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.