How long are your polo wraps?

[whitney]

Some sites say 5 feet and some sites say 6 feet that seems LONG to me. I found the 100% wool in the right color. This weekends project polo wraps.

 

[hobbyhorse23]

Whitney, you're freaking me out again!

I just spent all last week researching and measuring for polo wraps and mine are due to arrive in the mail today.

I'll let you know if the ones I ordered (2" wide, 36" long) fit or not. They may be a bit short and almost undoubtedly too short if you want to wrap with a strip down the back of the cannon bone but they were the only 2" ones I could find and should be fine for holiday dress-up, which is what I ordered them for. Pony ones seem to be generally 3" or 3.5" by 5' or 6', horse 4" by 9' (11' for larger horses). I don't mind cutting off extra length but did not want to be trying to narrow them and I felt 3.5-4" was going to be WAY too wide on an A mini's fine legs so I went for the narrow ones. They didn't have white though so I will probably be trying some of the 3" by 5' "mini polo wraps" I've found online after I see how these fit.

Leia

 

[whitney]

THANKS LEIA!

[SIZE=36pt]Why am I FREAKING YOU OUT?[/SIZE]

Those measurements sound better to me. I won't be able to cut mine. I'm still on the crochet jag. I'm gonna crochet them with 100% wool and then do a technique called felting that makes the yarn tight and fuzzy.

THANKS AGAIN!!!!!

Do you think 48" would be better?

 

[squeaky]

Hi,

the 5' ones are for the ponies. And actually, the 3' ones might be too long also. I have some that started at 3', and I ended up cutting them by at least 3" to fit my 37" shetland mare (starting at the top of cannon bone, wrapping down, and then back up). The 2" wide is the perfect width to use.

amanda

 

[hobbyhorse23]

Thanks Amanda!! When I measured Kody's forelegs starting from the top, wrapping down and then back up to the middle the tape ended at 36" so I thought it would probably be okay.

5ft sounded insane to me too but for some reason that's all that seems to be available.

I don't think any of these people actually HAVE minis or they'd be making them shorter.

Whitney, you're freaking me out because once again we've simultaneously focused on the same project at the same time on opposite ends of the country.

How do we DO that?!

Leia

 

[squeaky]

Leia,

Nope, they don't make em for the minis. Supreme Equine design is the only place I have found decent polos for the minis. Everywhere else can't imagine a horse that small.....Plus it doesn't help too when the other mini owners at the show question me whenever I wrap Fancy's legs.

The last time I did it at a show, I had at least 3 people tell me it wasn't worth it, and that polo wrapping is pointless (another discussion, but since Fancy has had a terrible leg accident in the past, and coming from dressage where everythng gets wrapped, it only comes natural). Anyways, you could check with Chimacum tack, but I can't remember if they offer polos too.

Amanda

 

[Sandee]

Just my 2 cents worth here but maybe the reason we wrapped the big guys legs are that they seem to be able to hurt themselves on the smallest of things. My gal used to be able to kick herself getting into the trailer of hit an ankle getting out or even just over-reach with a back foot and knick her front in a deep arena. These little guys, while they can get into trouble, seem to always know where their feet are and don't do the damage to themselves that the big ones do.

The worst my bunch has done, so far, is knock down the stall gate at a show and then step into it. So I don't bother to wrap for transporting either. I do wonder if it would be better for them on long trips (like the one to Tulsa). Wonder if they get "leg fatigue" from trying to balance in the trailer.

 

[hobbyhorse23]

I tried Chimacum, they sell the same 3.5"x5' brand as most other places according to the website. Knowing them they probably have something different if I call though....

I have to admit I'm one of those who finds wrapping legs pointless. I grew up with Arabs - you know, the old-style ones who were as sure-footed as mountain goats and had legs like iron? - and the idea of bundling them up to protect them from themselves was ludicrous.

In 26 years I don't remember either of our big horses ever once stepping on themselves or getting any kind of leg cut while being worked or transported. Kody's a bit clumsier but again, he seems to know where his feet are and he isn't shod so any damage he does would likely be minimal. Where I wrap is when the horse is going in a trailer with another horse because while they can stay out of their OWN way, they have NO way to keep the other horse from stepping on them under the divider!

I'd wrap a driving pair for the same reason. Jumping large jumps, reining, barrel racing, those sorts of really strenuous sports, you bet I'd be putting on SMB boots to support that fetlock/pastern area. But I feel that a horse who was raised in a natural manner (i.e. allowed to run around over uneven ground and not stalled all the time) should have a good sense of where their feet are and unless you plan to wrench them around they should be fine. Perpetually stalled babies, horses with conformation that predisposes them to overreaching or forging or clipping, and of course any animal that has already demonstrated a tendency to hurt itself would be better off wrapped for safety. Generally though I only wrap for looks.

My new polo wraps did not arrive as scheduled yesterday so I'll have to wait for this afternoon. It's pouring rain for the first time in weeks so sadly there will be no drive with orange and black wraps.

I should have figured- it's Halloween. It ALWAYS rains on Halloween here! *LOL*

Leia

 

[whitney]

Sure brings your eye to a REACHY horse.

 

[squeaky]

HI,

I used to not believe in wrapping at all, even when traveling. But as I started talking to more and more people (mini and big horse people) I kept hearing about all the leg problems people got while trailering, and even while being worked (just even on the lounge). One horse I remember cut himself almost all the way to the bone because he just did one simple buck on the lounge and stepped on himself with a hind leg. My roommate has a Fresian stallion in training for dressage, who has tough legs, but his problem is that each leg goes every which way when he moves. He is outside in a huge pasture all day with hills and such, and he still has balance problems and knocks himself with his legs. While I do agree, keeping them inside all the tme or in a small 12 X 12 turnout is counter productive, and doesn't help them at all one bit. When I look at the mini world, yes, we don't have as many injuries regarding pulled suspensories and such, I also look at how 95% of these guys go -- on their forehand. Hardly any of them actually are trained to use their hind ends correctly, and so while they are stressing their front legs more, they don't have enough impulsion to really cause problems. With the ones that are working off their haunches, and overreaching with the hindlegs, AND pulling at the same time, I really hope that some measure is being taken to protect the legs. What really bothers me also, is that these little guys are asked to pull us around on uneven grass/dirt/sand or whatever, unbalanced and sometimes at a speed in which all they do is throw their little legs around in order to be either "high stepping" or "flashy". While I know there are a lot of people who are learniing to do the dressage, and how to balance the horse correctly, there are still all the trainers who just go for flash. Looking at all of our national winners, and how so many of them have poor leg confirmation (i.e. cow hocks. sickle hocks, toed out/in), which also adds stress to the legs and tendons.

Sorry for going on about this. I just wanted to explain my reasoning for wrapping and why i think it's so important. Not trying to say that anyone is wrong, and like i said, I used to not wrap my minis at all, but the more I read, I just do it for protection. I have seen a few minis who just had that one day where they were a little fresh out of the pasture and really smacked themselves on their legs, and have hurt themselves pretty good.

Anyways, again sorry for it being such a long post.

amanda

 

[hobbyhorse23]

Don't apologize Amanda, that was a good post! I agree with it. Kody is on joint supplements precisely because of the additional stress both his activities and his conformation place on his legs. He's cowhocked so his hind end has all sorts of wobble to it (lots less since his stifle surgery though!) and he's got one crooked front pastern which also travels strangely and can't help but strain his skeleton. Then on top of that he's learned to use his body correctly so is beginning to overstride this year, which he is NOT built to do naturally, and is holding himself in balance all the time so has to be very conditioned and very strong. If I thought there was a good mini leg wrap out there, one that fit as well as a real SMB, I'd probably be using it; the ones I have tend to rub his ankle to the point of soring it and he hates them. I did get the polo wraps yesterday and was not impressed with them as a means of support or protection; I think taping bubble wrap around his leg would have about as much effect.

They were cute though!

In a way I think the horses who move correctly are actually under less strain than the ones who are pulling from the forehand instead of pushing from the rear. Being on your forehand with your back locked down and your neck stiff is hard on the body; a collected horse is using the large muscles of the rear to do most of the work and that power is flowing freely up a loose and functional back to the forehand which has only to stay out of the way. A truly balanced, truly light horse should move with ease and grace and be in little danger of feet suddenly going catty-whompus. Still, if you can find a good product wrapping is a good safety measure!

For the rest of the winter at least Kody's got so much fur on his legs I think he might as well be wrapped.

Come clipping time in spring he probably won't mind those nice warm polos nearly as much!

Leia

 

[Kathy2m]

The polos I use on Abby were 3 in. by 6 feet I just cut 3 feet off, they seem to work pretty well. There is still a little bulk when I finish in the middle but not enough to worry about it. Kathy