Equilibrium Tri-Zone All Sports Boots
The Equilibrium Tri-Zone All Sport Boots are an excellent boot for everyday use, and competition use. These boots keep your horses’ legs cool, allow them to move freely, don’t hold water, and are very lightweight. These boots offer all round protection and maximum comfort. These boots are designed with a four-layer system and have been independently tested. These boots are ideal in all scenarios, but they are commonly used for a breathable turnout boot, a lightweight cross country boot with internal tendon protection, hacking or endurance boot that doesn’t hold heat or water, comfortable flatwork boot offering all around protection, and a durable long-lasting every day boot. These boots are made from four layers. The first layer provides an inner lining that sits against the horses’ legs that is made from perforated EVA (Ethylene-Vinyl Acetate) which allows heat to escape and aids breathability while moulding to the horses’ leg. The second layer is a strong nylon mesh that aids in protection and stops any debris from making its way towards the leg. Layer three is an internal guard made from a strong durable, moisture resistant vinyl that is placed over the vulnerable tendon area and made with strips of material to allow it to mould around the leg without the feeling of a splint. Finally, the fourth layer is an easy to clean protective EVA waffle that is commonly found in the soles of human shoes and as padding on sports equipment. Sold as a pair.
Features:
- 4 layer protection
- Lightweight
- Flexible
- Breathable
- Doesn’t hold water
These boots are a happy medium - they provide additional protection to a brushing boot, however if you feel that you need more protection that these boots offer, try the Equilibrium Tri-Zone Impact Sport Boots.
Boot Testing
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 horses legs hot and sweaty. Each individual layer in the Tri-Zone boot is researched and sourced for their 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 test 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 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.
Heat & Breathability
Equilibrium tests their boots to measure how well the boots allow heat to escape 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. Equilibrium used 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. Equilibrium tested Tri-Zone boots, along with several 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.
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. Equilibrium tests their 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 the fit, comfort, ease of use and washing to ensure this is 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.
| Brand | Equilibrium |
|---|
