For Training: Do I want my horses legs hot or cold?

[HafDressage]

I know this question probably sounds crazy, but I'm starting to feel conflicted about the use of my polo wraps. While, of course, the first goal is always support and protection, different wraps vary in their warmth.

I've always used traditional polos and clearly in the winter it makes sense to want your horses legs warm, which polos do aid with. Now, more and more I'm seeing all of these new polo bandages or the like that advertise that they keep your horses legs cool during training. I know excess heat that lingers on the tendons is bad after you ride, which is why icing and cold hosing are great, but do I want to keep my horses legs cool when they are working? I've always envisioned polos like ballerina's wearing leg warmers that help to heat up their muscles and tendons so they don't have injuries, but maybe that isn't the case with horses.

So, do I want my horses legs cool when they work or do I want them warm? I plan to use polos either way, but if heat should be avoided, then I will buy some of these newfangled cool polos.

[DJR]

I personally do not wrap unless I know the horse has trouble with interference/brushing. Sometimes I'll throw a set of polos on if I'm starting to work on something new & unusual, but 95% of the time I ride bare-legged.

[Chisamba]

I am also ride bare legged. Fortunately I do not have interference in any of the horses I ride. Perhaps the main reason is that I grew up in got climes and any abstracts of support was not sufficient compared to the over heating.

[Mareless]

Another 'bare legged' rider here. For young horses still growing, I will wrap (support plus protection in case of mis-steps for the horse still learning to balance with a rider). But for the older ones, unless they have interference issues, I don't put anything on their legs.

[piedmontfields]

In general, we do not want to heat up the legs! Wrapping is really just light protection for a horse who sometimes knocks themselves (young or learning new things, such as lateral work). Or, wrapping is for style ( can we say matchy match ).

My horse's legs are naked when we work, but then 1. she is a grown up and knows where her feet are and 2. I am lazy. I will sometimes put on brushing boots when we are doing a trail ride in less certain terrain (although I tend to avoid using them in summer, due to heat).

[Wicky]

So - what good are Back on Track polo wraps????

[Flight]

I've never even thought about wrapping for warmth, although after seeing and hearing people riding in snow and minus beyondcold degrees, I thought I'd better not comment!

[Chisamba]

So - what good are Back on Track polo wraps????

I have no use for back on track anything, lol.

[piedmontfields]

So - what good are Back on Track polo wraps????

I really don't know!!! Maybe someone can explain the logic.

I do like BOT for saddle pads in winter.

[Hoof'n it]

I really want to answer this question, however I'm unsure how to phrase it.
Think if it like your legs.
If you have an injury, you use cold to keep the swelling down (to decrease circulation) - right? Like you use an Ice Pack?
If you have tight muscles after a work out you use a heat pad to ease the tightness, to relax the muscles, to increase the circulation.
Many athletes now, after a tough game or training session, they use a combination of both to aid in recovery, they go from an ice bath to a hot shower, numerous times in the 30 minutes straight after their game or training session.

So the ceramic properties in the BOT products help increase circulation, it helps relieve sore muscles, and this also helps keep the area warm. And by crikey, do they work! Try putting on one BOT sock, and not the other - the difference in heat between them is amazing!

In answer to the Original question, I really don't know. I have never believed that bandaging does anything conductive while being ridden, there is no extra support and only a bit of protection.
If you were after support, then there are way better tendon boots on the market, the likes of the SMB's ( off the top of my head) andifyou were wanting protection, then the plastic/splint type of boot makes a far better bet.

Do you ever strap, bandage or put shin guards on your legs, as a preventative to injury? Or do you only do it if you need protection, or have an injury?

I only ever wrap a horses legs if it is in a stable for long periods of time, as I have noticed a large decrease in stocking up, if they are bandaged.
I also haven't pulled out my SMB's or tendon boots, in a very long time. My mare is quiet happy without them.
The guys in both racing worlds, only ever bandage or boot if the horse is at risk of hitting itself or is in actual need of extra support.
I also believe that the only reason why polo horses are bandaged or booted is for protection also.

I think a lot of boots and bandaging is for fashion and looks over actual need/requirement.

Any typos, forgive me - autocorrect is the pits on my iPad!

[Wicky]

OK, I got interested in my own question.

I agree that the BoT do warm me up. BUT - take a look at the anatomy of the horse's leg. WHERE are the muscles??

http://www.horsesinsideout.com/Anatomyo ... sPart1.pdf
http://www.thehorse.com/articles/16765/ ... physiology

So, the lower leg, where the polos are, have only tendons and ligaments. So does heat help those structures perform better, or avoid injury? This would indicate yes. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3747018/

So from now on, I think I will use BoT polos, except in the summer.

[tlkidding]

You want cold for the ligaments/tendons and you want to gently warm joints if you have arthritis. I live in WI and don't worry about trying to "warm" my horses legs in the winter. That is the time I also don't have to worry about excess heat build up in the legs during work. In the summer, I use Equilibrium boots or sheepskin boots - both proven to be cooler than polos and neoprene boots.

I do use BoT hock boots in the winter before I ride as well as a BoT back pad.