As in without sport boots for your horses! Got your attention though huh??! Lol! 

I've seen a few studies floating around Facebook or experiments by individuals showing just how much boots heat up a leg and hold heat and apparently polos are even worse.. I wouldn't have ever thought that.  Even the new cooling boots heat up the legs. I'll admit I've used both polos and boots extensively almost every ride.. I think it's just more of a habit and believing I'm truly benefitting my horses comfort and protection but I'm starting to rethink this.  I have just about every make of sport boot there is and more polo wraps than 1 person should.  I know people say to only put them on a few minutes before a run and then take them off immediately after. I'm just starting to wonder if they are even worth using for "support " is there proof that they actually support the vital tendons and truly benefit the horse.. I get we are running and turning and they need "support" but does the thin piece of lycra or neoprene with velcro really offer that? 

I read the same information you did and quit using boots 2 years ago.  I still use bells.  My horse does not hit herself so I decided the benefits outweighed the risks. 

I'm not really sure that they offer much support either however I do think they will help if the horse hits themself.  I only put mine on right before a run and take them off quickly after the run, but I do it for more reasons then the heat.  I think that is the que to my horse that it is time to get serious and get the game face on.  With that said they do create a lot of heat. I've never understood why anyone would want to put them on as soon as they get there and saddle up.  I see horses tied to the trailer for hours on end all booted up, I just don't get it!

That's what I'm thinking of doing, just running in bells. Although my farrier told me if my horse hits himself or overreaches there's something he didn't do correctly as his shoer. I don't believe the bells would be detrimental though or a risk/reward scenario, I'd rather have them on just in case.  My horse has only overreached two times in the 7 years I've had him. Both times were a different farrier.  With my current shoer he has not done it. I'm just sitting here thinking of my impressive extensive boot and polo wrap collection.  

Yes, I've seen it too. All booted up and tied up.. especially at ropings. I never really thought much on it up until recently. I take the boots off right after I run too.. that's usually my horses cue that it's over and going back to the trailer. I'm just really starting to think I don't need them at all. 

Around here it is the last thing on and the first thing off. They do not provide any kind of support. They are designed to prevent problems from the horse striking a leg with a foot. Will continue to use them 

I had a mare who flippered when she was heading into the arena. I used boots on her because I thought that was the thing to do. But when she ran she didn't wing or flipper and I started reading how much heat the boots created and opted for bells only. This was in 2010, so the idea of how the boots don't offer support and do heat the legs is not new. It sure is a lot easier without the boots - I never met a pair that was easy on and off! 

I totally get what you are saying about protecting the leg from a blow but my kid just made a great point while we were just sitting here talking about this. I have a pair of CE boots right here and she asked if this thin piece of fabric would really lighten a blow from a horse hitting himself mid run? It doesn't seem very likely that it would. But who knows. I'm not going to lie, it seems very foreign to me to NOT to use a boot period.. I use them daily. We recently went on a pretty long trail ride in some rough country. Thru water etc. When we unloaded the horses and tacked up just by habit i went to put boots and bells on. My husband stopped me. I left the bell boots on and pretty quickly felt kinda silly when I realized I was the only one in the group that had them on. I ended up removing them before we got to the creek to cross. My horse lived another day without boots or bells. We were gone for hours out there. Running up hills and all over the place. Lots of different terrain.  Running barrels was a piece of cake compared to that day. 

I feel pretty strongly that you folks are way over thinking this. 

put them on before you run, take them offf right after. 

No way the few minutes of heat will have any adverse affects. 

Over reaching or hitting will. 

Leather splint boots with bell boots. 

ok   its been 21 years  but  i had several that buried their butts turning mr kass man he  i used back boots on him plus a maxi pad in them he would burn

the hair off if i  did not   but   last thing on first off plus i brushd their legs down. if  i had the time i was wash them down  but. i was more concerned  about  burn the ankles and hocks

They used to be called rundowns and were used on very dandy tracks to keep from burning the fetlocks of horses thecwould really extend. A lot of the girls who exercised horses started using them on their barrel horses for the same reason. 

From a physiological stand point, do you not want your horses joints, tendons, ligaments warm before and during a run?

Good question. It would seem that heat or warmth isn't a good thing. Because we have ice boots, cooling poultices, cold hosing .. to name a few. I would be really curious if there was a thermal imaging done on a  horses bare leg that did the same 20 minutes of work as the horse with the boots or wraps on to compare. 

Tendons should be warm yes, not hot. You can adequately warm them up without a boot or wrap, properly warming the horse up does this. So like walking and trotting before you run. You don't want to make a run on cold tendons, thats how injury happens. Its essentially the same as warming up a muscle before high exertion. 

I don't ride in boots at home unless I'm doing a maneuver where I think they might knock a leg into another. Or have a horse that sucks at foot placement and gets hung up a lot. If I'm going to work barrels at more than a trot I will do boots. But its never a support thing, its just an in case they crash one leg into the other thing. I've seen some get nasty injuries bc the rim shoe of another foot got tangled up with another leg. I've seen one fall in shifty ground and by the time they had gotten up from their scramble, a tendon on a front leg was exposed. No boots. 

My thoughts exactly.  When I am just riding I only put on bell boots but if I am at a race I but the front boots on about 2 drags before mine and take them off directly after my run while still in the holding pen.