Boot Testing

INTRODUCTION
In the absence of any approved standards for manufacturers designing and producing equine boots, we carry out our own rigorous ...

CONCUSSION AND PENETRATION
Our boots are tested for their ability to protect against concussive forces which can cause bruising and penetration which can ...

BREATHABILITY AND HEAT REDUCTION
Research has shown that when tendon cells are heated to 48°C for 10 minutes approx, 80% of them die. ...

FLEXIBILITY
If boots are constructed of inflexible (i.e. stiff) material or if boots are applied too tightly, they have the potential ...

WEIGHT
Adding even small amounts of weight to the end of the leg in the form of a boot significantly increases ...

CONCUSSION AND PENETRATION

Our boots are tested for their ability to protect against concussive forces which can cause bruising and penetration which can cause cuts to the leg.

The testing is carried out using a custom made test rig consisting of a tower from which either a blunt hammer or a cutting blade is dropped onto the boots in a controlled fashion. The weight of the blade and hammer are fixed and different forces are applied to the boots by varying the height from which they were dropped onto the boots.

Boots were hit with forces ranging from 1.25 to 20 Joules. These forces were chosen as being those likely to occur in the horse during exercise, for example when hitting obstacles or over-reaching.

Here we used a carrot at 5 joules to replicate the soft tissue in a horses leg hitting an obstacle.

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