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| ALL THE BOT |
But.
I snapped up a pair of polos a couple months back because a local friend was selling them for a steal and I wanted them. Then I found another pair for another steal.
And that set forced me to jump on the Back on Track band wagon. Courage is a princess OTTB who likes to stock up random legs willy nilly, have massive overreactions to tiny cuts on the regular, and generally get odd fill in odd places that make me not happy. I found that with the Back on Track polo wraps, the random swellings would go down faster and stay tighter than leaving the legs bare, using boots, or using standard polos (to ride. Never leave polos on overnight).
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| it does look lovely in action |
Honestly, I figured that even if it didn't have magical properties, it was still a very nice pad and I was enjoying it quite a bit.
Back on Track Dressage Pad in Navy
Retail Price: $90
What I paid: $90 and they threw in free polos
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| clean, tight, and rubbing |
But then I saw it.
Courage was developing some thin spots in his hair, which is normal for his princess self in the summer. What wasn't normal was the very-odd placement.
I didn't put two and two together until after a hard ride the other day.
Oh. Oops. Sorry buddy.
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| huh I wonder if he's asymmetrical |
I maintain that this is a very well-made pad, but the binding on the pad is more nylon than cotton, and it completely disagrees with Courage's very fine hair and low tolerance for anything strange.
Big sigh here. I'm very disappointed. I'd like to just say "oh, that's Courage, but I've never had problems with him rubbing in this location before and I've used all kinds of pads on him and never seen something like this.
I was hoping to come here and write a super positive review. I was really excited to try this pad out in the colder months, when it can take Courage a while to get warmed up.
Unfortunately, I'm pulling it out of the regular rotation for now and I really can't recommend it. It's a shame, because it's a really pretty pad and other than that, I quite like it.
Hmmm...the rubbing is definitely a shame, because it's a really pretty pad.
ReplyDeleteI had a couple of their pads for a while but eventually moved away from them. Too hard to clean, too heavy, and very hot during the summer months. Definitely not for me or my horse. As for BoT products - I use them on myself and love them, but rarely use them on Fiction because he gets turned out a lot/doesn't get a ton of injuries and I never have enough time to use them before or after rides.
ReplyDeleteInteresting- while I wasn't doing a ton of work in it since we were regulated to "only some trot" after I bought it, I didn't notice any rubbing. But Foster doesn't have TB-fine hair. If anything I just noticed that he sweat more in it, because it's thicker than our average pad. Sorry it didn't work for y'all!
ReplyDeleteI've never seen that happen before. Very interesting!
ReplyDeleteHmm, I've used Bobby's for a year now and haven't had any problems aside from the fact that mine is white and literally impossible to get clean. I was going to double it as my show pad, but even after a thorough wash it looks so nasty there's no way I'd take it in public.
ReplyDeleteI've had that same problem with pads that are too big. It looks like there's a lot of extra fabric there, especially around the front of the saddle... maybe that's it? Still, bummer that it doesn't work well for C.
ReplyDeleteI hate oversize pads!!!! Another complaint about this one, it has too much fabric around the saddle.
DeleteAny chance it could soften with a few washes?
ReplyDeleteThe pad would soften maybe, but it's the binding that's rubbing. :-(
DeleteWhat a bummer. I didn't use my pad a lot outside of the winter months for Houston but I liked it a lot. I love the BOT products for myself though. I hate the polos for some reason. I'm not sure why but they always slipped on Houston. I'll have to try them on another horse and see. The hock boots and sheet were my favorite products.
ReplyDeleteI found mine hard to clean because it was so thick/heavy. Mikey seemed to enjoy it for the few rides I used it. I felt I never got the best from it because I really needed to put a fleece half pad under the saddle pad because: 1- it rubbed Mikey's whithers because he was a shark fin boy and the pad was just not cut in a way to prevent it (no matter how much I pulled the front of it up), 2- Mikey enjoyed his fleece half pad against his back instead of on top of the saddle pad, so the pad never really sat against his back.
ReplyDeleteI'm just glad I didn't pay for mine. It was free with the purchase of the mesh sheet at Rolex. I have the hock boots, no bows, and mesh sheet... they all went over very well. I was disappointed in the pad too.
Boo! I really wanted one of these, but my new TB takes thin skinned to whole new levels, so never mind :(
ReplyDeleteBummer!!!
ReplyDeleteI got one on consignment for $15, got the stains out, and sold it for $50 (didn't work for me either). So there's a used market out there if you're interested, and I'm sure you could get more for yours than I did because mine was kinda old.
Not fun! I have one but actually rarely use it because it does feel really heavy and, at least in the summer, I've been sticking to SP Lite pads.
ReplyDeleteThat's too bad! I know all about those sensitive OTTB princesses.
ReplyDeleteThat sucks! I love my BOT pads but they are a bit heavy for summer riding. I think the mesh sheet has been my best BOT investment so far.
ReplyDeleteI have the all purpose bot pads and use them regularly. They also rubbed my mare initially, which I obvi didn't love, but the rubbing stopped after my last saddle adjustment.
ReplyDelete