It has always amazed me that Thoroughbreds have horses worth millions of dollars and yet do not get the protection of a $1500 barrel horse. Even some standardbreds give protection and don't get slowed down. Some people claim it isn't traditional or that it will slow a horse down. I maintain that if 16 ounces is going to slow a horse down that much then as an industry we need to step back as many horses carried much more than today.
Big Brown has been retired due to grabbing a quarter - an injury that is painful but not fatal. Overstepping can cause it. While it's true that some horses will get hurt no matter what - it seems with a horse at that level bell boots would be a good precaution. They are put on barrel horses and jumpers for protection at speed. It's not unheard of for Thoroughbreds to nick a tendon There are tendon wraps and other thing to protect the front legs. It won't make a difference in cases of breaks or freak accidents such as Eight Bells or DancingInMyDreams. But we know it prevents many injuries in reining, cross country and barrel horses.
We know that some people ship in bell boots and wraps in case a horse steps on himself. We know some horses have to learn to accept them and we know that cases like Big Brown's might have been prevented. If he'd had a $15 pair of bell boots on would it have prevented the seriousness of the injury? We'll never know.
Keywords: bell boots, injury, legs, Thoroughbreds
