I hate polos, but they are pretty. We have a few sets in the tack room for awards presentations, and demo rides/public facing clinics.
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In my distant youth in Pony Club removing wraps quickly was the absolute key. Less chance of danger for horse or human.
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It’s a thing I learned 30+ years ago from a student over from Germany for a year of uni abroad. I argued that it was no faster so we had a race. I lost and have been taking off polos ‘his way’ ever since.
Note, I will not do this on a horse that hasn’t got impeccable manners installed. They need to learn to stand rooted to the ground first.
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Not brand new, wrapped properly, and taped you (me, maybe not you lol) should be able to go through ponds, etc without any issues except gross polos to remove when you’re done. That said, I’ve seen people end up with loose dry polos so wrapping technique definitely plays a big part.
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Exactly.
If anything, I judge somebody’s skill on how quickly they get the wrap off and get away from the horse’s legs. Not in a race, but just out of habit.
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Is there a video online somewhere? I would be interested to see this method.
I also never trust a horse to stand still. You never know when a barn cat is going to jump down and land on their butt or some other completely unpredictable thing.
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The trainer/friend who taught me went to college (Equestrian Major/Accounting) in Germany.
He brought back a wealth of information.
Along with a leather Vaulting surcingle.
I can still see him vaulting on, scissorskick into Cossack Hang.
He had a trio of us adult students vaulting, using a DraftX schoolie.
We were oddly matched:
6’+ guy, his 4’nothing GF & 5’4" me 
We managed to accomplish a Pyramid 
Horse would let us know when he was done by bucking. Small bucks, but got us off pronto!
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I was also taught this, but thinking about it more, we expect the horse to stand still while we put them on. Does it take any more time to roll it up neatly while you take if off then it does to unroll it as you put it on?
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I think the idea is to spend as little time as necessary around the horse’s legs in a vulnerable position.
So if it’s necessary to take, say, 30 seconds to put the polo on, but only five seconds to take the polo off, I would certainly elect to spend less time taking it off.
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Most trainers have switched to the boots…it’s rare to see polos used in my area except by the match match crowd
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I will raise my hand as another person who rolls the polos off. I find it faster and safer than pulling things off in a mess and rolling after. Easier to get limbs tangled when you aren’t rolling the polo off. Easier to hold and pass from hand to hand when rolled than bunched/unrolled. I don’t use polos anymore, but do recommend the method if you’re using polos. Practice on a table leg or something until you are fast.
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I’m starting to feel the urge to take a video the next time I pull a polo off and post it, just for the sake of comparison. Lol.
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I never pretended that polo wraps provide any real support when under saddle, I tend to use boots rather than polos for the ease of use and the additional strike protection, which is the main reason I use them.
Eskadron wraps with the liners are about the only wraps I think offer any sort of support.
I actually could roll as I was taking off with the better behaved horses, but I also definitely had to bail a couple times. With the footing at the last barn I was at, if I was using polos, I wanted to be able to brush them off/let them dry before rolling, so I would just do the very quick take off. But I’m also a stickler about making sure there isn’t ANYTHING under a wrap, so just taking them off and putting away without a good check was against my nature.
Nothing is more annoying than getting a polo all the way on and realizing it was rolled backward so the velcro is inside out. Bless her heart, my mom was notorious for trying to help and rolling inside out compared to how I bandage. Especially with an antsy horse getting pillow wrapped for shipping.
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Right up there with applying a wrap that has no Velcro on it, and then being unable to find the end on the roll of masking tape. Lol.
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That is assuming you have the tape handy!
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My concern about polo wraps on dressage horses is how often one sees pressure marks in the leg hair when they are removed for competition. What is happening under the skin?
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Brush them before you take them off! Way easier than brushing a loose polo.
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I doubt this is from polos. It’s more likely semi-permanent wave in the hair from continued use of standing wraps. Iirc it’s from some kind of (basically harmless) fungus and not from pressure at all.
ETA, I’ve never had this happen from polos and have been using them for 40 years. I have had it happen from long-term standing wraps that had to stay on 24/7 due to a couple of horses playing stupid horse games and needing to keep giant injuries protected for weeks or months. And it sneaks up on ya too even when you’ve done your best to keep the legs clean and free of product, boom, one day take the standings off to change them and you’ve got a horse with crimped leg hair.
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I have no idea if there’s a video! But, unwrap just enough that you have the Velcro free. Start your re-rolling. When you get to the horse’s leg do a quick whip around and roll that. When the roll is fat enough you just re-roll around the leg while maintaining your preferred tension.
I could not function if I could not trust horses to do as they’ve been taught. But, I am a bit of a manners drill sergeant. Horses I work with know that it is completely inappropriate to flick a tail when I am in range. Legs stay absolutely 100% glued to the ground unless I ask for a leg to move.
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They don’t provide even compression, they’re too stretchy, and if you pulled them tight enough to offer compression, you’d likely cause damage
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