Product Reviews: Back on Track, Equilibrium Massage Pad, Heat Pad and ArcEquine



Biggest. Head. Ever.

First time mom worries...except I’m not a first time mom and my horse is a horse, not a baby. But still...I like to get him all the gimmicks, a slave to the consumer world some might say. My regular deliveries to work are still giving my colleagues giggles and prompt questions such as ‘do you spend your money on ANYTHING other than your horse’...emmmmm, no. ‘Sheesh, I’m not getting paid enough, you’re obviously making way more than me with all the things you buy for this horse’. No, no, I’m just fond of a cheap meal for myself and an expensive horse rug for ma poneh.

So my horse has had a bit of a leg owie which I think resulted from tension in his back so I have actually tried EVERYTHING under the sun while he’s had some time off to try get him back to tip top shape. My methods have ranged from cold hosing after every ride right up to asking the Horseback vet (www.horsebackvet.com) from the UK to check my horses back (he also saw other horses while here, I’m not THAT neurotic...or am I...). I’m hoping he will come back again before the summer and so I’ll do a full blog on his methods and suggested exercises. But in short, he’s the bomb diggidy! If your horse has a sore back...hunt the man down and get him to do circus tricks with your pony. He’s worth the money.

So I thought I would do a product review on everything and give you my thoughts, both pretty and ugly, on each product.

Back on Track rug
Friends recommended these products to me so I decided to have a look. I should point out that it doesn't much to convince me, just in case you haven’t already figured that out. You could tell me that dressing my horse up like a Tellytubby and dancing the cha-cha around him daily will make him happier and healthier and I’ll be searching ‘tellytubby outfits for horses’ on Ebay within seconds. My friends have declared they would like to come back in their next life as my horse, which creeps me out and makes me proud in equal measures.
I decided not to buy the actual rug, given my horses penchant for destroying things so instead I came up with the bright idea (ok it was my yard managers idea, cheers Sandra!) of instead buying the Back Equine Warmer Royal (http://www.backontrack-uk.co.uk/ourshop/prod_5348914-Back-on-Track-Back-Equine-Warmer-Royal.html) and sewing it into my cooler. I actually had it attached with a surcingle at the front but it created a nasty rub wound on Romy’s chest so I got the 'ol needle and thread out and wowed myself with my sewing skills. At a pricey £89 / €105 for what is essentially an oversized saddle pad, I was expecting great things. I was LAUGHED out of the yard when I arrived with it. “Are leprechauns weaving magic crystals into the lining of this thing for it to cost that?”. Thankfully money grows on trees however so I was fine to spend €105 plus P&P for this small piece of material. So. The review:
Value for money: 6/10
Comfort: 5/10 because of the rubbing on Romy’s chest, otherwise I would have bumped this up to a 9/10 because he has it on every day and so far no rubs (after I took the surcingle off!)
Negatives: The (lack of) attachments to the horses body if you want to wear it in the stable
Positives: Can be worn while riding, easy to wash, soft material
Overall impression: Shortly after buying it, Romy’s physio commented he had a nice warmth to his back and his back has become progressively better but I don’t know if this is due to the rug or the combination of everything combined! I haven’t seen a huge improvement in him but he hasn't gone worse either.
Would I recommend: Possibly. I’m a fan of trying everything you can afford to get your horse comfortable, especially when it comes to your horses back. But if you’re limited, money wise, then this wouldn’t be top of my list. And if your horse isn't a rug destroyer, like mine, go for the full hog rug.

Equilibrium Massage Pad

Before melting it!
(Yes, I know my horse has a beard. SorryNotSorry)

Used before and after I ride. Turns my horses back into a molten liquid spongy softness – for non horsey people reading, that’s a good thing! Shortly after buying it I promptly melted most of the surcingles off it and nearly caused a yard fire by resting the bag against a hot pipe (shudder). Thankfully, I came away with all of the yard, most of the product (sans surcingles) and a strong smell of singe which I don’t believe will ever go away. Yay! My horse tried to chew his way through the last man (surcingle) standing so I now keep it on with my own surcingle which allows for a close contact and doesn’t budge. I may get the needle and thread back out and reattach the chewed off bits. I’ll be costume designing for the Broadway Theatre at this stage.
So, back to the product. While wearing it, Romy twitches away like a junkie on crack so not only is it my favourite gadget for him, I think its his favourite gadget so far too! He has a sensitive back and hind quarters, which we never really got to the bottom of but it was so bad at one stage that you could hardly put your hand on his hind quarter without it spasming. Is that a word? Anyway. The pad has made a massive difference and I won’t go anywhere without it in the future. Romy’s pacifier. My pacifier. I also think it keeps value because there is always someone, somewhere with a horse dodgier than yours who will want to buy a second hand one. You can buy it from http://www.equilibriumproducts.com/product/equilibrium-therapy-massage-pad/ for £295 / €347 and you can pick them up for a good price on ebay / preloved second hand if you can’t quite afford a new one.
Value for money: 10/10 (I’m sure not every horse reacts as well to them as my horse but given my experience I definitely think it’s worth the money)
Comfort: 7/10 (Romy doesn’t like the back surcingle going under his belly but I recognise that it has to attach somehow)
Negatives: I think the massage pads themselves could be heavier to allow for a closer contact and it would be good if the pads were a little bigger to massage a wider area.
Positives: Easy to transport as it's light, gives the desired results, easy to use, easy to clean and charges for a substantial period.
Overall impression: A1 Sharon
Would I recommend: Definitely. I think a lot of issues stem from uncomfortable backs so happy back = happy horse = happy owner. I have noticed a huge difference in Romy’s back muscles and his physio reports have reflected the same...that’s science speaking, not I, Mr. Fox.

Heat Pad

As recommended by the Horseback Vet, Rob Jackson who has a near cult-like following in the horsey world. Rob recommended heating his SI region before riding and while discussions (mind bullying) with the yard manager have begun re: installing a solarium, I needed a quick fix so the heat pad was purchased. Rather than spend a fortune on equestrian products I went on the hunt for something more reasonable and found a chordless ‘heat cushion'
(https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00ES4D89Y/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1) for £110 / €130 plus P&P. If you do a mild search on the internet you can see that I am, in fact, an absolute muppet and similar products can be found for half the price. I'm afraid this was 130 euro down the drain as this product is as useful as a one legged man at an arse kicking competition. A hot water bottle definitely would be more effective, however more to fiddle with and TIME IS MONEY PEOPLE. I also don’t know how the hot water bottle would actually stay on my horses rump. The heat pad manages to stay on if my horse doesn’t budge and once I stick a lick under his gob we’re in the money. But it doesn’t really get that warm and the battery runs out VERY quickly. So, I think we know where this is going, right?
Value for money: 2/10
Comfort: 6/10 (It has a fleece side and a waterproof side)
Negatives: Doesn’t stay on, battery runs out, overpriced, difficult to pronounce, isn’t heavy enough to give a close contact so doesn't get that warm.
Positives: Soft material
Overall impression: I guess this product isn’t made for horses but even as a human if I had bought that to heat myself up with I’d be raging!
Would I recommend: Nah, stick to your hot water bottles people! I need to up my solarium convincing / bullying tactics.

Arc Equine

The reviews on this one speak for themselves (http://www.arcequine.com/case-studies/) but it is incredibly difficult to tell if the product works or not because you will never have a horse with exactly the same issues and exactly the same conditions to test it against and you can never tell if it’s the Arc or good old reliable Mr. Time which is the main contributor to success stories. The Arc can be used for a variety of issues, from behavioural to mild soft tissue wounds to more serious issues like kissing spine and fractures. I find it pretty easy to use (so long as you have a minion who can help put it on when you’re in work as the programmes are 3 hours long). The customer service was fantastic and they were pretty prompt at replacing a piece of the equipment when mine stopped working (I had an older version). You can leave it on and don't need to stay with your horse (I covered mine with a leg bandage so my dinosaur didn’t chew his way through it).

Bionic pony with the Arc on (pre-bandaging) and Equilibrium massage pad

The worst thing about this product is the price; £540 / €636 plus P&P (although there are discount codes floating around so you can get up to £100 off if you hunt hard enough). It’s a hefty amount to be paying when it’s very difficult to scientifically prove that it works but I’ve heard some insurance companies will include it if the vet recommends it, which is worth knowing. And it doesn’t have to be used for an injury, you can keep it for use before or after heavy schooling sessions or competitions. In my case, my horse recovered much quicker than my vet had expected. In fact his words were ‘I don’t want to say that I’m satisfied with him Victoria, because I’m so much more than that. I couldn’t be happier with his progress’. Was it the Arc Equine? Very difficult to tell. Would I get it again? Absolutely. In fact I did recommend it to friends, one who's mare had a pretty nasty suspensory issue and we heard today that she is well on the way to recovery and by the sounds of things much further along that the vet expected at this stage. After a couple of months my friend is back on board and was initially told her horse would be out of work for a year. ‘Nuff said.
Value for money: 7/10 (Would be higher other than the fact that it’s tricky to tell if this is the main reason behind a horses recovery. I know some people who have used it who DIDN'T have positive results, however they really do keep their value so if you buy it and it’s not right you can resell it for a pretty good price.)
Comfort: 8/10 (Easy to put on, in fact we went for hacks with it on under his bandages. Not 10/10 because I would rather if the device had padding around it because hard plastic on my horses leg = worried Mama.)
Negatives: You have to be dedicated to the cause. While in recovery the horse has to have it on for 3 hours daily for 8 weeks. No ifs or buts. Also, it’s difficult to really compare it to other forms of treatment as it’s not currently recognised by most vets as a treatment product.
Positives: Amazing reviews, easy to put on, discreet, keeps its value.  
Overall impression: I think you get my overall idea of this product...something worked for my horse. Was it this, the cold hosing, the massage pad, the regular physio, the back on track rug, the acupuncture, the controlled exercise, the chiropractor, the heat pad or time off? Most likely a combination of all of them. But my thoughts are if you can afford this product then it’s worth a try.
Would I recommend: Yes, I have done and the results so far are positive.
 

My list of product reviews goes on but rather than lose you all to total boredom at this stage I’ll save the review on therapy methods and my latest product, Ice Vibe boots for my next blog.

Until then y’all! And remember, patience is key. In recovery, riding and overall life. Yes, I totally thought I would be the Charlotte Dujardin of Ireland at this stage. But life just ain’t that simple so for now I have to be happy with what I have. *Rolls eyes up to heaven…I WANT TO COMPETE!!!*. But yeah. Patience.

V x