Education Zone

Emma Alcorn and Delphi’s story: Delphi is a 14.2hh Dapple Grey Mare who suffers with the mud during winter. With Delphi having to be turned out 24/7 all year round due to not being able to stable her it has meant that her legs don’t get the chance to recover, resulting in this impacting her jumping career. Emma has owned Delphi for 3 years and has tried multiple lotions and potions to try and fix the problem but nothing has worked. This is where the Equi-Chaps Close Contact Chaps come in! Emma’s review: ‘As soon as I’d tried them on Delphi I realised that the Equi-Chaps Close Contact Chaps really are ideal and perfect in every way possible! The material used is breathable and stretchy meaning that it didn’t prevent any movement whilst being worn during turnout The boots are extremely quick and easy to put on, and even easier to take off especially when covered in mud thanks to the well designed tabs They‘re a perfect fit and sit snug around every contour of the leg from the knee to the hoof, which made me notice how they act as over-reach and brushing boot due to the full coverage They really do work to prevent mud from getting on the leg. Every time I have taken the boots off, Delphi’s legs have been completely dry, mud free and clean! They aren’t only good for keeping mud off the legs, but also as extra protection in the field, such as bashing legs whilst rolling and getting caught in fencing The Equi-Chaps Close Contact Chaps ensure that legs are kept warm too, helping to keep joints from getting cold during the winter. After over a week’s use, I have noticed a huge difference in Delphi already. Her legs are completely free from any scabs or sores and she is feeling much better in herself. She’s trotting around the field on her own which she wouldn’t have done before she had her Equi-Chaps Close Contact Chaps! These boots really are a miracle & I’m so pleased and grateful that we have finally found the perfect piece of equipment to protect Delphi. I can’t imagine life without them now and will most definitely be ordering some more in the future for use on all my horses! I would highly recommend these to anyone and everyone as they truly are something every equestrian should own.’ Find out more about the Equi-Chaps Close Contact Chaps here

It may seem like you have tried everything you can to help your horse who head shakes, but nothing seems to be helping? Here’s a story to keep you going and encourage you not to give up! Take a read about Kyle and Vin’s journey. Kyles Story I bought my RPSI gelding, Vin, back in 2012 when he was an 8 year old. He had previously done some fox hunting and low level dressage. During the first few months of owning him, he started to exhibit a head toss during exercise, which would increase as we worked more. At first, my trainer and I thought it might be him avoiding contact or staying in frame for collected dressage work, so we spent time building muscle, top line, balance, etc… When that didn’t alleviate anything we went the martingale route (which I’m ashamed of now, knowing he was dealing with something he literally couldn’t control) which would allow us to work but he’d still rail against the straps during our entire ride. It was about a year into it when I started reading about products to help with this. One of the first hits we got was the Muzzle Net from Equilibrium Products. Both my trainer and I looked at it, and both agreed there was no way it was that simple and moved on to the next product. We began with antihistamines, since he’d often rub his nose on his legs when it got the worst. When that didn’t solve anything we tried Equiwinner patches. After losing patch after patch in the pasture and not knowing how long he kept it on we decided to forgo that. We purchased all kinds of sun protection contraptions, all with no results. Then we moved on to using magnesium, which we did see a small improvement with. The head toss would still be there but would take a few more minutes into work to present itself. During this “stage” in our experiments, I went ahead and ordered the Muzzle Net from Equilibrium. Both my trainer and I shook our heads the day I was bridling him up and attaching it, but we were also at our literal wits end on what to try. That very first ride with the net we had almost ZERO toss. He was finally able to relax, release some tension at the poll and seemed to just “breathe”. We both kicked ourselves for not trying this months/years earlier.  The magnesium/net combo helped for a few years, or at least calmed it enough for us to compete in jumping and dressage at a low level. As Vin got a bit older, his shaking progressed some and got back to the point where it was almost too violent for me to ride him. His tosses when he got going were so large that he’d throw his front legs off the ground at times. I found a study online that utilized injectable dexamethasone administered orally, which seemed a little scary, but at this point I was considering just retiring him out to pasture so we gave it a shot. We spoke to our vet, which understandably was pretty cautious and moved forward. Within the first couple months we saw AMAZING improvement. By pulse #4 we had no toss/irritation as long as we continued to ride with the Muzzle Net. Since then, we can get by with pulsing only when his symptoms present themselves and usually only 1 to 2 times per year. It’s literally saved him for us.

Kissing Spine in horses seems to be all too common today with so many diagnosed. We caught up with Clara Kavanagh about her horse Chili, who is currently in rehabilitation following ‘the ligament snip’, as she explains his symptoms & diagnosis, her decision and the recovery!  The Early Days “I started looking for my ‘dream horse’ last summer, this was a very exciting time for me as I had only ever been able to beg, borrow and lease ponies/horses in my childhood up until I finished my degree in Equine Management. I purchased Chili in August 2018, he is a 6 year old Thoroughbred. I always thought about buying a racehorse and retraining them for a new career. Chili was last raced in June 2018 under the name Farrier Fury. I knew Chili was the right horse for me as he had such a great temperament and once I got him home he was brought on very slowly and took to his new career like a duck to water. He has always acted like an absolute gentleman wherever I brought him! The plan was to gently start him over the winter with a goal to compete in our Riding Club Dressage Spring league and do some Retraining Racehorse to Riding horse classes in the summer of 2019.” The Start of Our Setbacks “Chili unfortunately got a stone bruise in February which I thought would be our only hiccup. However this was only the beginning of our setbacks. One day I went to tack him up for a short hack and noticed he was unusually girthy, and he was very grumpy, which isn’t like him at all. I called the physio to come take a look at him. The physio was concerned that he was showing a lot of stiffness over his back and sacroiliac region, the first thing that came to mind for me was Kissing Spine.  His whole temperament had changed, it was hard for me as it was like I was losing my best friend. I was worried about Chili, so I rang our local vet. I had the vet out to give Chili a once over, the vet gave us advice to continue light work. I had people telling me that I must be imagining something was wrong or that I was silly spending money for the physio and vet to come out just because I had a gut feeling. I was starting to think, they might be right or I might be a hypochondriac the way I was worrying because even though the vet gave him a once over I knew something wasn’t right with him. I wanted to get a second opinion, so I rang Troytown Greyabbey Equine Hospital and spoke to their lameness/orthopaedic specialist and explained my concerns.  So I booked him in for an appointment the following week. Diagnosis Chili spent about two hours having a full lameness diagnostic done which consisted of a trot up, lunging, flexion tests and x-rays. On seeing the X-rays it confirmed my fears, it was Kissing Spine, he had four processes touching. The vet confirmed that the kissing spine had most likely resulted from his racing career and his back conformation. Our choice was to have surgery (Interspinous Ligament Desmotomy, aka ‘The Ligament Snip’) or to medicate via corticosteroid injections. Chili also turned out to have a bone chip on his near hind fetlock however it causes him no issues! I brought him back to the hospital for bone scintigraphy scans, this helped me decide that the surgical route would be in Chili’s best interest as he was still a young horse and he would benefit the most from the ligament snip. The specialist vet was optimistic that if the surgery and rehab was successful Chili would be more than capable of returning to a competitive career with a rehab time of 6-8 weeks. This meant there was a small glimmer of hope for us, so I booked Chili in for surgery. Chili spent 4 days at the Equine Hospital, the surgery went very well, and Chili began intensive hand walking by the nurses the day after surgery. I brought Chili home on 26th of April and have been continuing to hand walk him for 30 minutes twice daily. Chili has since had a check up at Troytown Greyabbey to remove the stitches and the vet could not be happier with his progress.  He has been an absolute pleasure to rehab so far, he really is my dream horse! My advice to any horse owners that may be going through the same challenges as Chili and I faced would be to always trust your gut, you alone know you’re horse well enough to make the right choice regarding what is best for them. If in doubt don’t be afraid to ask for help or a second opinion. I dread to think how long Chili might have continued to soldier on in pain had I not trusted my gut. I would highly recommend the Equilibrium Massage Pad to any horse owner. It is very easy to incorporate into your everyday routine warm-up/warm down and it has made a big difference to Chili! It was comforting to know that the massage pad kept him relaxed! Chili is now starting week 4, he has started long reining in walk this week and will incorporate work in a Pessoa once the incision points on his back have had more time to heal. Our Physio has also been out this week to release any tension and do some laser therapy. I have been using Massage Pad and Magnetic Rug daily since the operation and it is honestly like having my best friend back! He is much more relaxed in himself and I have Troytown Greyabbey and Equilibrium Products to thank for that! Chili has another 4 weeks at least until he can begin work back under saddle but its a big step in the right direction!”  

Product testing is an important part of our company DNA, and while scientific testing is important to us, knowing exactly what horse owners (and most importantly - their horses!) think of the products and the benefit they provide them is just as vital too! Our Massage Pad Heatsense development followed this same protocol. Working with equine physiotherapists and electrical experts, we designed the Heatsense to deliver therapeutic levels of heat consistently, but also SAFELY. Once we were confident in this, the Pad was trialled both in house and out of house by a number of different horses in different disciplines. Once the concept was tweaked and finalised, we took the product on the road and here's just some of the reviews from those who have tried it!  Emily Mustow Eventing I was lucky enough to be one of the riders who got to trial the Heatsense whilst at Osberton International competing in the CCI2* with 21 year old Prime Time II. At his age, getting through trot both trot ups was a little nerve wracking. However the HeatSense, along with the magnetic boots, helped keep Fred relaxed, warm and supple which meant he flew through both trot ups easily. On dressage day, Fred wore the heat sense about an hour before his test while he was being plaited up. He was so relaxed and seemed to really enjoy it. He then went on to do his best ever international dressage test to score a 33. He was so cooperative and on side. He can be a real nervous horse in this phase, so for him to finally show what he can do was very emotional. I will definitely be getting my own Heat Sense ready for next season!  Tamsin O'Connor Aero (Riversides Caballero) is a 15.3hh, 9 year old, Warmblood x Part-Bred Arab, chestnut gelding. It was a bit touch and go for the BRC Championships as it became apparent the week before that he had tweaked his back and required an emergency chiro treatment the night before we were leaving! However, we won both our Prelim Championships the day before our Music Championship, which was amazing, but he still felt a little tentative. On the Sunday I was very grateful that we had booked the new Heatsense pad to trial before my music tests. We finished 3rd in the Novice with 70%, and to top off an already incredible weekend we WON our Prelim with 73% - they were big classes and many superb horses competing so never did I imagine we could do so well! After using the Heatsense pad he really felt great, tried hard, and absolutely gave me everything.  Sophie Wymark This massage pad is incredible, my horse instantly showed releases when the massage and heat pads were turned on. She felt much more supple over her back and quarters during her warm-up when we trialled it at the British Riding Club NAF Five Star Introductory Championships. It has been added to her Christmas list!  Lauren Lanik - Adventures of Megatron Mega has been lucky enough to trial the Equilibrium Products HeatSense Massage Pad over the last month or so. I bought the standard massage pad for Mega over 2 years ago and I’ve always seen benefits of using it so was intrigued to see the differences vs the new HeatSense pad. - I love the extra length of the pad to provide full coverage across their entire back - the self temperature regulating heat element of the pad gives me complete reassurance that Mega is benefitting from the optimum temperature for her muscles - the elasticated belly straps make securing the pad fast and easy - no having to adjust them if you’ve put the pad on over a rug - the additional motors in the massage pad seemed to noticeably provide further relaxation vs the standard pad - the option to run just the massage function or heat or run them together! Full multi purpose/use item making it great value Katie Rogers Equine Physiotherapist - Founder of Sky Equine Rehabilitation We are very lucky to have been given the opportunity of trialling for a few weeks, the new Equilibrium Massage Pad HeatSense.  This was launched at the beginning of this month and so far it is proving very  much loved by our patients. Most of them have experienced it now and they all fall asleep.  We use an array of the Equilibrium Products anyway for the physio and rehab of our horses and the addition of the heat to the massage pad is a welcomed one. Each of our horses have an individual programme of treatments and plans and the massage pad features heavily in it.  It works amazingly at helping to reduce tension in their back, especially when on box rest and maintaining a good level of circulation.  With the heat addition, it helps to warm the muscles as well as providing that massage effect. We love it at Sky Equine and so do our horses.  It's on the Christmas Wish List

Jemma got in touch with us on Instagram with some photos of her horse Monty before he used the Massage Pad, compared to after. We were astonished by the immediate clear difference in how he looked so much more comfortable, we asked her to tell us a little bit more about him and their journey! Introducing Jemma & Monty Hey, my names Jemma. I’m 30 and I’m from (the sometimes) sunny Cornwall, I work as a HCA in the NHS and I’ve owned & ridden horses from a young age on and off, but have found my love for it again the last couple years after an awful riding accident left both me & my horse Monty with shattered confidence & no trust in each other at all, & so started the long & bumpy journey to getting back into the saddle & restoring our confidence again. Monty is a 17hh, 13yr old ID x TB & I’ve had the pleasure of owning him for 8 years now, despite it being pretty bumpy at times, he’s a horse with so much love to give, he has an incredibly huge character & many quirks too, he’s actually quite well known as the “Horse who sits like a dog” and actually made it into national newspapers being compared to Eeyore the donkey for the way he “sits” & takes in everything around him ? Since using the Massage Pad on Monty I have seen such huge improvements in his overall wellbeing and I just wanted to share with you those improvements, it’s the best thing I’ve honestly ever invested in and it’s now a strong part in our daily routine. Monty is so sensitive, cold backed and has also had the tendency to stand underneath himself which has caused many problems and issues with his back, however since using the Massage Pad and incorporating stretches into his routine, the difference has been incredible. His back is so much more comfortable in all aspects, he’s nowhere near as sensitive, he isn’t uncomfortable when tacking up, he doesn’t arch his back or appear uncomfortable when it comes to me getting on him to ride, he warms up so much better and his overall general wellbeing has significantly improved. I honestly can’t thank you guys enough, I just wanted to share a before and after photo around a year apart since we’ve started using the Massage Pad and I think you’ll agree that the change and difference is incredible. Onwards and Upwards Because of the many issues we faced with our accident & riding confidence in each other, Monty is still very much a blank canvas, but in the last year or so since we’ve really got back into our riding, he’s showing that he has lovely movement & 3 nice paces, once he puts his mind to it. So, for now we are continuing to work on our flatwork & schooling & building him up over the winter period with hopes next year of dabbling in a little bit of dressage or showing, he’s a big & powerful horse who can really strut his stuff when he wants to, so who know... watch this space? Do you have a story you would like to share with us? Get in touch using the link below.