Today we are taking a look at a new product that the HorseHealth and LeMieux team have released; the Carbon Mesh Wrap Boots.

Described in their marketing as the “perfect combination of the support of polo bandages with the protection of brushing boots”, these boots are made from 100% perforated 3D mesh, which is both lightweight and breathable; a design that has been specifically used to help keep the tendons cool during work. Now, I wanted to put this to the test.

Memo will sweat up a lot in his current brushing boots, whether I ride for 20 minutes or 2 hours. So, with this in mind, I thought that I would test the carbon mesh boots over the course of a week in several different scenarios so that we can get the best overall review of whether these boots ‘do what they say on the tin’.

First Impressions

As you can see, the boots are designed to flow with the horse’s natural curves. They come in several different colours and if you know me well, you will probably be able to guess that I chose the blue/grey set as everything (bar a few items) that I own seems to be blue! I am not sure why; perhaps I was a smurf in a former life… who knows.

They are smart to look at and also have a slight shine to them when in direct sunlight, which I thought was a nice touch.

TEST 1:

30 minutes of light schoolwork

This involved walk, trot, and canter work, but nothing too strenuous - ‘a quick work out’ so to speak. I was very impressed with the boots. Although I had not done any work to get him too sweaty, he was warm all over but his legs, where the boots had been, had been kept cool throughout.

10/10 for the first test.

TEST 2:

40 minutes of canter work in the fields

Lots of hill work on this day in our back fields in the sunshine. He did get quite hot during this work and was sweaty on his girth area and neck. His legs, however, were still cool and had no signs of sweat whatsoever.

Again 10/10 for the second test.

TEST 3:

1hr30 minute hack

This involved both walk and trot work around our local hacking loop; there are several hills involved in this hack so I thought that this would be a good last test for the boots that, so far, had exceeded my expectations. It was a hot day and Memo had sweated up around his saddle area, girth area, and neck during the hack. Today, he did have some sweat on his legs where the boots had been but not directly on his tendons like he usually would with other boots.

They were warm to touch but not hot, so I would say 7/10 for the boots performance on this last test. They did keep the heat down and had let his legs ventilate more than other boots that I have tested but he did still get quite warm during the ride.

I have included images of his legs after each test below.

Conclusion

Compared to normal brushing boots, the LeMieux Carbon Mesh Boots do allow the legs to breath, BUT, as I expect you will find with most perforated boots, if you work the horse for long enough, they do still heat up. I have been incredibly impressed with how they have performed in the first two tests and I will be using them for any schooling work that I do in the future as I personally feel that this is where they excelled themselves.

If you are asking me, ‘’But Jess, should I buy a pair?’’ Then my answer would be that I certainly recommend them over any polo bandages or normal brushing boots. However, I would suggest that you would have to make your own decision on whether they are the right boots for you. I was suitably impressed with them from the start and will be continuing to use them on Memo.

Will I be throwing out my old brushing boots and converting to only using these? Not just yet, but they are a good addition to my tack room and as I always say, “never say never”. Obviously, this is my personal opinion after performing the tests that I have stated above, I would be very interested to hear how you get on with the boots and whether you have any further thoughts to add, so do get in touch.

You can get the LeMieux Carbon Mesh Wrap Boots here >

I am Jessica Colvin, a devon based amateur dressage rider, should you want to keep up to date with any other product reviews, blogs and vlogs that I create, keep an eye on our Horsemart Blog page and social media channels.