Polo wraps vs. boots

[o0hawaiigirl0o]

My trainer suggested that I start putting polo wraps on my pony. I’ve been doing just that for about two weeks now and I really feel like the added support makes a difference. I don’t believe that she interferes with her legs unless she is giving me some pony 'tude about doing dressage.

I mostly ride dressage, but do a little bit of everything. Lately, I’ve been on the trail riding kick. I would like to keep the support of polo wraps (at least on her front legs) when we go out, but I feel that they are likely to come off if we go through thick brush on uncut trails or be annoying when we go through water.

If I’m correct about that, my next question would be, what kind of boots should I shop for? I started looking around last night, but got lost in the plethora of boots. She’s a large pony, 14.1hh, but I do not think small horse sized boots would fit her unless they run small.

[Janet]

@o0hawaiigirl0o;5826884

My trainer suggested that I start putting polo wraps on my pony. I’ve been doing just that for about two weeks now and I really feel like the added support makes a difference. I don’t believe that she interferes with her legs unless she is giving me some pony 'tude about doing dressage.

I mostly ride dressage, but do a little bit of everything. Lately, I’ve been on the trail riding kick. I would like to keep the support of polo wraps (at least on her front legs) when we go out, but I feel that they are likely to come off if we go through thick brush on uncut trails or be annoying when we go through water.

If I’m correct about that, my next question would be, what kind of boots should I shop for? I started looking around last night, but got lost in the plethora of boots. She’s a large pony, 14.1hh, but I do not think small horse sized boots would fit her unless they run small.

First, polo wraps are a disaster on the trail. Once they get wet they cause all sorts of problems.

Second, the idea that polos (or boots) can provide “support” is an urban myth. bandages and such can support MUSCLE. But there is no muscle in the horse’s lower leg- only ligaments and tendons.

It IS possible (with the right kind of bandage, NOT a polo) to bandage the fetlock JOINT in such a way that it protects the suspensory ligaments BY reducing the range of motion of the joint itself.

But other than that, the only “support” that bandages (or boots) provide is in the minds of the owners.

Both bandages and boots DO provide PROTECTION, particularly when doing lateral movements in dressage, or from over-reaches, etc in speed work.

What kind of boots you need depends on what kind of protection you need. I’d start with simple splint boots.

[Reagan]

[QUOTE=Janet;5827123]
First, polo wraps are a disaster on the trail. Once they get wet they cause all sorts of problems.

Second, the idea that polos (or boots) can provide “support” is an urban myth. bandages and such can support MUSCLE. But there is no muscle in the horse’s lower leg- only ligaments and tendons.

It IS possible (with the right kind of bandage, NOT a polo) to bandage the fetlock JOINT in such a way that it protects the suspensory ligaments BY reducing the range of motion of the joint itself.

But other than that, the only “support” that bandages (or boots) provide is in the minds of the owners.

Both bandages and boots DO provide PROTECTION, particularly when doing lateral movements in dressage, or from over-reaches, etc in speed work.

What kind of boots you need depends on what kind of protection you need. I’d start with simple splint boots.[/QUOTE]

Yep. :yes:

If you want to protect her legs make sure you find something that will not hold water, mud, burs etc. Woof wear is always a good choice and you can get their brushing boots fairly cheaply.

[AlmostDun]

I wouldn’t use polo wraps on the trail. It could be very ugly if they loosen up. I’ve been using Equilibrium training wraps. Similar to SMB boots in that they have a strap under the fetlock, but they are made out of a stretchy breathable material.

[JollyBadger]

No polos on the trail. I ride in areas where we have a lot of mud and thorny brush, so polos wouldn’t last very long out there anyway.

You could try the Davis PVC splint boots (Rods Western Palace sells them, I know for sure), as they’d be pretty easy to keep clean and they come in some bright colors for added safety and visibility.

My horse has always gone out on trail bare-legged, though I’ve thought about getting those day-glo orange Davis boots for hunting season. :yes:

[Hoofbeats02]

My horses are bare legged on the trail too, but I’d be wary of polos if I were you like the others have said. I have seen them come undone on other people and it can be a disaster waiting to happen. For protective boots I liked the SMB Elites a lot back when I was barrel racing I never got sand under them like I did with other boots and they stayed put.

[Kyzteke]

Enough people have already told you, but as a former polo groom who has used polos for warm-up work, polo games (duh!) and even jumping, I would NEVER use them on any sort of “real” trail.

If you were just hacking down some dry dirt roads or something, yeah – but like everyone else has said – they are no good wet and will attract all sort of burrs & such.

Here’s another factor that I don’t believe anyone else has mentioned: they hold in heat.

Usually they are not on a horse for more than 30 mins if the the horse is really working. A trail ride would probably be longer than that. Retained heat on tendons is not a good thing.

[o0hawaiigirl0o]

I’m glad that I was on the right track about polos being the wrong choice for trail riding! And thank you for the clarification on leg support < protection. I feel like I’ve been told that before and it just never registered in my head.

Keep the boot recommendations coming! Am I safe to assume that most boots come in pony sizes?

[KarrotKreek]

I’m a fan of Equifit T-Boots. The lining really conforms to the horse and I haven’t had any issues w/ them retaining water or dirt.
EquiFit website

[poltroon]

[QUOTE=o0hawaiigirl0o;5828130]
I’m glad that I was on the right track about polos being the wrong choice for trail riding! And thank you for the clarification on leg support < protection. I feel like I’ve been told that before and it just never registered in my head.

Keep the boot recommendations coming! Am I safe to assume that most boots come in pony sizes?[/QUOTE]

No, you’re not really safe to assume that. You’ll probably need a small. Sometimes boots come in small but the catalogs don’t carry them.

Eventers have the best boots for trail riding. I have a 14h pony and I bought these:

http://trizoneboots.com/product-range/allsports-boots/

Tri-Zone Allsports boot, in size small. They are lightweight, ventilated, and fit her well. Mine came from Bit of Britain. I had a lot of trouble finding boots small enough for her little legs - often boots that were okay wrapping around were too tall.

I would also suggest a simple Woof-type boot, which are neoprene.

[o0hawaiigirl0o]

^ I really appreciate hearing from a fellow pony owner (or person owned by a pony). Thank you for your input!

[Reagan]

I have these for trail riding and love them, no slip, they don’t hold water and even on the muddiest trails I have never had dirt get in them. They are cheap too! I don’t know about small sizes, my mare is ginormous so we have the opposite problem!

[o0hawaiigirl0o]

For those who use their boots trail riding, do you use them on all four legs?

[DMK]

@KarrotKreek;5828204

I’m a fan of Equifit T-Boots. The lining really conforms to the horse and I haven’t had any issues w/ them retaining water or dirt.
EquiFit website

Have you gone through serious water? I have a pair of ankle boots and love them, but never use them on the trail since it takes them a solid day to dry out when I clean them. Granted, that’s a bit more soaking than going through the river, but not much more!

The only time I use front boots is on the youngster when he is jumping or when I go trail riding, and I would like to use t-fits, but not if they are going to slip and be a soggy mess. So I bought thinline open fronts. And the Evil Beast actually RIPPED the stitching (think of how you open a feed bag) all the way up the inside front. They look… lovely. Not. Asshole. He had a show on Saturday, Sunday PM they would be in because Lee was heading in, so I decided to ride the old horse and pony him along so they both could stretch their legs. Got back and threw him in the stall and attended to the old horse. Not 15 minutes later he presented me with his accomplishment. And he doesn’t eat bandages, just expensive front boots. Asshole.

Anyway, looking for a reason to buy some new boots…

[candysgirl]

Polo wraps are used primarily to protect the lower legs from getting hit by mallets and balls. They don’t really provide support. The polo ponies I’ve known are pretty used to the fact that sometimes the wraps do come undone and they’re usually pretty cool about either getting out of the tangle themselves or letting a human help them. It tends to panic horses not used to it though. I would NOT use polos on a trail. They attract all kinds of junk, will cause rubs and if they get wet will just be a mess.

I do endurance and I don’t put anything on my guy’s legs. If your horse doesn’t interfere, I wouldn’t use anything. IME, boots on the trail typically just trap junk in them and cause rubs and there’s no real benefit from them. Nobody in the local hunt, where you’re galloping through the woods and creeks uses anything other than bell boots on the guys with shoes either. The barefoot horses don’t wear anything at all.

He will start wearing hoof boots on some of the endurance rides because 5mi of gravel at certain rides is just a bit much, but over normal ground, he’s totally fine barefoot.

I have a pony sized Arab. Most of the small sizes in boots have fit him (if I can find a small!). He wears a small in SMBs (we have some for gaming). http://www.horseloverz.com/Classic-Equine-Waxed-Leather-Tendon-Boots-pr-387273.html I have a pair of these in small that fit him fine. I don’t really use them often so I’m not sure how well they hold up over time/with abuse, but at $5, who cares?!