Big fluffy wraps for riding...? What are these?

[normandy_shores]

I’ve seen several high end dressage horses be schooled in big fluffy wraps, similar to what’s shown below. What are these?

http://www.dressage-news.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Diana-Porsche-Di-Sandro-IMG_2602.jpg

I think what I’m usually seeing online is big fluffy polos with big fluffy bell boots, and of course I can’t find other pics now, but I’m certain I’ve seen others bandaged with something underneath.

I’m so far out of the loop and dressage scene now, LOL (living backwoods boonies, one of the rare “english” riders around here!)

[Manahmanah]

That is a beautiful pair of eskadron bandage liners turned into a big ol’ hot mess, dear lord. I wonder if the forced looking smile on her face is her thinking about how she’s going to have to fire her groom through gritted teeth.

[Daisyesq]

That is a beautiful pair of eskadron (brand) bandage liners, with a normal polo bandage (a cute one with red stripes? flag?). But I disagree with Manahamanah, I would not fire the groom just yet.

Many (some?) riders use the 18" extra long liner arranged purposely so that it extends beyond the top and bottom of the polo bandages (which are placed in the normal polo location on the tendon, and wrapped normally around the liner). One reason for doing this is to avoid rubs from the edge of the polo bandage on horses who have very sensitive legs, such as if the polo ends at the beginning of a wound or injury. And the liner can extend very low, in lieu of a bell boot, if the pastern is sucseptible to rubs from a normal bell boot. (although I doubt a liner alone would give much actual protection to a heel strike)

There may be other reasons as well, but that’s the practical one. I saw this a lot when I was in Germany, and perhaps there is a little bit of fashion involved now, if it can be called a trend.

[BigMama1]

We saw this (the wraps under the bandages extending over the bell boot) with nearly every rider at the Toronto Charlotte Dujardin clinic, where one of her sponsors provided the wraps etc. I had never seen it before and thought it looked odd but apparently it’s a thing now.

[Melissa.Van_Doren]

Gak! 80s leg warmers!
Next we’ll be seeing horses in one-shouldered turnouts.

[JLR1]

Yup, reminds me of leg warmers or tube socks of the 80s! Looks silly and provides absolutely no function.

[arlosmine]

I’m not buying the idea that the chunks of exposed pad offers any actual protection at all…Plus, the horse could step on all that flappy lower pad sticking out and make a real mess of unravelling, stupid, scary crap.

I think someone famous had a groom who packed the wrong size of pads one day and this was the result…and the masses decided it must be fashionable. It’s silly.

[Dutchmare433]

Ah yeah, first time I saw this set up at a show I told the rider I thought maybe his wraps had slipped down and he might want to check them. Nope, that way on purpose. Then I saw all of his students had them the same way.

Then I thought to myself, briefly, oh my god, have I been wrapping wrong all these years???

[StormyDay]

All I know is my horses would not tolerate that top part over the knee flapping about.
Is this the new Saratoga bandage? Does it provide any sort of support or just protection from all those invisible poles dressage horses are smacking into…

[mvp]

So… they bought some cottons a couple sizes too long and (really?) used a polo wrap over them? The idea was to offer protection (sort of) to the knee and pastern?

I think that’s overkill. I’m sure someone else will not… they’ll talk about the well-trained dressage horse slicing open his knee with his opposite foot while losing his mind during the victory lap. After he won bare-legged.

My mind is aways open to possibly better ways to do things for horses, so I’ll listen if anyone has used this set up and can explain what it did for 'em.

[CFFarm]

Fashion. Or maybe if one is using something under the polos it’s pulled up and down to show it’s flat and there’s no wrinkles underneath. Looks like something for the trailer trip not a victory lap.

[Zonderpaard]

Crazy Austrian . . .

[iridescent]

I’ve never seen them over the knee like that–and in dressage do you really need front-of-the-knee protection? I’ll stick to my plain white (well usually white! after a trip through the washing machine) polos

[ChasPonyCat]

[QUOTE=Melissa.Van Doren;8908398]

Next we’ll be seeing horses in one-shouldered turnouts.
:D[/QUOTE]

:lol::lol::lol: Can horses have mullets?

[kelo]

Trotting a couple laps in a groomed, empty arena is apparently more dangerous than you might think at first.

[joiedevie99]

I haven’t seen them wrapped up high over the knee like that, but using the 18" size instead of the 11" size and leaving the extra padding down over, or instead of, a bell boot is extremely common.

I use the 11" size and Saratoga bandages over top instead of polos.

[StormyDay]

[QUOTE=joiedevie99;8908722]
I haven’t seen them wrapped up high over the knee like that, but using the 18" size instead of the 11" size and leaving the extra padding down over, or instead of, a bell boot is extremely common.

I use the 11" size and Saratoga bandages over top instead of polos.[/QUOTE]

This. It’s what I do too. I can’t see any good reason to use polos instead of Saratoga bandages.

[Pipkin]

@joiedevie99;8908722

I haven’t seen them wrapped up high over the knee like that, but using the 18" size instead of the 11" size and leaving the extra padding down over, or instead of, a bell boot is extremely common.

Yeah lots of people do that here. I do for travelling.

[A-K-E-H-C-M-B-F]

[QUOTE=Melissa.Van Doren;8908398]
Gak! 80s leg warmers!
Next we’ll be seeing horses in one-shouldered turnouts.
:D[/QUOTE]

LOL thought of the 80s leg warmers as well!!

[netg]

[QUOTE=Melissa.Van Doren;8908398]
Gak! 80s leg warmers!
Next we’ll be seeing horses in one-shouldered turnouts.
:D[/QUOTE]

:lol: My horse has a one-eyed fly mask, does that count? (Well, she got a new one, but apparently doesn’t want to keep that one on either…)

I think it’s silly, but if it’s not harmful and owners like it, meh, no harm. Horses will always prove us wrong in whatever decision we make to try to best care for them because they’re self-destructive like that. :mad: