BR XO2 Tendon Boots

Hook the straps until you can get a finger in flat underneath. Because the fastening works with hooks and eyes rather than hook-and-loop, you set it exactly the same every time: remember which eye your horse sits well on and use the same position left and right. Ride for ten minutes and then feel whether the boot has not turned. Rinse the boots under the tap after riding and let them dry at room temperature; the tumble dryer and a warm radiator distort the shell. Keep the lining free of sand, because dried sand under the lining is the most common cause of rub marks. Machine washing is allowed up to 30 °C, in a wash bag and with a mild detergent.

This boot suits anyone who trains and jumps a lot and is sensitive to weight and to heat under the shell. If you want exactly the same model but in the fashion colours of the CLX range, take the BR CLX XO2 Tendon Boots; the build is identical, only the colours differ. If you mainly ride for pleasure and want plenty of colour choice, the BR Tendon Boots Event with hook-and-loop fastening are simpler and quicker to put on. If you want to get the boots on and off in one movement with gloves on, choose the BR Tendon Boots Ultimo. And if you also have smaller horses in the yard, you end up with the BR Xcellence Tendon Boots: those run down to the smallest sizes.

Lay the boot around the front leg with the shell over the tendon and the thickening behind the fetlock. Hook the straps from bottom to top, on the same position left and right, until you can get a finger in flat underneath. After a few minutes of riding, check that nothing has turned. Rinse them under the tap after use. Machine wash up to 30 °C in a wash bag with a mild detergent, not in the tumble dryer.

What is the Air Liner?

That is the name BR gives to the lining of the XO2: a thermally shaped lining with air chambers in the material. On a knock, the air is forced out of those chambers through the lining and the ventilation holes.

What does BR mean by Form-Follows-Function?

That the shell covers the leg only where BR thinks a shell is needed: thicker behind and beside the fetlock, material left out where BR judges it unnecessary. That is also why the boot comes out lighter.

How does this model differ from the BR CLX XO2?

Not in the construction. The CLX XO2 is the same boot, finished in the colours of BR's CLX range. So choose on colour.

How do they fasten?

With lightly elastic straps with a hook-and-eye fastening, not with hook-and-loop. How many fastenings there are per boot, BR does not state.

May I use them at a competition?

BR itself says nothing about that. For international showjumping competitions there is no requirement today for the shape of front boots; there is the limit of 500 grams for everything on one leg together, and BR states no weight in grams. In the international dressage competition arena, boots are not permitted and must come off before the space around the arena. For national competitions, the rules of your own federation apply.

Does the leg stay cooler under these than under an ordinary boot?

BR gives no figure for that. What is certain: the ventilation holes and the breathable lining let heat and moisture out. A hard closed shell still holds more heat than an open bandage.

Are they machine washable?

Yes, up to 30 °C in a wash bag with a mild detergent. Not in the tumble dryer; let them dry at room temperature. After riding you can simply rinse them under the tap.

Do they fit behind as well?

No. This is a tendon boot for the front leg. For the hind legs you need fetlock boots, which have a different shape.

• Tendon boot for the front legs, model XO2 from BR.
• Ventilated plastic shell from its own mould, thickened behind and beside the fetlock.
• Air Liner: thermally shaped lining with air chambers.
• According to BR, around ten per cent lighter than an average tendon boot.
• Lightly elastic straps with a hook-and-eye fastening instead of hook-and-loop.
• Sizes Cob and Full; five colours in our range.
• Machine washable up to 30 °C in a wash bag, not in the tumble dryer.
• Not permitted in the international dressage competition arena.