Tack Guru

Wintec Snaffle Bridle

I use one of these as my every day bridle. It fits well, it looks good and I love the fact that I can rinse the whole bridle in a bucket of water. I’ve been using mine for nearly four years now and its held up very well. It basically looks new.

I’ve always been a leather snob. I wanted high quality strap goods and I spent a lot of time finding just the right bridle. I bought the Wintec bridle after I’d tried riding in a Wintec saddle. I was intrigued by the idea that I could ride and not have to clean any tack.

I was concerned that the material would feel like plastic or that it would be brittle. So far, neither has been a problem. The material is very supple and the nylon core makes it very tough. Okay, it doesn’t look like a really expensive leather bridle, but then again, it isn’t! I often swap out the cavesson for a crescent noseband and the leather noseband doesn’t look out of place.

The Bottom Line:

Wintec bridles are highly functional, look fine and wear like iron. I bought a “spare” a few years ago and haven’t even opened the box since this one continues to look just fine.

The Davis Soaking Boot

My TB recently suffered from a bad abscess. A rock worked it’s way under his hoof pad and the abscess came out the heel bulb.

It was swollen and painful. I needed to soak it in Epsom Salts several times a day.

I can remember soaking a horse’s foot before Davis Soaking Boots were widely available. Often times the process was more painful than the injury, at least to the horse owner. It went like this:

• Heat water in a tea kettle, pour into a bucket with plenty of Epsom salts.
• Next, put horse on cross ties.
• Put bucket of hot water and epsom salts in front of him.
• Lift the hoof that needs soaking and attempt to place it in bucket of hot water. Horse resists putting his foot in the water several times.
• Horse finally stamps down in the water, spraying water and Epsom salts all over you.
• Horse stands still for three seconds, then lifts foot and knocks over the bucket, spilling water all over the aisle.
• Begin again.

Now, you simply mix up the hot water and epsom salts, put the boot on the horse, pour the mixture into the boot and you’re in business!

There is a strap at the top that allows you to tighten the boot. I often let my horse snack on hay in his stall or even graze while they are soaking.

The bottom line:

I have found the boot stays on very well and it holds enough water to make the soaking process work. They don’t even know they are being treated. I like this product so much that I bought it in two different sizes: one size fits on the bare hoof and the other fits over a shoe. That gives me the flexibility to use it in a variety of situations. Definitely, a product that works.

Recently I needed some hoof boots like yesterday.

I pulled my gelding’s shoes and found that my existing hoof boots were too large to use.

The Cavallo boots look clunky to me but they don't seem to bother Freedom.

I hightailed it to the SmartPak store to see what they had in the clearance section, which turned out to be Cavallo Simple boots. I had tried them once before with another horse but hadn’t been impressed. They seemed clunky and just didn’t fit right — in this case I used them on hind feed which were more oval than round, which might have been the problem.. However, the price was right ($99/pair) and they were returnable.

I’ve had them now for a week and a half and have been very pleasantly surprised. The boots are made of leather tops attached to a plastic footbed. They have no metal hardware but close using Velcro attachments. I am using the boots on my horse’s front hooves and since his feet are fairly round, they fit nicely.

Velcro closures make the Cavallo Simple boot really "simple" to put on.

They are truly simple to put on. Simply open up the Velcro and put the horse’s foot inside. You don’t need a mallet, a hoof pick or baby powder!

I was concerned that they would rub because they come up over the coronary band. So far, it hasn’t been a problem and I’ve given these boots a pretty good test run:

• First I used them for a hunter pace. We went at a hilltopping rate over an 8 mile course that was rooty, rock and muddy for sections. The boots stayed secure without any twisting, my horse felt comfortable and his gaits were unchanged. We jumped half a dozen small fences with no problem.
• Then I hunted him in them. The hunt was probably 8-9 miles with similar conditions to the pace but also going through some water. Once again, the boots were great! No movement, no rubbing and the Velcro closures are cleaning up nicely. These boots have drainage holes in the bottom which is a real benefit if you’re going through water.

The bottom line:

I was skeptical of these boots but they’ve been a life saver. I love the fact that they are so easy to put on because when I go for a quick hack, I don’t have to spend 10 minutes struggling to get the boots on. My horse seems very comfortable in them. They are making the barefoot transition much easier! If your horse has relatively round hooves, I highly recommend these.

This bit works really well for both of my horses.

The mouthpiece is thin and drapes well over the horse’s tongue. One of my horses has a very low palate and a thick tongue. He has been fussy in almost every bit that I tried. This is one of the few that he will tolerate. I use a full cheek style helps that keep the bit still in his mouth which he prefers.

My other horse, an OTTB, did not want to take consistent contact with the bit. This mouthpiece is “soft” enough to encourage contact. For him, I like the full cheek because it helps with turning!

I bought the style with hooks as I thought that I might use the leverage function. So far, I have used the bit without the hooks but it’s nice to know I have ability to make the bit a little stronger if needed.

I find that this bit fits large. It may be the way that it drapes in the mouth, but I the 5″ fits my warmblood, and he generally needs a 5 1/2″ bit.

The bottom line:

This is a mouthpiece shape that I think will work well for a number of horses. It’s a really good option to have in your bit box. The only caveat is I’m not sure it’s legal for dressage.

I'm impressed by how well my Roosli has fit so many horses and still kept me in a balanced position.

I had a terrible time finding my last dressage saddle. Many came close, but ultimately I found them to be either too restrictive – with the seat too deep or the blocks too large – too hard or just not balanced.

After trying about 12 different saddles, I rode in my coach’s Roosli. Immediately, I found that it put me in a balanced seat which required very little effort to sustain. It had the perfect seat depth — not too shallow, not too deep so that I felt secure but like I could still move.

My coach arranged for me to order a saddle directly from the factory and helped me take the measurements for a custom saddle. I am very long from my hip to my knee so it was important for me to have flaps that truly fit. I ordered a wide tree as I found that my trainer’s saddle fit a wide variety of horses in the barn.

The saddle took about 8 weeks to arrive. I was lucky in my timing; at that time the dollar was quite strong in Europe and the saddle cost me about $1700 — today the same saddle costs about $3,250! The saddle was immediately comfortable and fit my horse without any adjustments. In fact, my horses have all moved extremely well with this saddle. For the rider, it provides just the right amount of support.

I’ve had the saddle now for 7 years. The leather has held up extremely well – the saddle still looks relatively new. It has fit almost every horse I’ve tried it on and it has required only minimal fitting (my saddle fitter says that Roosli saddles generally are very kind to a horse’s back).

Roosli saddles are hand made in Switzerland of top quality leather. The saddles is built on an elastic steel spring frame. It has wool felt panels with wool flocking. The seat has natural latex padding which makes the seat comfortable for the rider; the wool flocking and the wide gullet make it comfortable for the horse.

The bottom line:

Certainly, I would recommend this saddle to anyone! The quality of the saddle is excellent, it’s “horse friendly” and it really puts the a rider in a balanced position without holding you with a really deep seat or huge blocks. Roosli saddles don’t have the name recognition of some other brands, but they are worth the investment. I can’t imagine replacing mine any time soon.

AluSpray is used to cover wounds that can't be bandaged.

I wish I didn’t know how well this product works. It’s a spray on aluminum powder that you can use to cover wounds that otherwise cannot be bandaged. While it doesn’t have any healing properties, it’s great for keeping dirt, debris and flies off an open wound.

I had the opportunity to try this product after my horse was kicked. He had a nasty wound on his forearm that couldn’t be stitched and couldn’t be bandaged. The AluSpray was just the ticket for the job. It helped me keep the wound clean during the healing process. When you spray it on it dries instantly and provides a protective barrier. I was cleaning his wound twice a day and it didn’t wear off in between.

This is definitely something every horse owner need to have on his or her medicine shelf. I just hope I don’t need to use it again any time soon!

Torsion Extra Light Treeless Saddle

Before I bought the Torsion Extra Light, I’d already owned two treeless saddles, a Hilason, which I hated, and a Barefoot Cheyenne, about which I had mixed feelings. The Cheyenne convinced me that I would like Treeless riding, but that I hadn’t found the right saddle.

I spent a lot of time researching saddles before I bought the Torsion. I liked what I read about the brand. Torsion saddles have been around for many years and are used by quite a few endurance riders. I felt that the saddle design was well tested and that it had demonstrated success. I liked the design of the Extra Light because it is a minimalist saddle. It weighs only about 5 pounds and there is little between you and your horse. As part of my research I spoke extensively to Jeannean Mercuri at GoTreeless. She was very helpful about narrowing my choices down to the Extra Light.

Right before Christmas, two years ago, my “perfect” saddle came up on eBay. It was an Extra Light that had been used only a dozen times in the right seat size and in Buffalo leather. A discussion with Jeannean confirmed that the saddle was as advertised and it ended up under my Christmas tree (a great gift from my husband). I thought that it was excellent value for the $700 I paid.

As soon as I sat in this saddle I knew I’d made the right choice. It puts me in a very balanced position, I feel secure and it has an amazing close contact feel. My only complaint was that I found the leather seat to be slightly uncomfortable, but a sheepskin cover fixed that. This saddle is very wide over what would be the twist on a treed saddle. This could be a problem for some riders, especially if they are on a horse that’s quite broad.

This is a very well crafted saddle. The stitching is tight, the quality of the leather is excellent (I really like the Buffalo leather; after two years it still looks new), and the saddle is balanced and even. While the Extra Light does not have a gullet like some of the other designs, the bottom of it is shaped so that there is no interference with my horses’ withers.

I use either a saddleright pad or a skito pad under the saddle and have had no problems with back soreness. I have used this saddle on three horses — my warmblood who is quite wide with low withers and wide shoulders; my TB who has more prominent withers and a short back; and a Lippizan/arab cross who wears an extra wide tree. With each horse it’s important to slide the saddle back to it’s natural resting place on the horse’s back.

I have not had any problems with slippage. I do not use a breast plate. The saddle uses a short (dressage) girth. I have a Wintec girth that has worked well. I have had a few “challenging” rides in this saddle including some spooks, and I always felt secure in the seat and confident that the saddle will not slip.

The stirrup attachment is via rings. This is not ideal as it does not allow the stirrup leathers to detach from the saddle if they get hung up, or if the rider were to fall and get their feet stuck in the stirrup. It is a good idea to use safety stirrups or a Barnes Buckle, a very useful safety product that is used in the UK,as a precaution.

This saddle does not give the same amount of support as a treed saddle, or even as much as the Freeform saddle that I also own so might not be suitable for someone who does not have good balance.

Freedom models the Dr. Cook's Bitless bridle.

Of all the bitless solutions out there, this bridle is probably the best known.

The Dr. Cook’s bridle is a cross under solution: in addition to the normal cavesson, there are two straps that cross under the horse’s jaw and are then run through two rings on the noseband. The reins attach to these straps. Other bridles that use this configuration are the Nurtural bridle and the Micklem Multibridle.

The Dr. Cook’s bridle controls the horse primarily through poll pressure. When you put pressure on one – or both – reins, there is also a squeeze (or hug, as they define it) to the entire head, but the most pressure is applied to the poll. When the pressure on the reins is lessoned, the pressure on the horse’s head is reduced/released.

The Dr. Cook's bridle features a cross under design which "hugs" the head and applies pressure to the poll.

Herein lies the rub: if your horse does not respond to poll pressure, this is not the bridle for you. Lots of horses don’t seem to be bothered by the pressure. I’ve met many people who love this bridle and whose horses worked well in it from day one. The two horses I’ve tried this on did not like poll pressure one bit. With my Trakehner, his reaction to the bridle was to get very light in front at the slightest pressure and to half-rear when any more pressure was applied. My TB, Freedom, was not as reactive but was still very fussy.

I did give this bridle a chance. I rode in it repeatedly and he was fine provided I never took any contact. I had bought a nylon version of the bridle to try and at first, I suspected that this might be the problem, that the nylon didn’t release quickly enough so that the pressure was prolonged beyond my initial contact. My Trakehner came to me with “issues” and did not like to feel trapped. However, I borrowed a leather version of the bridle and had the same response. I really like to ride my horse with contact –  in my other bitless bridle I was able to get him to reach into the bridle, maintain a steady contact and swing through the back. It’s not that I don’t know how to ride him in this way, I simply could never get him to take contact in the Dr. Cook’s bridle.

Since trying the bridle, I’ve read about horses that are very sensitive to poll pressure and suspect I just have one of them. In fact, there are a growing number of bridle manufacturers that are selling “comfort” bridles with extra padding over the poll specifically marketed to horses like mine.

One thing I don’t necessarily buy into is all the hype that goes with this bridle. I have been riding bitless now for several years and it has been a much better solution for one of my horses. But I don’t necessarily think that putting a bit in your horse’s mouth is inherently wrong or that it’s necessarily harsh or inhumane.

Some horses just prefer a bitted bridle. I’ve tried several different bitless solutions, as well as a hackamore on my TB. He goes much, much better in a simple loose ring snaffle. He’s happier, he’s more relaxed and he’s easily controlled. In the end, it is the hands of the rider that makes the solution soft or harsh, not necessarily the bit.

My Rambo Wug has been going strong for nearly a decade.

It snowed today, a sure sign of impending winter. As I was pulling out my blankets, I reflected that my Rambo Wug heavy weight blanket is about to start it’s 9th winter. Pretty impressive, given that my horses live out 24/7 and are not known for being kind to their clothing. While I’ve had to make some minor repairs to the blanket, it still looks great.

I’ve now used this blanket on two horses. I bought it originally for my warmblood gelding. He wore it for several seasons until he simply outgrew it. I now use it on a TB. I find that it has fit both quite well. My warmblood is quite wide, especially through the shoulders, and this is one of the few blankets that hasn’t rubbed him. My TB is not so wide but is very hard on his blankets. This never slips, despite his antics. I really like the higher neck option and never felt the need to add a separate neck attachment. The added height around the neck seems to keep them warm and dry.

The blanket is quite breathable. Even when the weather has warmed up, when I’ve come to check my horse he’s not too hot.

The quality of the blanket is quite good. The material is strong and durable and resists tears. I’ve had no problems with the lining. I love the fastening method at the front (clips not buckles). They are very easy to open or fasten, even one handed.

Rambo blankets are initially expensive, but I’ve found that this one was very good value. I don’t have many blankets that look this good after so many years of use!

Freeform Classic Treeless Saddle

The concept of going Treeless has intrigued me for some time. I like the idea of having a saddle that will fit multiple horses and I liked the idea of finding a saddle that gave me the close feel of bareback riding with some additional support. I first tried a Barefoot Cheyenne, but it just didn’t do it for me. I didn’t like the Nubuck leather (which showed wear almost immediately) and I found that the stirrup position put me in a chair seat so I was always slightly behind the motion of my horse. In many regards it was a glorified bareback pad — the seat has very little structure and if you have a wide horse it can cause some discomfort in your hips.

I have really enjoyed my Freeform. It is more traditional in appearance (mine is black calfskin) and its seat has a narrower twist, which makes it quite comfortable. But the two outstanding features are 1) that it has an interchangeable seat, which allows you to use the saddle for several riders and 2) you can adjust the placement of the stirrups. I bought the saddle at a time when my daughter (aged 9) wanted to ride a friend’s pony. This pony was extremely wide, and even my wide tree saddle didn’t fit her. Plus my daughter is so small that I didn’t want her swimming in an adult-sized seat. I found the saddle used on the yahoo treeless site ($700) and then bought a smaller sized seat for my daughter. I can’t believe that more saddle manufacturers have not gone the modular route because it makes so much sense from a consumer perspective.

I’ve had the saddle now for about a year and I’ve still very pleased with it. It’s comfortable on both of my horses (which are very different shape) and the leather has held up well. In this regard, I much prefer the calfskin leather used on the Freeform over the Nubuck. The saddle is easy to clean and still shows little wear. The model I have has wool underneath.

I’ve been using this saddle with a Skito pad and have had no problems with my horses’ backs. I find the saddle to be quite stable on my horses’ backs, although I never mount from the ground.

My only complaint is that the saddle does not have as much of a close contact feel as some of the other treeless saddles, but I think the feeling of a twist is worth the tradeoff. Some people say they use this saddle for jumping, but at least for me, the flaps are too straight. It’s much more similar to a dressage saddle.