Do you use infrared/ceramic products (like Back on Track, Protechmasta? Do you know other companies?) Do you know any studies? Do you see results or feel like the horses enjoy it?
Yes! Back on Track, I have so many of their products for my horses, dog and ME, I should have bought stock in the company. Their products DO work, no doubt. Worth every penny.
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Yes, I have several Back on Track products and feel like they do work. My husband has bulging discs in his back and sciatica and says the BoT back brace is very helpful when he’s sitting all day at work or driving/flying long distances. My dad had knee pain and the BoT knee brace helped bring circulation back to the area (notoriously poor area for circulation anyway). He only wears the brace sometimes now, usually after flying long distances as keeping the knee bent is the worst position for him.
As for the horse, he has the quickwraps, standing wraps, hock wraps, even the little “hat”. I have noticed a difference in his skin funk (persistent pastern dermatitis) since keeping him in BoT stuff – scabs are deeper and bleed and also don’t spread as much as they used to, telling me there’s better blood flow. They used to be big, shallow scabs. They are slowly going away. If he has enough time to stand in with the BoT wraps and the hock wraps, he has a better time getting his hind feet shod. And the “hat” helps him and he likes it but he also shakes it off so he doesn’t wear it super frequently.
I am not aware of particular studies but have seen enough to believe that the products work. I really want a BoT sheet but can get Rambo at a discount so am giving their Ionic fleece cooler a try. I’m not sure that it’s the same type of therapy but it got raving reviews on Smartpak.
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I am a big BOT fan.
BOT helps SO MUCH with the pains of old age, at least for me and my husband!
The horses like them too. The BOT exercise sheet cuts down the time needed for a good warm-up significantly, and this is important to me because I can only ride 30 minutes at a time. The BOT exercise boots have helped a gelding I ride with his hind leg wind puff–without the boots the wind puff swells up after exercise, with these boots the wind puff shrinks.
I always use the BOT/ThinLine Contender II saddle pad. The horses seem to relax at least a little bit when we put the pad on and I really appreciate the ability to shim the pad.
I also have had good success with the BOT poll cap. After the first few times I put it on the horses are most cooperative. One horse in particular softens his eyes, starts licking, and relaxes all over. The other horses I’ve used it on also have no objections at all, in fact I think I’ve gotten dirty looks from the horses whenever I forget it.
The only other products I’ve used like this are the Fenwick “liquid titanium” face mask with ears. My riding teacher has noticed an enormous improvement with her not-quite-right-in-the-head Arabian gelding. It turns him from a ticking time bomb into a horse that will actually think things through (with a confident rider). The difference in this gelding was why I got the face mask with ears for every horse I ride, they just seem to chill out a little more. I have not tried any other Fenwick products.
The following is pure supposition on my part. When I saw how much the BOT poll cap and the Fenwick face mask with ears relaxed the horses I ride, I got a “feeling” that the horses appreciated getting rid of a head-ache, a long lasting headache possibly starting from initial training to stand tied (from slamming back into the halter trying to escape.)
For myself the BOT stuff makes my life a whole lot more pleasant. I am planning on buying more for both humans and the horses.
Another BoT fan here. I used to put them on my gelding’s arthritic hocks for about half an hour before working him, and it seemed to make him more comfy (he is since retired). I have a blanket for myself and feel that it helps loosen up my back muscles; now that I’m writing this, realize it’s time to get our BoT mattress pad on the bed for winter (too hot in summer). I also have the horse back pad and like to use it before work in the winter if I have time. Currently using it on my mare who is sore-backed from being cooped up on stall rest. Lastly, I used the dog blanket on our now-deceased older dog and she always seemed more spritely in the morning after spending the night in her BoT blanket. I’m about to order the hock braces for our nearly 14 year old dog who seems to be a little sore in his joints.
I use BOT items on myself, so I can tell you they definitely help.
Another BoT user here.
The most obvious effect is the reduction in fluid in my older horse’s legs after wearing BoT no bows or quick wraps. He’s always tended to get a little stocked up - not that anyone else just meeting him would notice, but after wearing BoT wraps his legs are super tight, moreso than after wearing regular no bow wraps. If he can wear them for several days in a row the effect lasts for days afterwards.
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I think it depends on the horse. I use the wraps on my older gelding and nothing else works on him to pull the puffiness out of his ankle but the wraps do nothing for my mare. I also have a sheet that I use at horse shows but there is really now way to know how effective it is.
I love the BOT stuff. I don’t use them at home (all of my horses live out 24/7 and are hard on each others’ clothes), but do at shows. All of my upper level horses live in BOT sheets and quick wraps at shows and I see big differences on the horses that tend to show a difference and don’t notice as much on those who don’t tend to show differences.
I love BOT products. I’ve used them on myself, and all my family members and my horses. I definitely feel a difference when I use them on myself. When I use the sheet on my horse, she warms up faster and is looser through her back. Also helps with puffy legs. And yes, the results are better with BOT than regular wraps or blankets.
I really like BOT. Like many of the above posters, the quick wraps are the best thing I’ve found for pulling fluid out of my geldings legs–and they work fairly quickly too. I would say I see a difference after even 30 minutes. I use them as shipping wraps as well. The BOT polos aren’t my favorite (they’re weirdly hard to wrap straight) but they do the same things as the quick wraps–take down swelling and result in nice tight legs.
My guy has also been living in the stall bell boots the last few weeks, since he has low ringbone as well as a healing soft-tissue injury in one foot. I’m less convinced they’re doing as much for the hoof, but I figure they still can’t hurt. His feet are noticeably warm when I take them off (not in a scary, there’s a problem kind of way) so it that warmth is penetrating at all beyond the hoof wall they have to help his joints at least a bit.
I also bought the gloves for myself because somehow my hands are already getting stiff, especially in cold weather, in my mid-30s. I have the back brace as well, as does my SO, and we both notice a difference when wearing it as a post-workout recovery item.
I have a fun BOT story. I don’t like any of the therapeutic stuff typically, they all just seem faddish and mostly placebo-effect to me. I won a BOT mesh blanket in a contest years ago, back when they were first really starting to advertise. I left it sitting in my car for a loooooong time, at least half a year, because I just didn’t see any need for it but didn’t want to just sell it since I won it in a contest, didn’t feel right to me.
There was one night when I had an awful headache, like the kind you just want to die it hurts so bad. I took advil, drank water and took salt, tried massage, stretches, head, ice, anything and everything I could think of. Went on for hours with no letting up. I got so desperate, I actually went to my car, grabbed the BOT blanket, and curled up in bed wrapped up in it (it hadn’t been on a horse yet so it was still clean). I’m not kidding you, within ten minutes the muscles had released and I could finally go to sleep. It definitely wasn’t from the meds, I had taken the advil hours ago. It’s very possible that it just happened to ease up then, but the relief was so big that I’ve been a huge fan of BOT products. If I had the money I would own everything they sell. As it is, I have a neck wrap, long sleeve tshirt, dressage pad, hock boots, and my blanket (which I can’t find right now and I’m super upset about it). My horses have always seemed to be so much looser when I let them wear their stuff before we work.
As far as other stuff goes, I haven’t really tried much else. But I do love BOT.
