Product Review: BeneFab Pastern Wraps & Therapeutic Poll Pad
Every summer like clockwork, my 17-hand gelding’s legs begin to stock up. As the heat and humidity rises, and his turnout schedule changes to allow him to be outside when its coolest (overnight), I often find him in his stall with swelling in his legs.
This process is normal of course. When the temperatures are this warm and wet, and his movement is limited for hours in a stall, his legs will naturally stock up.
One way to combat the “stocking up” would be to wrap him in standing wraps or quick-wrap boots, something I do often when he is stabled overnight at horse shows. But newer research has shown us that keeping horses’ legs wrapped applies more heat to their tendons and ligaments, which in turn increase their risk of soft-tissue injury. Another option would be to keep him turned out for longer, but with record-breaking heat waves and a horse who isn’t the best and most consistent sweater, these summertime temperatures can be quite dangerous at peak times, too.
So what’s a horse girl to do?
On Episode 138 of the Heels Down Happy Hour Podcast, I shared how I found an ad for pastern wraps from Benefab, a company that makes horse performance and recovery products using fabrics infused with lead-free minerals which emit far-infrared wavelengths. This technology helps increase blood circulation, dilate capillaries, and reduce inflammation.
Among the minerals embedded in to the fabric are silica, magnesium, copper, and bamboo charcoal. Far-Infrared rays are a “low-range, invisible ray of light on the electromagnetic spectrum,” reads the Benefab website.
The pastern wraps are a thin piece of stretching fabric that – you guessed it – can be wrapped around the pasterns or ankles of your horse. Similar to standing wraps or quick-wrap boots, the effects of the fabric begins working immediately.
Benefab recommends using them every day for up to 12 hours a day to see maximum results.
I apply my pair of pastern wraps to all four legs (two at a time). They are easily applied with a velcro fixture. My horse can wear them during turnout or in his stall. I often put them on when I’m grooming before my ride, and again after the ride while hosing him down or hand grazing.
I can attest that the Benefab pastern wraps do what they say they do – they help take away the swelling in my horse’s legs from stocking up in the stall in the summertime. I believe they provide him relief while wearing them, without the risk of adding too much heat to his entire lower leg.
The wraps are easy to keep clean and apply. They are 100% part of my everyday grooming and horse health routine now.
I was so impressed with the pastern wraps I also purchased Benefab’s Smart Therapeutic Poll Pad to try. My horse is also a cribber, who wears a collar to control the behavior in the stall. His bodyworkers often note that he carries some tension at his poll as a result. In addition to having the far-infrared emitting minerals embedded in the poll pad, it also has two medical-grade magnets (2400 gauss) in the center to offer key acupressure point relief. The poll pad can be placed on a halter or bridle along the crown/poll or the brow area, depending on the targeted area you’d like to treat.
So far so good. These two products from Benefab were easy on the wallet (less than $65 together) and are easy to clean, use and store. It felt like a splurge that’s paid off in the end for my horse.
You can tune in to our full review on Episode 138 of the Heels Down Happy Hour Podcast wherever you listen to podcasts.