Bandage Liners Review

Well this is an old photo, this was the first time I put her dressage boots on

I love doing review posts but haven’t really bought much that’s new and interesting recently since I’m working to stick to my budget. However, I have been using a new set up to protect Katai’s legs for a while now and wanted to share some info and do a review on how it’s working for us. First though, some background.



Still using the boots but Katai wasn’t happy about it

I know that leg protection is a contentious topic and with that being said there are so many variables for each person and each horse that I would never seek to encourage anyone to do something different if they have something that’s working for them. I believe that everyone should seek out information, including the latest research, on the various options and make a decision for each horse about what’s best for them. With that being said, I’ve had multiple friends need to retire their horse or nurse it through a long recovery related to interference injuries so this is something that I may be a bit more picky about than others. I know that most horses shouldn’t NEED protection, however, as we’re building strength, learning the lateral work, figuring out our balance, and occasionally having tantrums I’m way more comfortable knowing that Katai has that extra protection.


Also still wearing the boots.
Side note: I can't believe how far we've come from this!
She was engaged here but not that up in front and now we're getting that much more.

In my area, Minneapolis, MN, the weather only reaches 90* and above for a month or two each year and even then we have very few days that are actually above the 80s. In addition, I don’t ride for that long, or do extensive conditioning work, especially when it’s that hot out since I do not handle the heat well and typically end up with heat stroke if I do any athletic activity when the temp is above the low 90s. Because of those factors I don’t worry much about heat retention and to reduce the risk further I typically skip the bandages if I do ride on those very hot days.


Here we were finally starting to use polos (without bandage liners) full time
Side note again: I love this picture so much! Now we just need to get back to this level of work :)

 

Finally, I think boots are great. They can be way cooler than wraps, are quicker and easier to put on, can stay cleaner, and limit the risk of wrapping injury for those who don’t have instruction on proper wrapping technique. However, Katai hates them with a passion. She will literally pin her ears and threaten to kick me if I put her gorgeous, fluffy, dressage boots on and I don’t even put them on that tight. I’ve tried various boots and she hates all of them. When I realized that it was the boots and not that she was anticipating work, or ulcery, I switched to using polo wrap but never felt comfortable about the lack of protection they offered. Then it seemed like bandage liners were becoming more popular so I did some research and decided to try them out. Over Black Friday I bought two sets of Lemieux bandage liners and then for Christmas I got a set of Eskadron liners.



See how poofy?

Lemieux Bandage Liners
Size: small

I got one black set and one white set of these from Riding Warehouse. They were way cheaper than the Eskadron’s and got really great reviews. Here’s where having a smallish equine might affect my choice a bit so YMMV. They’re rather thick and made out of memory foam that varies in stiffness. Two of the white liners are very soft and give well, the other two are way stiffer and all of the black set are stiffer, thicker foam. With that, because Katai has small legs, they’re really poofy and even with good wrapping pressure they made her look like she’s wearing casts on her legs or 80s style leg warmers. I’m not a fan of how poofy they are and how thick and the varying thickness of the foam makes me wonder about quality control.

I was also using these during the winter in an unheated barn and in that environment the memory foam was especially stiff. In order to get them snug I needed to pull the wraps pretty tight and then when they warmed up they became more pliable and were looser than would be ideal.

My Opinion?: Overall, I wouldn’t buy again for my purpose. On a larger horse or a warmer environment they would likely work well.

Much better

Eskadron Bandage Liners:
Size: small horse
I got a set of these in white from my mom for Christmas. Unfortunately she got me the small horse size vs. the small pony size but luckily this just makes Katai look very European and adds extra protection so I’m pretty ok with it.

I adore these bandage liners in every way and have been using them for almost every ride since I got them. These are very consistent and much more pliable than the Lemieux liners and seem to be cooler underneath than the Lemieux liners after a ride. They’re easy to wrap over and because they’re evenly pliable I’m confident that I’m able to keep the pressure even.

My Opinion?: I love that Katai has extra protection from interference during rides I will absolutely be buying more of these. I’ve got a black set in small horse size and a white set in small pony size on my list so that I can rotate and wash them more easily and have a smaller pair for when I want to be less obnoxiously DQesque.



And the polo wraps come in cute colors that complement our saddle pads!
Side note again: forgive the slightly messier wrapping job here.
I was still figuring out how to wrap the back ones so they don't go up as far as they should.

Polo Wraps:
With my bandage liners I’ve been using polo wraps rather than exercise bandages because they’re what I’m comfortable wrapping, and are more widely available. I did have to get some new polo wraps though because my very cut down polos that were the right length for a pony without liners were way too short for use with liners. I got two sets of Eskadron pony polos (one of the few brands who actually carries pony polos) and a set of PS of Sweden polos.

The Eskadron pony polos are narrower width rather than shorter length and are AMAZING to wrap. The narrower width means that the coverage when wrapping is easier to get consistent and it’s easier to maneuver them around smaller legs. They’re also nicely stretchy and the Velcro is set up to not have a bunch of extra velcro tab sticking out based on the smaller leg circumference (of course the liners also help with this).

The PS of Sweden polos work well also but are much wider so while I can still wrap them very safely they don’t look as neat and are tougher to get a good wrap around the fetlock with small pony legs. I do like the material they’re made out of though and they have an appropriate amount of stretch.

Katai’s Opinion?: I was curious if wrapping with the liners would make Katai mad since the only thing she’s liked so far were plain polos. However, as of today after using these consistently for almost 5 months she still doesn’t seem to care when I’m wrapping her legs. With that I’m giving them the pony mare stamp of approval.

I purchased all of these items with my own money or received them from family members as gifts. I am not being compensated for this review.

Longtime Favorites

I've been doing season specific favorites posts but I've got some stuff that I've had for a long time and used and abused that deserve a mention. So, this is sort of a longest running, high quality, necessities review.

Ovation Breeches

These may not be my favorite breeches I own but for the price and quality they'd be tough to beat. They still fit well after about 4 years of steady wear and washing. They literally look the same way they did when I bought them except the suede trim on the pockets is getting a little worn.

Weaver Leadrope

I've had this thing for at least 7 years and it's still going strong. It's the nicest lead rope I've ever handled and everyone who has seen it or used it, has commented on it as well. It's nice and heavy in your hand and feels solid plus it's soft rather than silky which is nice and, I think, less likely to leave rope burns for those moments when your horse has a high amount of sass.

It certainly doesn't look like this anymore but this is the one I have

Walsh Leather Halter

This halter has been Katai's for nearly the whole time I've had her so about 4 years now. It's been her turnout halter, dealt with her pony antics, and not always been well cared for by me. I do try to clean it on a regular basis but when you're a turnout halter that's just not going to keep you clean and in good condition for long. After a recent rough trailering experience the bottom ring got bent and has a small crack but I'm actually surprised that it didn't break completely especially since it's the thinner 3/4 inch leather and with all of the abuse it's already had.

First time trying it on a few years ago
(oh and that's the Walsh halter when it was pretty new still)

Saxon Turnout Sheet

This cute plaid sheet has been Katai's only turnout sheet for over three years now and it's been amazing! I've patched it a few times but it wasn't a high denier so I'm not surprised. Otherwise everything else has stood up really well. I think I only paid around $50 for it new so that's a pretty good return on investment :)

After lots of wear these still look amazing!

People on Horses Boots

I've also had these for nearly as long as I've had Katai. She wears these for about 99% of our rides which amounts to a crazy amount of wear over four years. I also wash these on a regular basis (hang dry) and they still look almost exactly like new. She doesn't interfere much so I'm not sure how they would hold up to that but still, I'm extremely impressed and plan to get a second pair at some point when these finally wear out.

State Line Tack Cotton Lunge Line

Not that this is specifically a wear item but I've had this for about 7 years as well, it's constantly getting dragged through footing and it also went through all of our trailering drama since I like the length of a lunge line when I'm dealing with a sassy pony. I even used it as a long line to work with a couple of young horses and it's still going strong! It's pretty stained from all of the footing but the snap works perfectly and there aren't any tears or wear marks. For under $8 that's tough to beat

This is the jacket I have only in Hunter Green

Joules Winter Jacket

I ADORE this jacket. This is my third winter with it now and it is not only the warmest, but the most comfortable and cutest jacket I've ever owned. It's even figure flattering while still warm and I wear it everywhere during the winter. It also looks just like new and has been through the wash several times but remains just as warm and just as cute as it was when I bought it. I also got it for 25% off at a black Friday sale so it was a good deal as well!

Hufglocken Dressage Boot Review

Sorry for all the clutter on my desk but aren't they cute!
Also gotta love my grandma's wallpaper ;)

I picked my package from Hufglocken up on Thursday from the post office on my way to H's lesson which you can read about in my previous post. From date of order it took 8 days for them to attempt deliver but since they required a signature and I was at work I didn't get them until 9 days after I ordered. Really good for free shipping from Australia in my opinion!

I opened them up in the parking lot of the post office but didn't have much of a chance to examine them. I will say that I really dislike stiff boots and have always felt like they would be uncomfortable or even bad for horse's legs. However, I would classify DSB boots as stiff and many, many people use them and love them so I think it's just a personal thing. The softness and flexibility of my POH boots is probably one of my favorite things and I do hope that in the future I can own another set the price on those is just tough to swallow.

First Impressions:

So, back to the Hufglocken boots. When I first opened them up I was concerned both about how stiff they are and about the size of the XS that I ordered for Katai's front legs. The stiffness is due to the foam they use and while I'm sure it will soften up and break down a bit over time it was quite stiff out of the package. I bent and manipulated all of them a bit and fastened them like you would on a horse's leg but I was curious how they would work on Katai's little legs. Regarding the size there's a fairly significant size difference between the XS and the S boots so the S actually looked like they might be slightly large and the XS looked like they'd be way too small.

That small looks pretty small even for my pony

Fairly large size difference

I was actually quite convinced that the XS wouldn't work and was disappointed that I wouldn't be able to try them out until the next evening. However, my other impressions of them were great! The fleece does a great job of giving the impression of fleece and it's nice and soft. The stitching and construction is at least close to the POH boots and I really love how thick and strong the elastic is with very sticky velcro. Plus, the boots are very accurate to the pictures they had on the website with colors matching (the blue is a little bluer which I'm really happy about) and the textures and patterns match as well.

Compared to the POH Boots:

Sorry for another not so great picture
and yeah, those POH boots really need to be cleaned.

The size was a bit different but not as bad as I was concerned about. However the velcro/elastic length is very different which we'll get back to later. Also, the real sheepskin in the POH boots is so plushy and wonderful, however, I'm not sure if I would pay for just that. Katai has good, sturdy, hairy, pony legs so I doubt she could tell the difference. On a thin skinned horse it might be a different story.

Not as much size difference as I'd feared

On the Pony (or But Would They Fit?):

I held my breath when I put them on and I honestly didn't think they'd fit at first. With a bit more manipulating/softening of the foam I got them to the point where with a small amount of pressure I was able to just close the velcro. That was the worst part of it. The POH boots have at least another half inch of velcro so they're more forgiving plus the elastic is a bit softer so even if they were exactly the same size they'd closer easier than these. However, they did work and stay on for my ride and I think they're really cute. I'm also certain that they'll soften and stretch with time.

Cute and the length is good but you can see
that they don't meet up completely

So cute!! You can see that the back boots wouldn't fit
if they were any bigger and they certainly don't fit her front legs

Final Thoughts:

I really like these boots and will probably order more boots from them in the future. I know that the fit will only get better as they soften up and the elastic stretches out a bit. Also, during the summer when she sheds out a bunch of her leg fuzzies they'll fit better as well. With that being said, if money weren't an issue I'd probably buy another set of the POH boots instead. The only thing that's better with these is the extra patterns or colors that they have and of course the price (plus that little logo is adorable). Otherwise the sheepskin, softness, and fit of the POH boots is just tough to beat.

Also, completely unrelated to this post but I made some of my most beautiful vegan sushi to date!

Review of 2016

I've been having so much fun reading everyone's review of 2016 so even though I'm way behind with blogging this year I wanted to make sure I get this one out before 2017 starts.

2016 has been a great year for me overall and while some tough things happened there has also been a lot of good. It's also been a year of less change, overall, than what I've experienced in past years so I think the stability has allowed me to really put my focus on riding and riding related things such as blogging. It shows since I've reached a new high of over 140 posts this year compared with my previous record of 90. I think it's also shown with the improvement that Katai and I have made both in our rides and our relationship.

Without further ado...

January

Started with a bang as I was invited to ride in my first ever clinic, a Dressage clinic with Susanne Winslade.  I also had a rough saddle fitting experience, posted an update on the tack locker I was (still am) working on with my dad, and reviewed my fall favorites.

February

Was a a tough month and was my lowest posting month until November. It started off with an unsound pony who needed a week off and then I spent some time reflecting while Katai was off work. February then progressed with a more unsound pony who needed additional time off. It ended with more reflection on my relationship with Katai and mindset when riding her.

March

Wasn't much better than February for me and the pony. I had a few great lessons and an amazing clinic with Susanne. Then I "broke up" with my trimmer (still one of the best things that happened this year but tough at the time) and had an interesting lesson when Katai was extremely reactive as I mounted. I posted my winter favorites  and then Katai was an unsound pony again.

April

Was a little better and I started off with a tough lesson where I learned some position things to work on. There were some great rides and then another tough lesson where L focused on my position. I also posted about my new farrier and went to the MN Horse Expo and audited a Janet Foy clinic.  

May

I mentioned that I was shopping for a new saddle and posted about a second clinic with Susanne. I posted my spring favorites and then had a great post about a trainer ride for Katai where I finally got some more pictures. Finally, after attending my first show with Katai I posted recaps here and here

June

I was still recovering from our interesting show experience and posted about getting Chiro done for Katai. Then Katai was unsound again  and I posted about lunging and riding L's baby horse. Finally I tried to ride outside more but was thwarted by horseflies. 

July

Tied for my highest posting month with 16 posts. I mainly posted about saddle trialing and going to the National Dressage Pony Cup. I wished I had taken more "bad" pictures of Katai as a baby. I gained more confidence in Katai, finally started looking for a more affordable barn, had my first trial lesson with Jane and decided to move Katai to Jane's barn.

August

Started off with a trailering adventure and then felt a bit odd as I "waited" to move to Jane's barn. I also had SO MUCH FUN at a Hunter Pace and got further in my saddle fitting adventures. I shared a post that really sort of recaps how I felt about the whole first half of the year from a riding perspective. Finally I got moved to my new barn!  

September

Felt like the first month where things really started to fall into place for me and Katai. It started with some fun with friends at an amazing eventing facility and then Katai tried to start the pony apocalypse with Bridget from Oh Gingersnap! I posted about my breeches collection  and I continued to improve by leaps and bounds with Jane as an instructor.

October

Started off with me and Katai's four year anniversary! Then I had a great lesson and a not so nice relationship thing.

November

In November my blogging, and other things, fell apart a bit with some seasonal depression and a tough change of season. In fact in November I only posted twice including this really cool improvement video of me and Katai.

Roommate and friends (from AZ) playing Croquet in the -10*
temps we had the weekend before Christmas

December

This is where things really started to fall into place for me riding wise. I'd been having great lessons throughout November (despite my seasonal depression and not posting much) plus some other personal things fell into place later in the month. To start off I posted this recap of what I'd been doing since I last posted and then I joined the blog hop that was all about location. I complained about the weather and then got into a car accident :( I ended the month with some reviews on my Christmas presents to myself, namely the Stretchtec Girth from TSF and the Flying Change Bridle from PS of Sweden!

I have enough to post about goals that I'm going to do that in a separate post and that will be up soon!

Spring Favorites

It's maybe a little early for this since it's still feeling like spring here but to break up my monotonous, pony pictureless posts it would be good to do a review post. This time I'm going to do this a little differently since I've been trying to be careful with my budget recently and so haven't been buying much. I do, however, have a few not favorites that I'd like to share.

The Good

TuffRider Outer Armor High Neck Turnout

I have both the heavy and medium version of the blankets and I LOVE them. They fit my pony perfectly since they aren't made particularly deep (Katai looks like she's wearing her mom's dress in some other blankets) plus they make her look badass! I love the colors and details and the reflective strips make her easy to see in the dark :-) I've had the medium one (in navy) since 2013 and it still looks just like new. I got the black one more recently, 2015 maybe?, but that one has been holding up just as well so far.

Old, old picture but here is the blanket on my pretty girl

Higher Standards Leather Soap

Another one that I don't think I've talked about much but had for awhile. In fact my container is almost gone so I'm going to need to order some more soon!

Like everyone else that I've ever read a review from about this stuff I LOVE it. It works so well and smells fabulous, I've got the Rosemary Mint version. I'm weird and actually enjoy cleaning my tack but this soap makes me look forward to it even more since it just smells so nice and leaves my tack so clean and soft. I would highly recommend this over any other saddle soap that I've used.

Neue Schule Eggbutt

This one I know that I've talked about before but I haven't really done a review. I LOVE this bit. It's the only bit that I could find that actually sized the diameter of their mouth piece specifically for a pony's lower pallet. Otherwise I was looking at bridoons and hoping that I could find one in a narrow enough mouthpiece which was tough since Katai wears a 4.5" bit.

When I found the Neue Schule bits they were exactly what I was looking for, basically a pony friendly Sprenger so even though the price was pretty high I went ahead and decided to try them. I'm so glad that I did! Katai instantly was quiet and happy in this bit and it's never changed. I've never had the feeling that it would make sense to try a different bit and normally if she's having any type of evasion it's because I'm doing something funky with my hands and not because of anything I can actually attribute to the bit. She always has a nice, appropriately foamy mouth and normally just softly mouths the bit. Sometimes when we're asking her for something that's a little tougher she'll chomp a little but I'm not blaming that on the bit at all, just normal for my pony who can be a tough little nugget sometimes.

The only thing I can ever imagine doing to change out this bit is buying another of the same once this gets a bit more chewed up. Otherwise I think it's perfect!

My bit on Katai's old bridle

The Bad

Rambo Rain Sheet (no link since this is an older version that I can't find online)

I have nothing bad to say at all about Rambo blankets and sheets in general but this thing just doesn't fit my pony at all. It's a 66" (her normal blanket size) that I got second hand on Facebook. Unfortunately it's just too deep and gaps and binds at the chest. She's wearing it for now since my favorite plaid rainsheet, pictured here;

is getting to the point where it just has too many holes to be usable. However, as soon as I don't feel guilty about it the Rambo is going right back up for sale and I'll be buying a Schneiders or something  that isn't so deep and actually fits her.

Ovation White Breeches

I have a pair of this same exact style of breeches in a dark brown that I love so when I saw them on Riding Warehouse in white I decided to get these for my show breeches. I honestly don't absolutely love the ones I have but they're made of a fairly thick material that I felt good about having in white since I didn't feel like they'd show every little thing, plus I already knew that they fit decently.

However, unfortunately they showed up with an unstitched hole in the crotch (not a good surprise when I tried them on) and I think the sizing was off. Every single pair of breeches that I have is a 26 which is what I ordered these in. However, when I tried them on the waistband felt like it was going to break my hips when I was trying to get it closed. All I can imagine is that they're actually a mislabeled 24. I even went and tried on the exact same breeches that I have in a 26 wondering if I'd suddenly gained a whole bunch of weight or something, those fit perfectly so it wasn't that.

Riding Warehouse was awesome, of course, and immediately took them back and sent me a refund but when I was thinking about it I realized that I like the way that Dover breeches fit better and they have a cheaper white pair that I'm going to try instead.

The Ugly

F.O.A.L. Show Shirt

I've seriously never found a show shirt that I think is the least attractive so when I saw this one on someone's Youtube I was excited and put it on my wishlist. Then when I saw that Riding Warehouse was carrying them I decided to go ahead and get one.

I struggle a little with shirts in general since I have a large chest which most show shirts seem to not accommodate well. Because of that I ordered this shirt a little large but when I tried it on I wanted to barf. It added lumps and bumps where there weren't any to begin with and just was not at all flattering. I tried it on a few times and then finally decided to return it. If you are flatter chested or have fewer curves than I do this shirt might work. My only real negative for this shirt in general is that it has a zipper up the front under the buttons and because of the thin, silky fabric, the rather heavy duty zipper tended to create bulges.

I'm going to find some time to go to a tack store and try on more show shirts (I haven't tried some on in the past but never very seriously) to see if there's a brand that's better for someone with some curves but for now I'm just going to plan on wearing polo shirts since I've only got schooling shows coming up anyway.

Cute right? Oh well...

Winter Favorites

Just a heads up that this stuff isn't specifically winter related, they're just things that I've used enough to be able to give an accurate review now.

Brush Therapy

Magical stuff

This stuff is amazing!! Yes, it's a little expensive at about $5 per package but since I only use it a few times a year it's not bad. It seriously gets the brushes clean and makes them smell like new.

 

Pre-brush therapy brushes

Proof that even princess ponies can be grubby

I have a thing about clean brushes after seeing a little worm like thing crawl out of my horse's brushes when I was in my teens. For awhile I was bleaching my brushes but then I got some nice wooden ones and that wasn't a good idea anymore so I started using a natural shampoo and scrubbing them. I found Brush Therapy at a tack store a year or so ago and decided to try it out and now this is what I've been using to clean my brushes.

In the Brush Therapy

It's easy to use also, just dump it in a gallon of warm water, add the brushes, and let them sit for about 8 minutes. Once you pull them out you just rinse them and they're just like new.

Much cleaner

Roeckl Chester gloves

I've had these since this last summer and I'm little surprised that I haven't reviewed them already.

Honestly I hate gloves, I've always disliked wearing them. I felt like they were always clunky and decreased my feel plus often they seemed to give me blisters worse than the reins on my bare skin ever did. Part of it is probably that Katai has a butter mouth and even though she (sometimes ;-) ) takes a nice balanced contact she's small enough that compared to a normal sized horse that just isn't enough to cause blisters.

Mine are the ones on the right. I do love the Navy ones though!

However, I love these gloves. I knew that I should get used to wearing them so that I can manage them when I show so I got these at the recommendation of a friend. Now I actually am starting to miss them when I occasionally forget to put them on. They have, like people have said they would, improved my feel on the reins and they help me remember to not fuss as much as I tended to with bare hands. So far they aren't showing much, if any, wear but I'm fairly easy on them so they really shouldn't be. With how they look I'm pretty sure that they'll last me over a year but hopefully closer to two.

OneK Helmet

 

This one I haven’t had (or used) as long as some of the other things I reviewed but I have been using it since January so I think I can give a pretty fair review.

 

 

I LOVE the way this helmet looks. I had been wearing a Tipperary which was really comfortable and fit my head really well but I thought was very ugly. Unfortunately the OneK helmet isn’t quite oval enough for my head and creates a pretty bad pressure point on my forehead. I’ve also started to get a headache by the end of my ride especially when I’m working harder. I didn’t think it was bad when I tried it on in the store, and it is certainly better than some (Charles Owens for example) but I’m really concerned about trying to wear it at summer shows. I already struggle with headaches especially when it’s hot out so wearing a helmet that I know will give me one on a hot day is already making me anxious.

 

I’m going to do some shopping and see if I can find another extremely oval helmet and in the meantime use my Tipperary once it gets warmer out. I’m sad to not have a better review for this one because I really love this helmet. I just wish it worked for my strangely oval head.

 

Riding Sport (DOVER) full seat Breeches

 

I LOVE these! They are both comfortable and flattering and they're around $50 new at Dover. They come in four colors and I think I'll get a couple more of them. For the price they're really good quality and very flattering at least to my body shape.

 

 

They've also got some great features like real pockets, and the upgraded sock bottoms that I love. They do run a little short, and I'm short so that's saying something, but otherwise they're perfect. These are actually the breeches I'm wearing in the clinic photos and I think they look great.