How Do They Fit? Hock Boots

Buying garments online can be tricky – Does the product run big or small? How big is the model? If the product is adjustable, how adjustable? If the product is sized, does it run small or large?  These questions can have even the most determined shopper second guessing their order!

As an avid equestrian and online shopper, I understand these challenges first hand.  It’s hard enough to buy human garments that fit, so trying to gauge whether or not a certain product is going to fit your horse or dog can feel like an impossible decision.  As product manager, part of my job is to answer any and all questions our customers have about sizing.  I am always happy to talk you through the ordering process and give you my best recommendation based off a working knowledge of the products as well as a lifetime of equine experience.

But there are times when you don’t want to talk to me. It’s ok, I understand – sometimes you just need to get the order in and don’t have time to chat or you’re ordering after our office hours. Or maybe you’re just not a talk-on-the-phone type. Either way, I want you to be confident you picked the right product in the right size!

This blog series will be a way for you, the customer, to “pick my brain” and have access to additional product knowledge whenever you need it. Each blog post will focus on a different product. I’ll show you how the product fits through the use of models, give you helpful hints, tips, and tricks so you get the most bang for you buck, and answer the most frequently asked questions.

Happy Shopping!

Becky

 

Intro

Hock boots can be a useful tool for many issues facing horses of all breeds, life stages, disciplines, and levels of work. Most commonly used for healing hock sores and shipping, hock boots can also be used to hold ice packs, lineaments, or wound dressings on the joint. The hock joint is extremely difficult to wrap as it is in almost constantly in motion and many horses will flex the joint even more when the joint is wrapped. Comfort and secure fit are key to the success of hock boot usage.

Draper Therapies Hock Boots® offer all the therapeutic benefits of Celliant® in addition to helping with all the other issues a regular hock boot would. What does this mean? Put simply, when you use hock boots with Celliant®, it’s like giving your horse an extra advantage.

Example: You put hock boots on your horse while trailering so he doesn’t bang his hocks. If you use hock boots with Celliant®, you horse’s hocks are not only protected from bumps and scrapes but also having increased circulation. This means that he will probably come off the trailer less stiff in his hocks with no bumps or scrapes (versus with regular hock boots all you did was prevent bumps and scrapes).

Example: Your horse has hock sores and you are trying to heal them using hock boots. Regular hock boots would stop the abrasion or rubbing between you horse’s hocks and whatever she’s getting the rubs from (stall mats, hard ground, etc).  Hock boots with Celliant® will not only stop the abrasion, but the increased circulation will help heal the sores faster than hock boots without Celliant®.

Example: Your horse is in heavy work and you want to make sure his joints, especially his hocks, are recovering from each workout as best they can. Regular hock boots may provide compression or ice therapy. Hock boots with Celliant® can be used in conjunction with compression sleeves or ice therapy as well as on their own to help alleviate stiffness and swelling in the joint by encouraging increased circulation to the hock.

How will they fit my horse?

To show you exactly how the hock boot fits, I chose two horses with very different body types.

“My horse is short and round” – Luna, 15.2h Appendix Quarter Horse Mare 

“My horse is a warmblood”- Calando, 18h Holsteiner Gelding

 

 

How should I use the hock boots?

We recommend that out hock boots be used when the horse is under supervision in its stall. This ensures that the horse isn’t moving in excess (i.e running, jumping, walking around, kicking, chewing or otherwise trying to remove the hock boots).

BECKY’S BEST PRACTICE TIP: If you are going to leave the hock boots on overnight, while the horse is unsupervised, or fear that they may slip down you horse’s leg, put a Recovery Wrap, standing wrap, or quick wrap on the leg below the hock boot (See picture below). This will prevent it from sliding down or off if you horse walks around, rolls, or kicks in his stall when you are not there. The same technique can be applied for trailer rides.

How do I clean the hock boots?

As with most of our products, the hock boots are machine washer and dryer safe – an important feature if you are applying lineaments or medicine to hock sores!

Are the hock boots safe to use in both hot and cold weather?

Yes! Draper Therapies Hock Boots® can be used year-round. Celliant® helps increase circulation which helps regulate body temperature – this means that it is encouraging blood from your horse’s core to circulate through the part of the body wearing Celliant. This means that is the area is cold, blood from the rest of the body will circulate through making the area as warm as the rest of the body. Conversely, if an area is hot or even swollen, Celliant will encourage blood to circulate to that area which will help cool it down to the temperature that the rest of the body is at.

BECKY’S BEST PRACTICE TIP: I have sometimes used my hock boots as ice wraps for my horse’s hocks after strenuous exercise. I simply take soft ice packs (wrapped in a towel so it’s not too cold), put them inside the hock boot (between the fuzzy gray material and the horse’s leg), then put the hock boot on my horse. I do this while he is standing on cross ties and under supervision for about 10-15 minutes post workout. The hock boots keep the ice packs in place which makes me horse happy (his hocks feel great) and me happy (firstly that my horse feels great and secondly that I didn’t spend hundreds of dollars on cold therapy leg wraps/boots!). I do not recommend using this technique on a horse that doesn’t like wearing things (like wraps or hock boots) on its hind legs, on a horse that moves around a lot or is unsupervised.

Draper Therapies Hock Boots are a great product to have in your barn – they are versatile and can be used as part of a regular maintenance plan or to when injury or hock sores occur. Their ability to increase circulation makes them more effective than the average hock boot and their durable and easy to clean design makes them a must have for all horse owners!