A serious question - Exercise bandages?!

I was taught to bandage when I first started polo grooming, and we hardly ever use anything other than fleece bandages with nothing underneath for the polo ponies. Usually with tendon boots over the top of the bandages on the front legs. Then tape over that.
More and more people in polo (that I've seen anyway) seem to use the sport boots instead of bandaging now though. Unfortunately it'd seem that a set of sport boots is more expensive than your average set of fleece bandages, and when equipping several teams of ponies I can see why people lean towards the bandages..!

I bandage my own horse occasionally too, using fleece bandages with nothing underneath.
Sorry if I'm being really stupid :o - but by doing a 'run down the tendon' do you mean you'd put a 'fold' of the bandage facing vertically, running along the tendon as protection, at the beginning of the bandage and then wrapping around it as you go? Because if so that's what I do and was taught :o :)
 
Yes, that's it, 1 or 2 folds of the bandage down the back of the leg 1st. Of course, that means there's a twist to be dealt with, without making a pressure point... Bad bandaging is the work of the devil for horses' legs. Far better a naked leg than a badly bandaged one. Boots are far easier to get right (as long as they fit properly, whole new minefield there!)
 
Interesting read!! I used to bandage all the time and always used fleece ones with padding underneith, simply because my lad has had a couple of sprained tendons in the past and i thought it was more support for him. Since my son has started nursery and i try to ride and get all the jobs done in that time, i havent got the time to bandage anymore and he is fine, never use boots unless i go hacking either so 9 times out of 10 he has naked legs. However he can be clumsy with lateral work so i may sell my climatex linings and god nose how many bandages and buy some stretch and flex wraps for when we do abit more in the school...
 
back when I was on ponies (ok only 12-13 years but seems years ago :p ) you had to boot/bandage for mounted prize givings. The rule came in after a very very top GP horse was kicked in a prize giving ending its career if I remember rightly.

And as at the time we did everything on a budget white bandages were far cheaper than a set of white brushing boots which I wouldn't otherwise use so bandaging it was!

Thread certainly has become interesting reading for which i'm glad :D
 
You do indeed have to bandage for mounted prize givings in dressage.

I was taught to bandage in the polo way with a strip down the tendon, but now use climatex pads under all the time. Stable bandaging is an art, I've had to redo bandaging done by vets lol. I use semi elastic knitted type stable bandages over fibagee, and go right down below the fetlock. For exercise I go just below the fetlock joint. The trend for boots on top makes me shudder as you are asking for overheating. But a top dressage rider told me she always bandages and boots when introducing new work, then goes back to bandages only when the horse is used to it, they support the extra strain of the new exercise.
 
I never bandage, I had to do it for my stage 2 so know how to do it but I always worry that they'd come undone and do an injury. When my horse comes in to winter stable hours I use stable chaps on puffy legs. Mind you I also dislike travel boots with a passion.

I pop brushing boots on for schooling though, nothing for hacking.

Do you have to wear bandages for affiliated prize givings..? You learn something new every day!
 
Santa_Claus said:
back when I was on ponies (ok only 12-13 years but seems years ago :p ) you had to boot/bandage for mounted prize givings. The rule came in after a very very top GP horse was kicked in a prize giving ending its career if I remember rightly.

And as at the time we did everything on a budget white bandages were far cheaper than a set of white brushing boots which I wouldn't otherwise use so bandaging it was!

Thread certainly has become interesting reading for which i'm glad :D
Click to expand...

it was Nicole Uphoff's Rembrandt (then the top horse in the world) who got kicked in a prizegiving, ending his career.

do you specifically have to bandage not boot for mounted prize givings? learn a new thing every day!
 
There are so many excellent boots on the market that I really can't see the need for bandaging other than for someone's own vanity.

Personally, my horses never wear boots on the flat- if they bump a leg into another leg I want them to know about it so that they are not learning incorrectly.
 
I don't bandage mine at home but at work we bandage if they need it (for knocks or if boots have rubbed) we use fleece polos with a pad down the back of the leg not all the way round For fronts and nothing on backs and do 1 or 2 figs or 8 round the joint. For my AH test I used a fleece polo over a pad and that was what i thought you had to do?
 
I did go through a phase of bandaging - lovely red ones. Must admit now that I have a whole load of them that have never been used. I have ones that I use for injured/swollen limbs

I prefer to use just brushing boots.

I remember my very first bandaging lesson - at Pony Club in an old converted nissan hut, I cycled to rally in the pouring rain.
 
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