Dressage bandages

[Firefly9410]

Do they serve a purpose or are they just for looks? When I was younger we bandaged for xc and if you could be bothered or were skint for show jumping too but most used brushing boots for that. Nobody used to use leg protection for dressage or hacking so what has changed? Or did I used to spend time with the wrong people?!

 

[wkiwi]

Gosh, you sound like me!
Dressage bandages have two purposes - one is to prevent injury from knocks etc. while schooling warming up (and ditto when hacking). The second reason is to provide support to the ligaments/tendons, in the same way that they used to be used for XC.

On the down side, uneven pressure causes damage to the tendons; the issue of heating the tendons (which are meant to ideally stay cool) hasn't been fully researched; and the bandages need to come off for the actual dressage test so the support is suddenly removed. (Try putting a support bandage on your wrist for a while and then removing it - you feel as if your wrist is suddenly weaker).

I dpn't use them myself, but on talking to others I think it is mostly due to the cost of dressage horses if they ended up permanently damaged, and the cost of vet bills and time out if badly injured. Further research is needed to show if they are actually doing more harm than good in the long term, but there will be people on here who have probably prevented an injury by using them too.

 

[ihatework]

Bandages offer little in the way of support to limbs, especially the bandaging done for dressage.
They do however offer good coverage against knocks, which are a risk especially on the sharper ones when teaching new movements.
In all honesty though the bulk of usage is mostly fashion, although not everyone would admit to that 😜

 

[Firefly9410]

Thank you both. I was worried I had missed some new research proving they were now essential. I shall remain bare legged with a clear conscience. My horse is unshod so I think knocks are less of an issue. They do look smart though and I love all the matchy matchy sets.

 

[Bernster]

Now you've gone and set of my paranoia again! My boy is suited and booted a lot, brushing boots and overreach for turnout, hacking and jumping, wraps and overreach for dressage. Now I'm thinking that's overkill, but he's gangly and unbalanced and has a tendency to knock himself or pull his shoes off every now and again. Should I be trying him without ?

 

[Lauren_abigail]

Now you've gone and set of my paranoia again! My boy is suited and booted a lot, brushing boots and overreach for turnout, hacking and jumping, wraps and overreach for dressage. Now I'm thinking that's overkill, but he's gangly and unbalanced and has a tendency to knock himself or pull his shoes off every now and again. Should I be trying him without ?

I think if he is a gangly type that is likely to bash himself, then you are doing the right thing by wrapping him up!

I don't tend to bother unless jumping or a fast hack, but then my boy has quite a lot of bone and is fairly sturdy. I think if I had something that was a bit more 'leggy' I would bandage

 

[Firefly9410]

Bernster I do not know how you cope. I could not do boots etc every time the horse left its stable. You must spend half your life washing and scrubbing the things for starters, not to mention all the time to put them on and off every day. If the shoes keep getting pulled off I would have them off for good. Is the horse laming himself without all the boots etc? If not, I would try without. But that is just me. You must do whatever makes you feel comfortable.

 

[paddy]

Oh, I'd thought the purpose of dressage bandages was to draw attention to / accentuate the movement of the legs and to complete the matchy matchy outfit?! I'm afraid our horses have to take responsibility for working out where their legs are without sumo protection. A lot of the bandaging I've seen is more likely to cause damage to the legs than riding without!

 

[Bernster]

Lol - only had him 3 months and the ground is good, so they don't get dirty. And he's on full livery so I don't do turnout. Doesn't take a minute to put them on and off for riding so that doesn't bother me. As he's young and still working out where his legs are at times, I'm being more careful than usual. Hopefully come winter he will have discovered his legs and his balance so he won't need them, but he does have big movement, big feet, and is short coupled. Vet mentioned that he would probably need more protection than other horses.

On a wider note, those I know who have 'proper' dressage horses are suited and booted most of the time, partly protection and partly fashion I suspect.

 

[wkiwi]

I think some horses definitely do benefit from protection.
It is interesting to note different trends in fashion/culture though; in some countries where horses are turned out most of the time, the riders bandage/boot them up to go into stables (confined area = increased risk of injuries) whereas in other countries where horses are stabled a lot, the riders bandage/boot them up to go out in the field (large area = increased risk of injuries).

Someone I know used to say that horses wouldn't have survived evolution if humans hadn't come along to save them, but in essence, I think some horses can manage to get injured no matter what precautions are taken, whereas others never get injured even if standing in fields of loose wire and rabbit holes (a friend of mine was always rescuing someone else's horse from wire etc. but it never actually seemed to get a scratch on it! It would just wait patiently until someone came along to get it out).

 

[nikkimariet]

They are great for (colour co-ordinated) protection against knocks, bumps and scuffs.

Ours are barefoot but it's great they can work (and us too) with total confidence they won't knock themselves in a way that will cause pain or a loss of confidence.

Mine is sharp, and won't wear hard shell boots for flatwork, so bandages it is!

 

[NinjaPony]

Bandages are useful for horses like mine who get rubs easily from neoprene and have thin skin. The bandages cover more of his legs, so when I'm doing lateral work I know he won't knock himself, and they are more comfortable for him to wear. Colour coordination is a pleasant bonus!