Do you strap your horse?

Jackson

Jackson

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I'm trying to get my beast a little less fat, and a little more fit, and my physio and trainer/mother recommended adding strapping to our grooming regime. When I was small I used to make a wisp and attack my little pony, who seemed to enjoy the whole process, but when I mentioned it to my equine pals, I got the impression that they thought that I was coming from the middle ages!

So, do you strap your horse, and if you do, do you think that it makes a big difference, or any difference at all to your horse?
 
Still done today - makes a difference. Still used in sports yards today. I'm sure my bad shoulder stems from strapping though. And filling 40 nets x2 a day... not the life.
 
I use strapping alot, does seem to have died out these days. Im sure some of the young ones wouldnt even know what it is
 
I used to but my last ex-racer had been strapped previously at the yard he was on and when i got him i found that if i went to strap him he tensed up and really didn't like it at all, so i never did with him and have got out of the habit.

Having said that a friends horse was off work on box rest for 6 months, he was strapped for 20 mins every day and as a result didn't lose an ounce of muscle tone.
 
Interesting about the vinegar, that's something that I am definitely going to try! I was also told to do it on horses on box rest too, although someone else told me not to do it before excersise, only after :confused: :)
 
I think the 'after exercise' rule is so that the horses pores are open and dust tends to work it's way to the top. The vinegar thing is very good, but you do crave fish & chips afterwards!! :o
 
Every other day, it makes such a difference. Tones up the muscles and the shine on the coat, you can see your face in it :)
 
Jackson said:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GVJEC89NdwA
Excuse the... video, but that's what it is :)
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I had to laugh at this one, she would fail her PC B test when I was a child because she was strapping with the same hand both sides!

I am also surprised that people haven't complained about cruelty because strapping sounds like you are beating a horse!!!!! LOL

Another thing, I was taught that if you have a cloth in the free hand it adds extra polish.
 
I strap my boy after I've ridden and occasionally after his carrot stretches and leg stretches.

I use a strapping pad and the first time I used it at the yard I'm on now, someone came over and asked why I was hitting my horse ..... :rolleyes:

I totally see the difference - toned but relaxed muscles, shiny coat and he seems more relaxed. Nods off when I'm doing it.

When I first started doing it I noticed that the sound changed after a couple of weeks as the muscles developed.
 
Foxhunter49 said:
I had to laugh at this one, she would fail her PC B test when I was a child because she was strapping with the same hand both sides!

I am also surprised that people haven't complained about cruelty because strapping sounds like you are beating a horse!!!!! LOL

Another thing, I was taught that if you have a cloth in the free hand it adds extra polish.
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LOL:D,I think the person in the video is having enough problems with her coordination without you adding a cloth in her other hand. I was also supprised that they failed to mention the singlemost dangerous no go area to strap a horse, Over the Kidneys . This area is an absolute NO!.
 
I've got a massage hedgehog thingy from Lidl (£1.00), and use it alternately with my body brush in one hand and massage thingy in other, after that, I strap for a few minutes with a stable rubber [thats a big clean linen tea-towel]. I tend to think fifteen minutes on a horse walker would be more beneficial in terms of muscle tone.
The Household cavalry used to finish off the coat with methylated spirits [v. inflammable] to remove any remaining grease, I think vinegar is safer.
 
Ooh, I know someone who rubs their horse down with meth spirits, as much as the coat is clean after, it seems to dry it out and make it quite brittle..

LOL, I was thinking, in the video, that woman is going to have one super muscly arm, and one skinny!
 
ohhh goodness not something i've done since i was in college over 20 years ago:eek::D didn't half warm you up on a cold day:cool: Not only is it good for horse but i'll bet it's good for bingo wings on us ladies over a certain age lol, thats it i'll be strapping all mine like my life depended on it from now on!!
 
Ive just watched the video and fancy giving this ago on my boy, where do you get a strapping pad from? How do you add vinegar to it? Any tips?
 
Ibblebibble said:
ohhh goodness not something i've done since i was in college over 20 years ago:eek::D didn't half warm you up on a cold day:cool: Not only is it good for horse but i'll bet it's good for bingo wings on us ladies over a certain age lol, thats it i'll be strapping all mine like my life depended on it from now on!!
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Plan!!

*scuttles off to haul horse in from field*

:D
 
I've just started with my boy.

I learnt a trick from RI- do it with tights. Have 3 legs and cut each into 3, plait each individually and then plait the 3 together. Sew the bottom.

Nice a cheap and gives those old broken tights a job- plus the static from the tights really gets the dust up from the coat. :)
 
Kokopelli said:
I learnt a trick from RI- do it with tights. Have 3 legs and cut each into 3, plait each individually and then plait the 3 together. Sew the bottom.

Nice a cheap and gives those old broken tights a job- plus the static from the tights really gets the dust up from the coat. :)
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Genius! I'll be using that in future ...
 
No. TBH it falls into the category of 'could do more harm than good (or, more likely, nothing) in the wrong hands' to me. Same as I like a back rub from the OH but wouldn't want a sports massage from anyone unqualified.

Not to say it does anything bad in most cases but you're basically hitting your horse in the hopes of keeping the muscles toned and making it shiny.

If you want to try I'd start slow... I know some other horses got quite upset when someone used to strap theirs on an old yard.

But I'd prob rather pay a 'proper' massage/physio type every so often... and then steal their ideas :-)
 
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