# When trailering, do you wrap or use shipping boots or au natural?



## waresbear

I used to, because everyone else did. A pain in the butt. I stopped when I noticed professional haulers don't use them and said there was no need for them.


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## Duren

I use the quick wrap kind. just a few velcro straps. Easy on, easy off. Ill see if I can find an example.


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## CLaPorte432

For a short trip, I wouldn't waste the time wrapping legs. But...If she is getting nicks in her legs while hauling then I probably would.


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## COWCHICK77

I have never had a horse cut himself up in the trailer(knock on wood)...nor have I ever had a problem with stocking up. So I have never had a need for them.


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## With Grace

Ok, yeah my biggest concern was that she didn't trailer before I started leasing her, and her first trip out she got some nicks on her hind legs. The boots I got are the quick padded velcro kind.


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## equiniphile

I used to wrap every time without fail, but realized that they really don't do much. Now I wrap for trailering primarily to keep their legs clean while we're trucking through spring mud to the trailer, and for peace of mind. I use these boots, just simple velcro ones:


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## waresbear

^^^^^whenever I used those velco quickies ones, they slipped & the horse ended up stepping on them. Maybe they've improved since then?


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## equiniphile

I do mine tighter than most people, but not tight enough to cause problems. I also think bell boots help, for whatever reason, in keeping them up.


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## BarrelRacingLvr

Yes I ALWAYS wrap legs, but that is how I was raised....take care of your horses legs because without legs you don't have a horse. I don't care if it takes more time for me to wrap then to where we are going I want to have my horses legs wrapped and protected. Some people say it is a waste of time...I would rather take the time needed to keep my horse sound, healthy and happy.


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## loveduffy

I wrap it depends on the horse some with out some with If the horse is quiet on the trailer then no wrap needed-also some do not like wraps on at all


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## Darrin

Never have wrapped my horses legs and have never regretted it either. I also don't know anyone that has ever had anything more then a nick and darn few of those.


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## tlkng1

I am terminally paranoid no matter how well the horse trailers/trailered. While I only recently went with shipping boots, I used to be a wrapper..I didn't care if we were going 20 miles away or 2; the horse never entered a trailer without leg and hoof protection though admittedly, I did cheat after a bit...I would wrap the leg and use bell boots all around to protect the coronet and hoof.

I do have to admit, I love these shipping boots just for the convenience.


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## wild_spot

I don't wrap or boot. The only injury we have ever had in 10+ years of regular (Like every weekend) hauling was when one horse kicked the other, and that was a superficial cut. 

We have a camera and I feel this is a much better way to safeguard my horses. If something happens, we immediately know and can remedy it. When the horse started kicking, we pulled over right away and wrapped just those legs.

Wrapping on some horses can make them travel worse - Wrapping in hot weather (When we do most of our travelling) keeps heat in the legs. A wrap can come undone and tangle around legs, a boot can slip down under the hoof.


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## DuffyDuck

ALWAYS boot, without fail.

I've never had them slip, and think its well worth it- just in case. A friend bought me some for a present.. in champagne.. WORST colour choice ever haha!


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## Saddlebag

My horse is trailered loose in a stock trailer and is content to travel backwards. Never been a need for leg protection as he's quiet in the trailer.


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## Jumper12

i put splint boots on my horse for short hauls because she has scratched her self up good before, she also wears bellboots on her fronts. ive had her hauled far before and not wrapped her bc the pro haulers dont suggest it for that long of a distance(ex: 3+ days when ive moved), it does more harm then good with the risks of wrapping for that amount of time and slipping, etc.


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## crimsonsky

i have both shipping boots and no-bows/standing wraps. honestly, i have no idea why i have the shipping boots because only the front legs fit by big gelding - the backs are too small by a good margin. however, the entire set is too big for either of my other two (maybe the "baby" will grow into them one day?). :/


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## Corporal

Lovely wrapping job, BarrelRacingLvr! I got spooked when we didn't wrap some 28 years ago, and my friend's mare, who wasn't unhooked, reloaded herself and caught the front of her cannon bone on the metal below the step up, pulling the skin away about 12 " long. This happened at the Vet's clinic, where we were all going to get yearly vaccinations, so she was well attended to. Shipping boots or regular wraps w/quilts are very cheap compared to the damage done to your horse, who may never recover from such an injury. After ALL OF THE HOURS I spend training my horses, I believe it's worth the time spent wrapping. I Always wrap my shipping boots very tight. I use boots for short hauls, like the one hour to the farrier, and I wrap with quilts and polos for the long hauls. It's the long hauls that make shipping boots sag down.
There is an added plus--your horse is already trained to splint boots, and the like, if he/she is always wrapped for shipping. Do as you wish, but I will always wrap mine.


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## karebear444

My mare sometimes gets ancy in the trailer so I always wrap. Yes it takes time, but I want to protect those precious legs.


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## GrittyCowgirl

I always use shipping boots no matter how short the drive. I learned my lesson a few years ago about not wrapping or protecting their legs. All it takes is one bad driver on the road, one person to cut you off in traffic that causes your horses to step on themselves trying to keep their balance. I ended up with a hurt horse, huge vet bill and having to miss several shows because of it.


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## JSMidnight

I always wrap my horse's legs because even if its a short trip, there are a lot of idiots out there in cars and you never know what could happen. Better safe than sorry.


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## Cowgirl140ty

I never wrap. I haul 2-3 times a week normally. These trips are short, anywhere from 5 mins to an hour. And quite a few times a year, I have competitions furtger away. Some being 5 hours away. And i have never had a problem. Even when hauling in a packed stock trailer with no dividers.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## wetrain17

I always use shipping boots, no matter the distance. why risk it? The dover line of shipping boots never slip down the horse's leg.


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## MaryBeth

*travel boots*

I always wrap my horses legs with travel bandage, first the cotton wrap (the ones that look and are very much like diaper pads you put down under the baby's bottom) and then the travel bandages. It is a quick wrap with Velcro. This provides protection if they do something silly, and gives a bit of support to the leg, when they are standing in the same spot for a period of time. An ounce of prevention....


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## alexischristina

I don't wrap my current horse- I will probably start when he starts wearing shoes, but until then he is _very_ quiet to haul and I feel like an extra something on his legs would do more harm than it's worth. The horse I was previously leasing, however, would kick up a storm in the trailer AND was wearing shoes, so she got booted. I think it depends on the horse and how they haul.


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## Lockwood

GrittyCowgirl said:


> I always use shipping boots no matter how short the drive. I learned my lesson a few years ago about not wrapping or protecting their legs. All it takes is one bad driver on the road, one person to cut you off in traffic that causes your horses to step on themselves trying to keep their balance. I ended up with a hurt horse, huge vet bill and having to miss several shows because of it.


 
Same here. When I was younger my family never wrapped and on the way to a show my mare lost her balance and raked one barefoot hoof down the inside of the opposite leg. Nasty injury + getting backside chewed out by the vet + lost show time = five extra minutes to boot up or wrap.
Better safe than injured.
Also, having traveled to shows with large stables and the narrow misses on the roadways or the need to slam on the brakes to avoid a dumb driver have happened so many times that without the boots the show horses would have gotten really hurt.
To me the injury potential is just not worth it when boots or wraps aren't really all that hard, time consuming, or expensive.


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## gunslinger

My horse always goes commando.


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## lucky2008

BarrelRacingLvr said:


> Yes I ALWAYS wrap legs, but that is how I was raised....take care of your horses legs because without legs you don't have a horse. I don't care if it takes more time for me to wrap then to where we are going I want to have my horses legs wrapped and protected. Some people say it is a waste of time...I would rather take the time needed to keep my horse sound, healthy and happy.


do you live in Minnesota, I feel like I have seen your horses and trailer...
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## SorrelHorse

I normally wrap, especially for long hauls. I'm not as pick about short hauls but still do most of the time. Mine never slip down, even with this horrible wrapping job with boots a size too big (Desperate times, desperate measures....)


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## ohmyitschelle

I have done both. I personally like wrapping/booting for travelling. Especially on the way to shows as you have obviously spent the money to compete and would like to get your horse there safe and sound so you can! However, I can also see the disadvantages and concerns of booting/wrapping. 
I don't own any boots - only bandages and even though I am confident in my bandaging technique, I've never wrapped. I prefer the velcro boots and have never come into issue over slipping. 

However, all of my horses when I've shifted them from boarding facilities, I've just realised I've never booted them... and none have had injuries either *touches wood*. I think I might change this when I begin showing my mare next year


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## BarrelRacingLvr

lucky2008 said:


> do you live in Minnesota, I feel like I have seen your horses and trailer...
> _Posted via Mobile Device_



No I am from the NW, Washington to be exact


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## Brighteyes

When I'm going to competitions five or ten hours away, I do standing wraps on all four legs and bell boots. My horse is a great traveller and has never hurt herself before. But after a ten hour drive, I don't want to get off the trailer with a horse who's lame from losing her balanced and knocking around in the trailer. Even if that cuts are only surface scratches, they could still screw up a ride weekend when I have to go 35 miles the very next day on an ouchy horse.

When I'm traveling just around the county, I might throw on splint boots and bell boots, but never wrap.


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## VanillaBean

I usually trailer in whatever exercise boots the horse will be wearing, plus bell boots. If I am going to a show, I use shopping boots to keep legs clean.


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## Runninghot88

From reading everyone's post I gathered that it comes down to personal preference and whether your horse is antsy in the trailer or not. Does putting shipping boots hurt the horse in anyway?


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## Linzee

I have had my shipping boots slip before, worst thing that happened was they ripped from where he stepped on them. I have heard too many horror stories from not wrapping (split hooves, lameness and horrible bloody accidents) for me to not do it. 
On a similar note I always use a poll cap (unless it's a pony!) I had a friend with a lovely show mare who somehow reared up in the trailer and had a horrible injury to her poll. Vet was able to save her but horse never trailered the same again. Also I'm convinced her behavior changed. Vet said the injury was very close to causing brain injury.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Bobthebuilder

Boots.. But my mare HATES them. Fortunately we don't travel often, and when we do its short distance.
On this topic, I was thinking about something the other day. From lurking around on the internet, I found that quite a few people prefer SMB boots or the like to bandages- because "apparently" (not my opinion- just what i found  ) they give better support.
Hence, my question is- could you trailer horses in say, SMB boots and bell boots?


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## PaintCowgirl

depends on the horse. some haul better than others. when i use em, i use the quick velcro ones with the support in em. i always use me on my older horses, just for added support, and then on any younger horses that haul "heavy"


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## BarrelRacingLvr

Bobthebuilder said:


> Boots.. But my mare HATES them. Fortunately we don't travel often, and when we do its short distance.
> On this topic, I was thinking about something the other day. From lurking around on the internet, I found that quite a few people prefer SMB boots or the like to bandages- because "apparently" (not my opinion- just what i found  ) they give better support.
> Hence, my question is- could you trailer horses in say, SMB boots and bell boots?



Personally I wouldn't.....it would make your horses legs SUPER hot to haul in Neoprene SMBs.


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## With Grace

Since starting this thread, I have purchased a horse. On our way home from the barn I purchased her from, she had an issue in the trailer. I didnt wrap her legs or boot her, and regret it. She somehow slipped in the trailer, cut up her fetlock, and it has taken three weeks to to get the swelling down and get her back to norm. I will forever wrap those legs in the trailer.


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## BubblesBlue

I only put shipping boots on my horses with injuries on their legs. I don't want them bumping around and causing more strain to the injury so the boots are a must.


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## kitten_Val

With Grace said:


> Do you wrap legs or use shipping boots? why or why not?


I wrap, but not with polo, but with shipping wraps on velcro (so it's fast and easy and very puffy). I also put bell boots on front. I tried shipping boots (several designs and sizes), and my paint kept stepping on and pulling them off. So I gave up.


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