OR FALSE SECURITY?

As an alternative to wrapping, most folks will use splint or 
support boots.

You know... those real popular ones which CLAIM to support the 
fetlock and keep it from hyper-extending.

I've checked them out and I have to tell you... I seriously have my doubts.

You don't need to be a structural engineer to see their short-comings.

I actually know one of the vets who was on the research and development 
team for these boots.

The vet told me, tests showed those boots help the horse's ligaments 
and tendons about 10%.

Ten percent!

Personally, I suspect that's not enough.

Not enough to do much practical good in the real world of 
show competition.

SIDE NOTE:
What these boots do well is... they greatly reduce the concussion 
of a blow to the leg.

If you have a horse who bangs his legs together or strikes his leg 
with the opposite hoof, these boots offer good protection.

That's as far as they go, though.

A NEW KIND OF SUPPORT BOOT INTRODUCED... 
THERE MAY BE HOPE!

I was at a big show a while back when a guy walked up to me 
and introduced himself.

He said he had a new type of support boot that greatly reduces 
the chance of injury to ligaments and tendons.

He told me the name of the company but I'd never heard of them.

In my usual not-so-tactful way, I gave him a look of doubt.

He wasn't deterred though.

He said, "If I give you a set of these boots, will you give them 
an honest try"?

I replied, "Maybe, if they look like they have a chance of working".

Long story short, those boots DID look like they might work so 
I tried them on a bunch of my horses.

Right now, at this point in time... I'm pretty darn convinced they 
are the best support boots I've ever seen.

Earlier in this email, I mentioned I know the vet that helped 
research and test those "name-brand" splint boots.

Well, I showed these new support boots to that vet.

The vets reaction... "Those are the best designed boots I've 
ever seen. Where can I get them"?

Now, just so there are NO misunderstandings...

I'm NOT saying these boots will eliminate ALL leg injuries.

I doubt any boot will ever be able to do that.

What I AM saying is these boots have a better CHANCE 
of doing some GOOD than any other boot I've tried.

And I'm not the only one who feels this way.

Mike Tomlinson DVM MBA, veterinarian to the United States 
Equestrian Team, whole heartedly recommends this boot.
And it's the ONLY boot he recommends.

Well known performance horse vet, Chris Ray DVM of Equine Sports 
Medicine & Surgery, also exclusively prescribes these boots.

And so do many other veterinarians as well as many horse trainers.

WATCH THE VIDEOS... THEN, GET THE BOOTS

On my website, I've posted some videos of the boots in action.

Here's the link to see the Iconoclast boots in action:

Iconoclast Support Boots â€” Horse Training Videos and DVDs

You'll see the inventor of the boots (a horse trainer) explaining 
why the boots work so well.

He also demonstrates how to CORRECTLY put them on your horse.

After watching the videos, if you like what you see, click the 
"ADD TO CART" button and order a set.

If you're anything like me and care about your horse's physical 
well-being, you're gonna like them.

Again, here's the link to check out the boots:

Iconoclast Support Boots â€” Horse Training Videos and DVDs

Okay, that's all for now.

Take care,

Larry Trocha
Larry Trocha Training Stable
Horse Training Videos and DVDs
Horse Training Tack & Equipment | Horse Training Videos and DVDs







24846 N. Tully Rd.
Acampo, CA 95220

This communication is intended for the attention of the person named above, if you are not that person then you have received this in error, or it has been forwarded to you. In either case, please inform the sender by replying to this communication. Should you wish to modify how you receive these communications you may do so by using the Manage Profile link.
Report Abuse | Unsubscribe | Manage Profile
_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------

