How to Make Trotting Boots

Trotting boots are used on harness racing horses to protect the inside surface of the animal's legs below the knee. Because race horses move rapidly with long, powerful strides, some are prone to clipping one leg with another, which can lead to significant injury. Trotting boots help prevent and lessen the severity of these injuries. Trotting boots are similar to brushing boots that are often used in other competitive equestrian sports. If you have a horse that needs to wear trotting boots but you can't purchase a pair easily, it is possible to make a pair to use temporarily.

Things You'll Need

  • Neoprene
  • Sewing machine
  • Scissors
  • Measuring tape
  • Hook and loop fastener
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Instructions

    • 1

      Measure the inside of the horse's leg from the underside of the knee joint, just below where the knee bends, to the bottom of the fetlock joint. Take a measurement around the widest part of the horse's fetlock joint.

    • 2

      Cut two rectangular pieces of neoprene with the dimensions that you got from the horse's leg. If you do not have any neoprene material, look for a cheap exercise or yoga mat and cut the neoprene sections out of it. The neoprene should be between 1/8 inch and 1/4 inch thick.

    • 3

      Cut two more strips of neoprene in the shape of a spoon with a round portion at the bottom that is approximately three inches at its widest and a narrower handle shaped-strip that is approximately two inches wide. Use the height measurement from the horse's leg.

    • 4

      Place the spoon-shaped strip onto the the rectangle. Line it up by centering it between the short ends of the rectangle. The bottom and top points of the spoon should line up with the bottom and top of the long sides of the rectangle. Sew the spoon-shaped strip to the rectangular. Repeat with the remaining two pieces of neoprene.

    • 5

      Sew on hook and loop fastening material to the outside edges of the boots so that when the lower portion of the spoon shaped neoprene is sitting against the inside of the horse's fetlock joint, the fastener wraps around and secures the boot from front to back around the horse's leg. Use three strips of hook and loop on each boot, starting one inch from the top, and moving downward so that each third of the boot can be securely wrapped around the leg.