Monday, January 18, 2016

Back On Track Review: Standing Wraps

Riding two older creaky horses, I've acquired a handful of Back On Track (BoT) items over the years. I was skeptical at first, but my experience with the BoT no bows converted me to the point that I bought my dad (who is a surgeon) a BoT wrist brace for his hand, and recommend their dog line to classmates for their pets.

I purchased the BoT Therapeutic No Bow Wraps in May while Candy was on stall rest for his annular ligament injury. I wanted to try something to decrease stocking up in his good leg, and help the inflammation in his bad leg, and these were a "last ditch effort" to see if I could get him sound when my trusty Wilker's quilts just weren't quite doing it. The Back on Track ceramic technology radiates heat, allowing heat to be applied to areas of inflammation/pain to increase blood circulation.
My trusty Wilker's. He also has Ice Pops standing wrapped to his leg so ignore his lumpy left leg.
Note the BoT hock boot on the right hind leg.
"I'm spoiled!"

Unfortunately, I have no photos of Candy modeling the no bows, but let the above photo assure you, he was quite handsome in them (he's woolly mammoth status right now, so no current modelling photos!).

They are a little stiff and thick initially, but like all no bow wraps, they get softer with use. I was very pleased with the smoother texture of the BoT wraps; I really like Wilker's quilts, but find that the flannel lining always attracted a lot of dirt and hay. The BoT wraps got a good shake, brushed, and, because they are black on both sides, I could flip the wrap and get a second use out of them before washing.

What really amazed me was how tight Candy's legs were, even after one use. I am a skeptic and a woman of science, but I was absolutely floored by how good his injured leg looked the next day. I used these religiously 12 hours a day during Candy's 3 month stall rest, and then overnight during his limited turnout period. My vet could not get over how good his legs looked; even though I stuck to his treatment plan rigidly, I believe these no bows played a role in how well Candy healed from his soft tissue injury. He has had no swelling or heat in his injured fetlock since, despite 24/7 turnout in a herd.

While these seem like a miracle product, they do have their cons. The biggest con for me was price; one set was a like a kick in the stomach, and I don't know that I could justify a second set. These are "special occasion" wraps for injuries, at least for me personally. I also wish they came in more color choices. While I love anything black, I own black and navy standing wraps, so I love the crisp look of a white or, in my case, baby blue, quilt peeking out from the top of the wraps. These did begin to pill after several washes, but hasn't affected their efficacy for me.

Overall, I love love these wraps; they are absolutely worth the money if your horse has a soft tissue injury or anything involving inflammation and pain. While they don't replace the input of a good veterinarian and a good treatment plan, they're a wonderful addition to help your partner's recovery.

- K & C & L

1 comment :

  1. i've heard soooo many good things about these wraps, glad they worked for Candy!

    ReplyDelete