shock absorption properties but its main benefit is that it is lightweight and waterproof. It is commonly used foam, as it is price sensitive and can be perforated with holes to become breathable. It should not be used in direct contact with the skin as it rubs.
NEOPRENE:
Thomas Tuytens, MD and owner of Kentucky Horsewear in action
WHAT’S IN A FABRIC?
Ever wondered why certain fabrics are used in our horse’s gear? Whether its rugs or protective boots, how exactly does the fabric and materials used help the product perform?
Thomas Tuytens, MD and owner of Kentucky Horsewear, the technical horse boot brand has a wealth of understanding and knowledge in the field of fabrics courtesy of Thomas’ input: An experienced horseman and event rider, Thomas Tuytens studied marketing in Breda in Holland, before moving to China at the age of 23 where he opened the Shanghai office of Concordia Textiles, his Belgium based family business specialized in manufacturing technical fabrics such as Cordura and Kevlar for Military, Medical and work wear applications. In 2007 he also opened the new production plant in Suzhou (China) for Concordia Textiles. Concordia Textiles group now has an 80€ million turnover.
In this feature Thomas takes us through the fabric label and helps you understand the difference between your EVA from your Memory foam!
Kentucky Horsewear incoporates many intelligent materials into our protective
boots, but firstly you must look at the injury risk when
Foamed Neoprene is a soft and flexible material used in horse boots. It is usually laminated with a knitted fabric to protect the skin of the horse. It is softer than EVA but does not offer the same shock absorbing properties When you buy horse boots made out of neoprene check to see if there are lots of small holes throughout the neoprene, as this indicates that the neoprene is breathable and ensures that your horses legs will not sweat or sweat less and not heat up!!! The Kentucky eventing boots, dressage boots and the recently launched new showjumping boots are feature breathable neoprene.
it comes to your horses’ boots :
Over-reaching: This injury can occur when a horses hind legs knock into its front legs. Bruises or lacerations can be caused if no blunt impact protection is in place.
Clumsiness: Similarly, horses left and right legs can occasionally cross and again bruising or laceration can occur.
Splint: A splint (micro fracture) can occur when a horse makes contact with a fence/obstacle/leg. This can lead to the horse becoming lame.
With this in mind, what materials should we look out for when it comes to shock absorbing materials in boots?
EVA:
ETHYLENE VINYL ACETATE (EVA) has some
MEMORY FOAM:
There are various memory foams on the market, but their common characteristic is that they hold their ‘molded’ shape very well. However, although light and comfortable, low-density memory foams offer little by way of impact protection, a consideration if the situation for use involves this possibility.
POLYURETHANE GEL:
Polyurethane gels are soft and comfortable materials, which offer a level of impact protection. Gels of this type are typically heavier than the foams previously mentioned, so whilst effective they are have a weight issue attached.
CARBON FIBRE:
Carbon fiber offers strong impact resistance due to
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the materials high tensile strength, however it does not absorb energy well so the force transmitted to the horse’s leg during an impact is still high. Carbon fiber also shatters when impacted, so it can cause sharp shards that might injure the horse.
D3O:
D3O is a new generation material, which Kentucky Horsewear are championing due to its high shock absorbing properties. In standard conditions, the molecules flow freely allowing the material to remain soft and flexible, but on impact, they lock together to absorb the impact energy and reduce the force transmitted to the horse. The material is also ‘strain-rate sensitive’ which means the stronger the impact, the more the molecules lock.
When it comes to fabrics, there are a handful of them, which crop up regularly but what’s the difference?
POLYESTER
is a commonly used fabric, which is a synthetically produced fiber and the number one manmade fiber used in fabrics, worldwide. The properties of polyester fabrics are: superior strength, lightweight and hydrophobic. Polyester is also used in a lot of horse rugs, as it’s cheaper than Nylon.
NYLON
also called Polyamide is a synthetically produced fiber, which again we see used commonly in a lot for horse rugs and for horse boots, because it has strong fibers, which are lightweight. Nylon can also be dyed in almost any color and generally has a slight sheen in appearance. It is difficult to tear or damage, lasts a long time, and often can be machine-washed and dried.
SO WHAT IS THE
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN NYLON & POLYESTER?
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