First Impressions: Premier Equine Air-Teque Sports Medicine Boots
Before I begin, I'd like to apologise for the lateness of this blog post! Going back to work a little unexpectedly has completely thrown me and I felt like I needed a little time to get my head together.
But let's get started. A few of you may remember my Instagram story from about a week ago. I was chatting (for the first time ever! Thank you Rhea Freeman for your encouragement) about the new schooling wraps I had recently purchased for Lady. Now, Lady is a big girl. Not necessarily tall but she is a cob. Her legs are deceptive, they might look skinny but I'll be damned if I can find any boots that fit her comfortably! On one of my mad 2am post Baby feeding shopping spree's, I purchased her some Premier Equine Air-Teque Sports boots. They are a wrap style boot so I was hopeful that they'd have a bit more range of size than a standard pair of boots. I purchased them from the end of line section of the Premier Equine website, in a size Extra Large. Now, every horse needs a different level of leg protection, taking into account the type of work they're doing. For example, I would never jump cross country in open front tendon boots but at the same time, if I'm riding a horse on the flat who is careful with their legs, I don't tend to put boots on at all. Lady has a habit of catching her front legs if she's not travelling forward with purpose so some kind of protection is sensible especially if we're going for a relaxed hack. However, she is a very sensitive skinned horse who becomes very itchy when irritated. Any boot that causes her to sweat a lot, means she will itch her legs all night and get herself in an absolute state. The thing that drew me to these Premier Equine boots was their description. Made from a specialist ventilated neoprene, they are designed to be highly breathable therefore *hopefully* minimising the chances of any overheating. So first things first, let's see how they fit. I wasn't hopeful about my new purchase when I walked into Lady's stable and she decided to spook at me opening the Velcro on them. Great start! However, once I'd actually put the boots on her, I was pleasantly surprised. The fit was perfect with lots of room to spare. The length was great as well, they looked incredibly long in the packaging but they are designed to go around the fetlock too, so once on they were just right.
As Lady is still slowly coming back into work, we haven't tested these boots during high intensity work yet. But I'm sure I'll be able to update you all on how they cope! For now, I'd give them 10/10! The fit is perfect for my huge legged cob, and they leave no marks on her. They also haven't caused any sweating yet but as I said, we haven't tested them out fully. I also think they're really smart to look at and look lovely on. Much as I love matchy-matchy sets, sometimes it's nice to forgo the bandages (and the time it takes me to put them on) and just stick a quick pair of boots on. It's an added bonus that I know just how much protection these boots will give! If you want to purchase these to try them out yourself, I have left a link below. I purchased the 2016 version and there are still a few pairs left on the website if you type them into the search bar. Currently they're going for £9.99 per pair so if you love a bargain you should definitely check them out. If you'd like to buy their newer version of the boot, they're currently on the website for £34.99 which I think is a very reasonable price. I used the Premier Equine sizing guide to help me choose which size to buy but for anyone with thick legged horses, Lady wears an extra large and her legs have a cannon bone circumference of 10.5 inches. I'll keep you updated on how we get along with these boots after we've been trying them out for a little longer, but for now they're looking good! I will also get some better pictures of the fit for anyone out there who struggle to find a well fitting boot. Until next time x
