Bandaging

kerilli

kerilli

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i went to see a horse recently and the owner (good, experienced) exercise-bandaged it without gamgee.
i didn't say anything, although i was itching to!
also, i was on a yard once when the rider took the stable bandages off her 3-star horse in the morning, after her groom had bandaged the horse too tightly the night before, and his tendons had bowed. he never evented again iirc.
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now i only use stable bandages very loosely ("like slippers", i was told to put them on!) very occasionally, and i won't let anyone else bandage - or even put a boot on - my horses, on pain of death!
for xc, i use tubigrip under boots (old Ginny Leng trick, absolutely brilliant) at anything above Novice level, just boots otherwise, and never bandages.
do you bandage without gamgee? do you think it's alright, or leaves ridges on the tendons? do you still use bandages often?
 
Will use polo bandages as they dont need gamgee, then you dont have the risk if the overlap causing probs. Very rarely use stable bandages though used to after hunting and will use with gamgee after icetighting.
 
I use exercise bandages, but only with fibregee underneath and I am confident in my bandaging skills (was told at college that my bandages are textbook perfect
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I would never bandage without padding undernneath, I wouldn't use the polo bandages that are all the rage at the mo either. If I stable bandage it is usually for veterinary reasons, so they usually are well fitted, but not tight, again loads of padding.

I think if used correctly bandages are better than boots, but so many people don't know how to put them on correctly it's scary
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yes, exactly. lucky you, doing "textbook perfect" bandages.
i knew a BHSI once who did all his bandages clockwise, i.e. couldn't do the ones on the other side anti-clockwise. he just couldn't do it, and they'd passed him... not quite sure what to make of that!
 
I would never use stable bandages without gamgee, but I have seen it done often when working at PC camp - drives me mad!

In practice I never actually bandage, I brought my horse a pair of cool boots when he had to have a substantial period of time off & I thought they would help, therefore I dont really have any need to bandage as I think cool boots are superior...
 
POlo bandages you run a strip down the tendon before bandaging- i have also bandaged AND booted for hacking since my mare did a high suspensory a few years ago.

As for stable banadages when my mare did her fore leg in i couldnt be bothered with her trashing set after set of bandages and bought some cashel stable wraps-cant over tighten and are superb-premier equine now do them for a third of the price of cashel ones!
 
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why don't you need padding under polo bandages? surely there's still an overlap/ridge? is it because they're softer or something - sorry, i've never had any.

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They are softer and thicker - similar to stable bandages but maybe a bit thicker. I still wouldn't use them though ...
 
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POlo bandages you run a strip down the tendon before bandaging-

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Ahhh...of all the people I've seen use polo bandages, none of them have done this, because 'you don't need padding'....all becomes clear....
 
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yes, exactly. lucky you, doing "textbook perfect" bandages.
i knew a BHSI once who did all his bandages clockwise, i.e. couldn't do the ones on the other side anti-clockwise. he just couldn't do it, and they'd passed him... not quite sure what to make of that!

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Yes, well I'm sure I do plenty of non-perfect things to keep the balance!
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i use fleece bandages - you dont need gamgee for those. And i only use bandages for lessons.

I bandage Archie's hind legs every night, but i use shaped bandage pads underneath and the bandages are on loosely. I also dont bandage over the fetlock, just from the fetlock upwards to allow him full movement - they are for protection more than anything.
 
okay, why don't you need gamgee for fleece bandages? (actually, i think the ones used by the girl i saw do it, were fleece) surely you still get slight ridges/ pressure lines where the edge of one wrap is covered by the next. i don't get it. sorry!
 
I bandage Dexter for schooling with gamgee and polo bandages.

And I bandage with gamgee and stable bandages when I have iced at an event, these come off when he gets home and his legs are cold hosed.

I also cold hose and use Ice blue (i think its called!) after EVERY time I have ridden all my horses this doesnt have to be diluted and can stay on.

Im always aware of not doing them too tight and very paranoid! I also do not let anyone else bandage them.
 
i love those cashel bandages, im going to get some hock ones for archie when i can afford them so he dosent wack his hocks when he lies down at night.

The thermatex leg wraps are good too, but not as paded as the cashel ones.
 
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i use fleece bandages - you dont need gamgee for those. And i only use bandages for lessons.

I bandage Archie's hind legs every night, but i use shaped bandage pads underneath and the bandages are on loosely. I also dont bandage over the fetlock, just from the fetlock upwards to allow him full movement - they are for protection more than anything.

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I also only bandage to the fetlock then up for excersise, but bandage below the fetlock when they have been iced
 
I dont usually bandage, although I do have about 5 sets of bandages
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If I use the fleece type ones as exercise bandages then I do run a strip down the tendon. But the only time I usually bandage is for injury in which case I will put fibergee on underneath.

I also have some bandages that start off thick fleece then the second half is elastic, i have never used them but I presume these would be the same and you would need to run a strip down the tendon area before starting to wrap the bandage.

I remember years ago my horse had a slightly swollen leg, I was only 14 so took advice off an experienced adult. She bandaged him and told me to turn him out and check in the morning. In the morning he could not walk, it took me 40 mins to walk him up the lane which usually took 5mins. His leg had actually been infected and had swollen overnight under the bandage. The bandage had reduced the blood supply. Horse was lame, off work for 6 months, almost needed skin grafts. It was horrible. Now I do not tend to bandage unless neccesary, and would never ever bandage over a cut or anything unless advised by a vet (or for an emergency obviously).
 
I use polo bandages without gamgee underneath. There's no elastic in them so theres less chance of them being too tight and they're also a lot softer so dont rub.

I never use elasticated bandages, I hate them.
 
Its funny - I was taught to ALWAYS do a strip down the tendon when using polo bandages, but I can honestly say I am the ONLY person I've ever seen who does this. I mostly use Climatex bandage pads with bandages over them anyway.

Stable bandages - I'm totally paranoid about this and always make sure I do it myself. Even if the vet has done them I redo them when I get the horse home. I've seen horses with horrible scarring on their legs from bad bandaging. Not something to mess with.
 
i dont like anyone else booting or bandaging my horse either.
i use boots for any ridden work. for lungeing i use fleece bandages with eskradon pads underneath. solo wears stable bandages when he's in as he has terrible MF and this helps treat it, and i use loads of fibergee under them- and i use bandages as stable bandages. i do them firmly enough so they dont fall down but loose enough to be able to put a finger down them easily.
been doing this for the last 6 years and never had a problem.
 
Forgive my ignorance! I have never been taught how to bandage, I use boots and have never touched bandages. Please can someone inform me how to bandage properly? I do own some bandages that are half fleece and half elasticated 'stuff'. Noone on my yard knows how to bandage either, though some try.
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Ta
 
it's not something that can be told, you have to be shown, by someone really good at it, and patient enough to teach you. the bandages have to stay the same tension (not too tight, not too loose) all the time, and finish in the right place, and the gamgee has to overlap in the right place (not on the tendon) - so, it's visual.
tbh they cause so many problems, i'd stick to boots. much much much safer. a bad bandage is 100000x times worse than no bandage at all, can cause total breakdown, honestly.
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Like you, i wont let anyone else bandage my horse. Ive seen some complete disasters from poor bandaging and its taken me a looong time to perfect my bandaging skills ! (And a lot of being screamed at along the way :P)

I bandage mine every time hes schooled or hacked. I only use the fleece polo bandages. I did briefly try some eskadron bandages which had a fleecey part and then an elastic part but soon ditched them as i didnt like the fact you had overlap on the padding.

I always use padding and specifically use the eskadron climatex padding:-

http://www.belstane.com/products.php?typ...649&start=5

It keeps the legs cool, doesnt attract "bits" and gives a good even surface for bandaging over.

When bandaging I was always taught to keep the roll of bandage to the outside of the length you're currently using (as opposed to the inside), to help keep better and more consistent tension over the leg.

For stable bandages - you have to be careful not to make them too loose of there is danger of rubbing or, in the more extreme, slipping. Either of which can cause problems.

Theres two schools of thought ive come across regarding stable bandages and thats as to whether you go over the fetlock and down to the coronary band or stop at the fetlock (the bandage site around the fetlock but not under).

http://www.belstane.com/products.php?typ...650&start=5

shows the piccies of the first method.

If you go down close to the coronet band as shown above, you need to be careful not to bandage tightly around the fetlock joint (particularly under it), which that picture shows quite well imo.

For stable bandages i use the thick, padded cotton lining style of padding like:-

http://www.belstane.com/products.php?typ...651&start=9

Again, it doesnt attract bits and tends to allow a good amount of padding around the legs (do have to be careful not to over heat them though). Again, with these, i roll the padding up and then wrap it around the leg with the roll of padding to the outside and not the inside of the length being used as it allows for the tension to be kept equal.

Traditionally ive always used stable bandages, although last year i switched to using magnetic leg wraps on two and then bandaging the other two. Ive got a few pairs of leg wraps also but they dont provide the protection that good bandaging does.

I would never use bandages for jumping.. but then, I rarely jump... he's always booted all round for this - but flatwork? Always bandage.
 
Echo Kerilli, it needs to be taught rather than read about tbh.

Right upto leaving the UK, i would still have my trainer check Jack's bandages before i left him for the night even though im pretty confident in it now and have groomed for her for years.
 
Only bandage when we stable away as the temporary stables tend to be small and not all that safe. Also would bandage an ill horse for support and extra warmth.

Hate seeing horses that are bandaged every night when they develop ridges and whitew marks even as the owners cant bandage properly. People dont seem to realise you can do a lot of damage by bandaging incorrectly
 
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