Untacked

32 M AY/J U N E 2 017 U N TAC K E D EDITOR'S PICKS The Next Generation Of Exercise Bandage W hen I came across the Acavallo Gel Ban- dages, to say I was intrigued was an understatement. e horse I ride is older, and after a few days of hard work his legs show some filling around the tendons. ese wraps purported to help reduce swelling without leaving marks on the legs, so I was ready to take them for a test ride. e bandages are half gel material and half standard exercise bandage, either fleece, acrylic or elastic. e gel material sits on the leg smoothly and sticks to itself, which reduces the chance of a wrinkled wrap. e gel por- tion is bonded to the exercise bandage to eliminate an awkward seam between the two materials. Applying them does take some practice, as the gel portion is wider and shorter than the elastic half of the ban- dage. You want the gel to cover the entire leg evenly before you wrap back up over it with the elastic, and it took me a few tries to get the technique down. e gel provides more shock absorption against impact than a typical exercise bandage. It also conforms closely to the horse's leg, which prevents the wrap from picking up arena dirt. e non-toxic gel doesn't leave marks on the leg and doesn't slide down. Regard- less of the conditions I rode in, these wraps stayed exactly as they were before a ride. I was concerned the gel might stick to itself in extreme temperatures, but I never had an issue rolling or unrolling them. Most importantly, these wraps deliv- ered on their claim to help reduce swelling. I used them every time my horse came in with puffy legs, and by the end of the ride his legs looked much tighter than before. Overall I saw a reduction in the amount of swelling and the number of days his legs looked larger than normal. Since the bandages are heavy I did have some concerns about whether they'd hold heat, but the gel is porous, and my horse's legs didn't feel warmer after rides than in any other boot or wrap. You can also chill or freeze the wrap to provide cold therapy. While I never tried this with my horse, I did freeze the wraps and used them on my own ankle while on "stall rest" due to injury, and I found that worked well. eir care is simple. You can rinse the wraps at the barn or throw them into your washing machine on a low tempera- ture. An unexpected plus was that the gel doesn't pick up shedding hair the way fleece polos do, which meant my washing machine stayed cleaner, and there was less stray horse hair on my work clothes. e wraps are available in three mate- rials with four choices of color. ey retail for $49.99, and the company also offers gel jumping boots or gel wraps to go under- neath your current bandages. Visit acavallo. com to find retailers. Editor's Note: Acavallo provided the wraps to Untacked for unbiased testing and review free of charge. After testing, the product was donated to an equine charity. By K I M BER LY LOUSH I N Photo courtesy of ACAVA LLO

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