PONY'TUDE DIS-Approved

While I generally post product reviews of items I really like and have had a good experience with, (hence PONY'TUDE Approved) there are a few things I've purchased that I just have not been pleased with. Here are some of those things:

Horseman's One Step leather cleaner/conditioner/goo

just say no.

This stuff is just awful. For some reason I have a tub of it in my house and it ends up getting used to wipe down cowboy boots, chaps, and other miscellaneous leather items that need a cleaning during a time when I haven't brought my good leather cleaning products home from the barn. First of all, I'm not sure it does much cleaning, or whether things look "cleaner" after use because it's just made the dirt moist and shiny. Because it's a "two-in-one" cleaner/conditioner product, it also just sits heavily on the leather, neither lifting away dirt nor conditioning very well. And, the piece de resistance, Horseman's One Step also dries to a disgusting white film on the leather. I had used it to wipe down a pair of boots in the spring before I put them away for the season, and when I took them out the other day they were COVERED in white filmy grossness. A rub with a rag - wet or dry - would not take it off. This goo will also collect in stitching and seams like none other. Only when I busted out the Higher Standards Leather Cleaner did my boots return to their former glory. My recommendation? Just don't use this stuff. Purchasing it is a waste of money, and you're better off wiping your tack and boots down with just about anything else. Better yet, save your pennies for a tub of Higher Standards! 

Equi-Fit T-Boot Originals

Nope.

I got these boots when I first got Dino - about 4 years ago. At the time, my best friend worked for a major tack retailer and was able to get them for me for super, duper cheap. I was really pumped about them; T-Boots were the THING, normally really expensive, and I got them for such a good price! However, the boots have not lived up to my high expectations. 

While the memory foam lining is, in theory, a really awesome idea for horse boots, it doesn't function in a 'real world' setting all that well. The foam holds heat, dirt, sweat, and water like crazy, and the liners are really hard to get truly clean unless you take them home and run them through the washing machine at least once. As a person who likes CLEAN legwear at all times, if I can't quickly and easily clean my boots at the barn, that's a real pain in the butt. They also take FOREVER (we're talking line-dry in the sun for at least a full 24 hours, if not 48) to dry. Annoying.

But the most disappointing thing about the T-Boots is the lack of durability. For a boot at this price point, used on a pony that doesn't have any real interference issues, they just don't hold up like they should. Within less than a year of average use, the liners began to tear at the bottom, and the stitching holding the inner strike plates on totally disintegrated. While the boots are still useable, they don't look great, and I've had to sew the liners where they tore open. If you're going to spend a pretty penny on tendon boots, I'd take your money somewhere else and go for another brand.

Dover Wither Relief Pad

Very fluffy, not very useful. 

This is a cheap product to begin with, I paid $20 for it on sale, and it might work for some people, but it definitely didn't work for me. If you need a half pad to address an actual saddle fit issue as I did, this pad is essentially useless on its own. It's pretty much all fluff, and squishes down to next-to-nothing once under the saddle. Paired with my significantly more substantial Lami-Cell pad it worked ok to give me the look I wanted for a hunter show, but it's definitely not a pad I can get excited about. If you want the half pad look without paying a lot or altering your saddle fit, this pad is for you! If you want a half pad that actually does something, pass on this one! Lesson learned: you get what you pay for.

Best Friend Grazing Muzzle

I wouldn't wish this on my worst enemy, never mind my best friend. 

I have been through my share of grazing muzzles, let me tell you! And since I've discovered the Tough-1 Easy Breathe muzzle, the Best Friend is going on the DIS-Approved list. This muzzle is ubiquitous in both it's built-in-halter and velcro-on versions. It's in every tack store, and every online retailer carries it. It's EXPENSIVE - around $50 in most places. And it rubs the hell out of just about every horse it's put on. The Best Friend muzzle is not something I enjoyed putting on my best friend. It's heavy, it rubs, and the horses obviously find it very uncomfortable. I know several horses who developed large bumps on their noses from this muzzle. And because of the discomfort factor, horses are more likely to destroy it in an effort to get it off their faces. When there's a better, lighter-weight, more comfortable muzzle out there, I just can't bring myself to recommend the Best Friend muzzle to anyone. Check out the Tough-1 muzzle instead!

Anyone else care to share some not-so-super experiences they've had with sub-par horse products?