Why do people use excercise bandages?

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Chestnutter

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<font color="#666666">This is very embarassing to ask, but just wondered why people use excercise bandages? What is their use,
do they really offer any support? </font>
 
I use them but only on his hind legs, I ride on a surface almost all the time and my aged section d has a weak near hind fetlock, three times in the last five years he's tweaked it resulting in box rest etc, after the last time, last December, I decided to bandage his hind legs when I ride him and just boot up the front, Im sure he gets more support from them *crosses everything*
 
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<font color="#666666">This is very embarassing to ask, but just wondered why people use excercise bandages? What is their use,
do they really offer any support? </font>

[/ QUOTE ]Its a lot more embarrasing to try and answer this question. Half a ton of horse at 30 plus mph applying a huge axial load to the tendons.And we are expected to believe that an execise bandage gives support.Thinks
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Perhaps I should tell you that if you dont youre a bad person and going to hell, because everyone else does,and please stop asking questions that might have to make us think.
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I thought it was to avoid concussion on hard ground?
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Actually that can't be right, because people use them on arena surfaces too.
Forget i said anything.
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I'm with Mike007 on this one... I don't understand how bandages offer support and would be delighted if someone explained. What confuses me most is that the action (can't think of another way of describing it) of a tendon is up and down the leg and bandages strap across it... Perhaps I'm just thinking about this all wrong
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I don't think boots offer much support either, I use them to protect the tendons from strike injuries.
 
the simple reason is they are prettier than boots! but most people won't admit that or don't realise that is their only purpose.

bandages cannot offer any support to the horse's leg as the sheer physics do not weigh up or make any sense.

a bit of fabric will not stop your body heavy horse from tweaking something in his disproportionally tiny leg.

if your horse is very sensitive and gets boot rubs they can be a useful substitute though
 
Surely though, with dressage horses that are worth £££££, why would they use bandages on them if boots are more supporting?? x
 
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Surely though, with dressage horses that are worth £££££, why would they use bandages on them if boots are more supporting?? x

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Is it because you can protect more of the leg from being caught by another leg than you can with boots? I really don’t thing they can offer any tendon support.
 
I have to agree with the - "I don't think they really can give support" viewpoint here. As for why do dressage horses always seem to have them on? Well, I guess you could elaborate that and aks - why do they all seem to wear WHITE bandages? Me thinks could be more of a fashion element here along with the wearing of white square saddlecloths for dressage also (there is in fact no rule stating white MUST be worn!)

Being that white is THE most impractical colour for a horse to wear it doens't quite make sense to me but people insist on wearing white bandages and my belief is because it makes their horses legs stand out more than a horse without them on!

OR is that just the old cynical me..........?!
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I am sure I read recently somewhere, that the wearing of boots and/or bandages can now be tentatively considered a contributary factor in causing tendon damage, as the heating up of the tendon over and above the warming caused by the exercise its self affects the tensile strength, elasticity, etc etc of the fibres that make up the tendon.
Any thoughts/ updates/ comments on that?
 
My lad wears white bandages for schooling every time and fluorescent yellow brushing boots for hacking.
Hacking we need visibility and it offers some protection for his legs.
Schooling I can cover a lot of his leg with the bandage to protect from knocks that can happen when were trying to learn to go forwards and sideways at the same time. The bandages are cheeper than boots and wash up well to. I also believe they do give some support, if a little bit of tubi grip can give support to a strapping rugby players knee then I think a bandage can give that bit extra to a horse to.
 
Re white bandages - when training if you have a dark horse and dark surface they let your trainer see the legs better and assess the quality of movement more easily, when warming up then are bl**dy obvious on dark legs so if you are an idiot and forget to take them off someone is more likely to stop you before you go in the arena. Conversely therefore if you have a grey horse, dark bandages are probably more sensible for warm-ups!

Same goes for white tail bandages in warmups - I thought they were a ridiculous colour for a tail bandage until someone pointed this out to me!
 
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Surely though, with dressage horses that are worth £££££, why would they use bandages on them if boots are more supporting?? x

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Well what the top riders do is put the bandages on prior to work so the tendon is warm before even starting. The theory is a warm (not hot tendon) is less likely to be damaged. The bandages are left on the protect the leg.

Bandage offer far more protection than a normal brushing boot, prior to the invention of wraps that cover fetlock and cannon bone bandages were the only thing that did.

The main issue I have with bandages is people who look like they are having a wreslting match with the bandage as they put it on, clearly the tighter it goes on the more support it give...er no it cut's off th circulation...but kids these days just won't take a telling
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We bandage for XC because our pony is too sensitive for boots- even the nice fluffy sheepsin lined ones make her hair fall out and leave rub marks. We use navy blue with black tape- discreete and smart- and, although they don't offer the support of a boot, they do prevent scrapes and cuts rather well. I have to say- they also mean my sister can bandage well, something that no one else in her ride (the top one) at camp could do to a sufficient standard.
 
I bandage because my girl gets worried if she thinks she will knock her legs, yet if she knocks her legs wearing boots, the noise spooks her. Bandages make no noise if she does knock herself, yet stop her damaging herself.
 
I use bandages mostly, but boots also for schooling when I feel lazy! I don't believe bandages offer any more support than boots. I think that only a correctly strengthened leg can support itself! So I wouldn't like to think of using bandages (or boots) to provide support which I didn't think my horse's level of fitness provided already.

I am forced to wash white bandages regularly which has got to be better for their legs than wearing some manky dark coloured boots which look ok on the outside but are sweaty and dirty on the inside!

White bandages or boots definitely help you to see what the legs are doing, like for checking if strides are even and therefore there is a good rhythm.
 
mine wears exersise (polo wraps/combi bandages) direct to leg as had tendon issue. they are wrped around the fetlock (this is where the problem was)and all way up to hock. I have to say agree with how can they give support to something that can move at 30mph with all 500kg+ of body weght going though one leg?? but having damaged my own ankle can say that bandages gave more support and stabalblity than anything else. I can only assume the same would be for the horse?? i use them to help with stabablity and support of the fetlock but thats just my veiw and why i use them.
 
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Surely though, with dressage horses that are worth £££££, why would they use bandages on them if boots are more supporting?? x

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Well what the top riders do is put the bandages on prior to work so the tendon is warm before even starting. The theory is a warm (not hot tendon) is less likely to be damaged. The bandages are left on the protect the leg.

Bandage offer far more protection than a normal brushing boot, prior to the invention of wraps that cover fetlock and cannon bone bandages were the only thing that did.

The main issue I have with bandages is people who look like they are having a wreslting match with the bandage as they put it on, clearly the tighter it goes on the more support it give...er no it cut's off th circulation...but kids these days just won't take a telling
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Interesting. Thanks
 
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