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As you know, loading is not necessarily anybody’s favourite task. Once on the trailer, the journey is hardly a problem but the actual loading can sometimes be pretty tricky especially when trying to load your horse safely and efficiently. Because we are on the road every now and then, I have been thinking for some time about the leg protection I should be using in the trailer. Basically, there are several opinions: Some prefer to drive without protection, others with normal boots or bandages and many just use the specially provided safety features.
Part of me believes that it is justifiable without protection because the animals do try and stay upright to avoid injury by themselves. The other part of me would like to literally wrap my whole horse in cotton wool so that it is well protected. However, everyone should decide for themselves how they would like to handle their horse during transport depending on its specific needs. I have chosen the use of Premier Equine Airtechnology Knee Pro-Tech Horse Travel Boots.
I've always looked at which models there are on the market and more often than not, the travel boots are only offered in pony or warmblood. When looking in the shops or on trade stands at shows, I thought that some would be too big and the others too small. So far, I have simply found none of them appealing. Last year we opted for flexible neoprene boots, which are not quite as high but have cushioning. However, I have always had in mind that I wanted to have a better travel boot.
While browsing the Premier Equine catalogue, I discovered a model that caught my eye: the "Knee Pro-Teque Air Technology Horse Travel Boots". After reading the product description the different sizes they offer caught my eye. The travel boots are available in 3 sizes: small, medium and large. That sounded very promising, as I did not have to compromise between pony and warmblood in the size choice, but could simply choose them in "M". With Amy being 14.3 hh, she often needs a medium size, something I sometimes struggle to find.
Visually, the travel boots look really great, modern, sturdy and chic. For the first time I saw travel boots with extra knee protection, I didn’t even know anything like that existed yet so I was really impressed.
The knee pads make perfect sense, should the horse and fall on its knees, there is something there to soften the fall but still enough room for the knee to bend so it doesn’t restrict the horse. The boots also have the advantage of letting air through and keeping the horse's legs cool at all times due to the specialist materials Premier Equine have used.
The padding is thick but has air holes and is covered with a durable material. It is also possible to wash the leggings at 30 degrees if they become dirty after repeated use. I have not tested this process yet, as there is a general horse product washing ban in our home. So to clean, I simply brush off the coarse dirt or spray the boots with a water hose. Whether after wearing or cleaning, the Knee Pro-Teque Airtechnology Travel Boots dry really well and quickly.
The quality is very high, as usual. The craftsmanship is top and the material is very high quality. The boots can be easily attached to the horse's leg by the large Velcro fasteners. The inside is made of a very soft and comfortable material and fits great on the horse's leg.
When I put them on her on for the first time, I had to laugh a lot because Amy’s first steps in her new boots were so fun as she was not used to them. If horses do not know travel boots well, they must take a bit of time to get used to them. Since the boots go over the knees, it is initially unusual for the horses as it feels strange on their leg.
The Knee Pro-Teque Airtechnology Travel Boots are also available in 3 colours: brown, black and navy. At the moment I'm a total fan of navy, so we decided on the blue boots. These also fit the colour of our trailer which has a navy roof. Sounds stupid, but I think it's nice when things are colour coordinated.
The Knee Pro-Teque Airtechnology Travel Boots are delivered in a portable case, so they can be easily transported and stored. Since our locker in quite chaotic the bag helps to keep all 4 leggings together very easily.
We hope the loading for us will soon be no problem and the Knee Pro-Teque Airtechnology Travel Boots have helped us travel safer. It gives the rider a secure feeling when you know that the horse is well protected in the trailer whilst travelling.
Katja (@zauberponyamy) – Instagram
