ridecamp@endurance.net: [endurance] SportsMedicine Boots & Orthoflex

[endurance] SportsMedicine Boots & Orthoflex

Diane E. Nelson (nelsonde@ttown.apci.com)
Fri, 2 Feb 1996 09:47:53 -0500 (EST)

Sports Med. Boots: We have a full set, front & rear for two of our
horses. They may be expensive but they wear like iron, seem to give
incredibly good support and significantly reduce incidental swelling--at
least for our horses. They are tough enough to offer good protection from
punching through ice, wading through rock-strewn streams, etc. They also
work great as minny ice-boots if nothing else is available-just leave the
velcro loosely connected and fill cavity with crushed ice. One note of
caution (and we learned this the hard way)--these boots are meant to be
worn only by horses under work. We thought if they were so great at
keeping down swelling, then they'd be just dandy as shipping boots
(protection of course). Bad move--heat builds up very rapidly and can
cause serious problems. Another apology to a long-suffering horse...
Also if used in competition, you must be deligent in removing and washing
the boots at each vet check. Debris will inevitably find its way in and
cause rubbing. And they must be fitted snuggly or you will get rubs in
the fetlock area. Look in the vet supply catalogs, I believe KV has
boots for far less than most tack shops or even State Line (something
like $60 rather than $85).

Orthoflex: We did the Orthoflex saddle dance last year. Ordered two
different saddles, each supposedly "semi-custom-fitted". The first was
the endurance light variety. The saddle was way too long--hung over Miss
B's loins. The so-called flexible bars crept up her shoulders and she
refused to move. No joke--she stood there and simply refused to move!
It was as if she were caught in a vise. Tried it on the other horses,
even Mr. T with his long back and it simply was too much saddle. I
called the sales rep who told me it sometimes took horses awhile to "get
used to the saddle". Ok--this model didn't work so I sent for the
traditional endurance version--this was even more saddle than my horses
could carry. Now, I may be mistaken about this, but I don't think my
horses need one more thing "to get used to". If they don't breathe a big
sigh of relief and say this is nice, let's go, then I don't think it's
right for them. These were pretty saddles, but the bars are not nearly
as flexible as you might imagine and certainly didn't work for any one of
the four horses we tried the saddles on.

I literally spent an entire season sending for saddles, trying them on
and sending them back (I called it being in saddle-hell). I also spent a
lot of money on shipping! And I still don't have a saddle. One major
problem (and I don't have a solution) is that the saddle makers have to
make "your" saddle to try. That may take 3 months or better and if it
isn't right, so you get to send it back and have to try again. Ended up
calling the local Albion dealer who is custom fitting a modified dressage
saddle for one of my horses. She is putting in an extra gusset for
better weight distribution, a cut-back end and extra wide gullet. The
knee rolls are pretty substantial and the seat is surprisingly flat so I
can get out of the saddle in 3-point if I have to. It's being made in
England & I have a 30-day money-back guarantee--so here's hoping

If you could possibly find a used version to try, that is really the best
way to go. I couldn't so I had to go the above route.

Good luck.

Diane @ Safe Haven (Eastern PA)--expecting 3-6" snow, not ice