Choosing Leg Wraps or Bandages

Polos are used for decoration too. My daughter’s drill team made red wraps for their pony's and horse’s legs so help the team look coordinated. You might also see wraps on parade horses. Since polos come in lots of fun colors (and are easy to make) there are lots of decorative choices.

Choosing Wrap or Bandage Type and Length

The wraps used for shipping (trailering), stable and turn out are longer than polo wraps. Standing or shipping wraps are also applied over ‘cottons’ or thick quilted pads. Polo wraps are used alone. The exact length you must buy will depend on the size of your horse. The lengths of the wraps are usually are designated in pony, horse or large horse sizes, exact measurement by the inch or centimeter or small, medium, long and extra long. Stable bandages are usually about six inches wide.

Polos will be narrower and are shorter in length than stable or standing wraps. This is because polos are not applied over padding. Most horses will require medium or horse sized wraps. A pony or small horse with fine bones may need pony sized wraps and if you have a very large boned or draft type horse, you’ll need to get the longest wraps. The good thing about long wraps is that most are easy to shorten with a pair of scissors if they happen to be to long.

Older wraps may have shoelace like ties that were tied in a bow. Newer wraps have hook and loop fastener strips. When choosing a set of leg wraps, if you have the choice, get wraps with wider fasteners. Narrow lace ties and fasteners will not distribute the pressure as evenly as wide fasteners. This is important because tight wraps and pressure points can be very damaging to a horse’s legs.