Rider Review: Back On Track Products

It is no secret that I am a HUGE Back On Track fan. I seriously love the products and while I did review them way back when I decided that I should tell you about the ones that I still have and what I like and dislike about them – yes there are things that I don’t love about the magical Back On Track. *gasp*

I am almost embarrassed to fess up to how much of this stuff I have owned… I blame L for my initial interest. My recommendation to anyone shopping BoT is to find a retailer that has Coupons and free shipping over $100. Adam’s Horse Supplies is one of my favorite retailers for BoT because they rarely exclude BoT in coupons and you can usually find one on RetailMeNot.com. Another shop that runs sales sometimes is Bit Of Britain. TOTD does an annual Back on Track Black Friday Sale – or they have for the past few years and it’s normally a pretty good deal for those products.

Originally L told me she was going to do a BoT review and we thought it would be a good idea to coordinate so the blogosphere could see the mixed reviews that come from 2 different users with different horses, ailments, and climates 🙂 This review is fresher to my mind but I definitely recommend that you check hers out too!

For Me:

Back Brace 

For Pony:

Mesh Sheet

Hock Boots

Knee Boots

No Bows

Quarter Sheet

I tried to keep it short and sweet when it came to the review on each product. In italics you can find my “bottom line” for those not wanting to read the entire Back On Track novel. Back On Tracking is addicting so be warned! And yes. BoTing is a verb!

Back Brace: This brace has been worth every penny spent. I have a stiff and sore back and this brace has improved that drastically. I find that it loosens up my muscles and even after a day of sitting at my desk at work if I have this brace on my back feels significantly better. True to size – I am 32 around my ribs and 26-28 size pants and I have a size small. Bottom Line: I would buy this again in a heartbeat.

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Mesh Sheet: Love. This is definitely one of my favorite BoT products. It significantly reduces my warm up time and I can also say now with confidence that it helped with Houston’s stiffness – especially when it was very cold out. Without using this sheet Houston used to come out stiff and resistant but when I used this sheet he took less than half of the time to get going and overall seemed more comfortable.  True to size – Hue wore his normal 84″ and this seemed to allow enough room through the shoulders. I purchased Annie a 75″ BoT and it didn’t fit her very well but that was my fault though and now Spot gets to benefit from my mistake! I did end up replacing the mesh sheet with a 78″ for Annie and she seems to like it. I am not able to say that I see as definitive of a response on Annis as she really isn’t that stiff or hard to warm up but she does seem to like it minus the initial sweating the first time she wore it. Bottom Line: wish that it wasn’t so pricey but I wouldn’t hesitate to buy it again. If it were any more expensive I would probably pass – unless they upgraded features to include snap closures in the front and a nicer tail cord! 

Hock Boots: Favorite product hands down. I LOVE all things BoT but these boots won me over totally. They were my first BoT investment and they definitely work from my experience. I would say that if I left these boots on for approx 20-30 minutes prior to a ride Houston came out much more fluid and free than he usually would prior to a warm up. He seemed overall more comfortable and I was happy to have them for that reason. That said I do not love the design of the boots and am fairly unimpressed with the fact that the keeper for the top strap on these boots had loose stitching and was essentially useless to me from the get go. They do have a newer model of these boots now and someday I will invest in that style with a fluffier pillow style liner. These run pretty true to size. Houston was very large boned and I could squeeze him into a Large. Bottom Line: Your horse needs these. If they have any hock stuff going on that is. I found that Houston in general was just stiffer in the hind end and these products really helped to loosen him up and make him feel good from what I could tell.

Knee Boots: Another great product but not practical for daily use. These boots are hard to keep on unless your horse is tied up – in which case they still might slip even without a nosey creature messing with them. I probably used these the least of any of my BoT products solely because they are a pain and should really be used with a standing bandage. Additionally it is not a good idea to leave your horse unattended with these on as they can and will rip them off. That said I found that Houston’s right knee stayed very tight when I used these so I was very impressed by that! Bottom Line: Probably would not buy them again for Houston since he refused to wear them. Might be okay with a horse that isn’t as mouthy or rough on wearables.

17047No Bow Wraps: Once again a product that I LOVE. I am really sad that BoT is now only making no bows as I have grown to prefer the pillow wrap style. Luckily the now bows are beautifully made. I used mine at home and at shows and was totally sold. Houston came in once with some swelling in his ankle and after using these wraps I saw improvement and his legs were cool and tight again. I cannot say how they help with other injuries but I am a fan. I sold my set of the pillow version when I stopped riding last year and am really regretting it! I did recently acquire a full set of the No Bows though and Annie will get to wear them when needed. Bottom Line: BoT please make more pillow wraps! I loved these and have not seen a nicer set of pillows. Therepuetic benefit or not! 

20013_SiloQuarter Sheet: I actually had the opportunity to use both versions of this quarter sheet and would say that I really like both of them. I find that the version I currently have (nylon) is probably best for those that do not have access to an indoor arena and ride outside all winter. The nylon version is a little more hefty and weather resistant. The fleece version was more than enough when I had access to an indoor and now that I have a smaller horse that one is being well loved by K and Siggy. Bottom line: I would (and did) buy this again. I am not super keen on the price but I have always been able to buy this at a discounted rate – given the durability this item is probably easily worth the full price. 

Hopefully you all can handle this version of review. I intended to do a series of posts for each product but given that each product does the same thing on different body parts I felt it was reasonable to throw them together. Plus you can hop on over to L’s blog (Viva Carlos) and read her thoughts on the BoT items that she has! 🙂

5 out of 6 passed!

7 comments

  1. Amanda says:

    Good reviews. I haven’t used my BOT stuff enough yet to tell if they make a difference or not, but time will tell. Also keep an eye on TackDealz for sales – that’s how I got my mesh sheet for $145 USD!

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