The Tri-Zone Horse All Sports Boots are the modern-day
breathable brushing boot. The perfect all-around boot for all activities,
including everyday schooling to cross country, jumping, or hacking.
Protection
provided by the All Sports Boots for horses.
The boot design uses a four-layer system. The first layer
provides an inner lining for the horse and sits comfortably against the leg. It
is perforated and cushioned.
Layer two is a strong mesh. This adds another layer of
protection to the sports boots but also stops any debris from making its way
into the boot towards your horse’s leg.
Layer three is the internal guard. This layer is placed
over the vulnerable tendon area and is made with strips of material to allow it
to mold around the horse’s leg. This allows the horse to move freely without
the feeling of a ‘splint’.
Lastly, the outer layer provides a durable, breathable,
and attractive material. We’ve made sure this material is easy to clean and
maintain too!
Testing
of the Tri-Zone All Sports Horse Boots.
Designed to meet the needs of the everyday rider to the
top international competitor, these boots are tested by an independent safety
testing laboratory to check their ability to protect against concussion and
penetration injuries. The boot testing also includes breathability,
flexibility, and weight testing too. In fact, these horse sports boots are so
light they even float on water. See the boot testing tab for more information.
Need
sports boots with maximum protection?
Choosing a boot for your horse usually comes with
compromises. The more you add to a boot, the heavier and less breathable it
becomes. However, if a boot is too lightweight, you may find it isn’t
protective enough. We’ve gone for a happy medium with the All Sports Boots.
They are a step up from brushing boots – essentially breathable brushing boots
with all-around protection. While that protection is suitable for most, you
might decide your horse needs more. If so, take a look at the Tri-Zone Impact
Sports Boots.
Boots
are safety equipment
As riders, we protect our most vital
areas (head and torso) with riding hats, body protectors, and more recently air
jackets. Rider protective equipment is subjected to extensive testing to meet
standards and regulations and we believe that as a vital part of your horse,
protective boots for your horse’s legs should undergo a similar testing
process.
Tri-Zone boots go
through a unique 3-phase testing process giving you
confidence that you are choosing the best leg protection for your horse.
Materials are carefully selected to provide maximum protection but without
being bulky, heavy, and not make your horse’s legs hot and sweaty. Each
individual layer in the Tri-Zone boot is researched and
sourced for its advanced technical properties and tested in an independent
laboratory before it goes anywhere near a horse’s leg.
Testing
Phase 1 – Independent Laboratory
In the same laboratory that tests
standards of riding hats and body protectors, Tri-Zone boots are safety
tested to their limits for their ability to withstand concussion and
penetration whilst remaining lightweight, breathable and flexible.
Protection
For concussion and penetration, 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 is 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.
Heat
& Breathability
We test our boots to measure how well the boots
allow heat to escape in order to reduce the risk of tissue
damage.
Research has shown that when tendon cells are heated to
48°C for 10 minutes approx, 80% of them die. We use several different methods
to assess heat release from boots. The heat release is estimated by fitting the
boots to a metal flask containing water at 45°C in a room at 20°C with no
significant radiation. The surface temperature of the boots is measured using a
thermal camera. We tested Tri-Zone boots, along with a number of
other boots on the market.
From this, it was clear that some boots were very
effective insulators and kept the heat in so the outside of the boot appeared
cold. Other boots appeared much hotter on the surface, showing that they were
allowing heat to escape.
Heat release was then estimated by measuring the rate at
which the temperature of the water in the flask dropped whilst 20°C air was
being blown over the boot (via a fan). This was done to simulate the movement
of air over the boot and leg as would occur during exercise.
Flexibility
If boots are constructed of inflexible (i.e. stiff)
material or if boots are applied too tightly, they have the potential to
restrict joint movement and cause other problems such as tendonitis. Stride
characteristics and performance could also be affected. Boots need to allow as
much freedom of movement as possible without compromising on their primary
function of protection. We test our boots to make sure that they do not
restrict the horse’s movement whilst still exceeding protection
requirements. An 8cm x 1m steel pipe is set up secured to a workbench. The
boots are fixed to the pipe and a 10kg weight is attached with a clip on the
boot and the downward direction measured. The degree of flexibility is measured
by how much the boot bends.
Weight
Adding even small amounts of weight to
the end of the leg in the form of a boot significantly increases the effort the
horse must make to run and can also alter the stride characteristics. Some
boots can double in weight if the horse is being exercised in the rain, on wet
ground, or going through water. This can seriously affect stamina and
performance. We design and test our boots to minimize water absorption, excess
weight but without compromising on protection.
Testing
Phase 2 – Tester Panel
The boots then undergo trials by an extensive
tester panel of horse owners and riders who test them for fit,
comfort, ease of use, and washing to ensure we have not only a safe
product but one that people can easily use and trust.
Testing
Phase 3 – Rider Tests
Finally, the boots go through the rigorous test of being used
all day, every day on busy competition yards by teams of professional
riders. Tri-Zone boots are worn either at home or at competitions
by an array of Olympic riders, world champions, and top producers.