Review - The Carrot Ball

What can I say?  Silk defiantly approves!

As soon as I saw this item due to come on the market I was interested, Silk doesn't like many treats but she does like carrots (once I taught her she could eat them by painstakingly cutting them into tiny pieces and putting them in her feed at first) so I figured this would defiantly keep her entertained.  I sorted her stable excitedly hanging her carrot ball up and popped some carrots in, I put it on a rope as she already has a ball toy for the floor, so I figured I'd keep this different (and clean).

On the first day, she didn't seem that interested but she did try and take a couple of nibbles as she investigated it.  I realised that she was being her usual silly self as the other mares where being brought in going back and forth to the door.  But the next morning she'd certainly had a good go at getting the carrots out of the ball.

After that, it's been the first thing she goes to as she enters her stable.   She sometimes manages to pull the whole carrot out, sometimes there are bits of carrot still in the ball but she plays with it for ages trying to get her tasty treats.  I'm going to try some parsnips to see if she will like those too.

I give this carrot ball an extra plus because as a hanging toy it's the only one I've actually left up!  I can't count how many times with other hanging toys/treat holders I've pulled them down within the first day or two because I keep whacking my head on it when mucking out.  Well, worry not (even when Evie is on my back in her carrier I don't worry about hitting it as it's nice and soft.  Not that I advise you use it as a toy for yourself to headbutt but it's definitely a bonus!

The Carrot Ball can be bought from https://www.itshorsome.com/carrot-ball for £24.99.

Review - Equi-N-ice Ice Socks

I was very excited when I found this product, since Silk had a tendon injury before I got her I'm constantly using my Ice Vibe boots on her or cold hosing to keep her legs cool and try prevent any re-injuring happening.  However when booted for hacks or jumping I find her legs are always warm, even though she has excellent breathable boots.  I read that these socks could be cut to size and used under air flow enabled tendon boots when rode to enable evaporative cooling so I had to give them a try.

The ice sock packaging advised that they would provide 1-2 hours of cooling,  they can be used over awkward areas such as knees and hocks also.  The stretchy fabric stretches over the hoof and then you just pull the ice sock into place and the added bonus being that you don't need a fridge or freezer!   The socks can be reused, being re-charged on the leg by lightly spraying the area with the coolant spray or once they're washed and dried they are popped back into their packet, dampened with the spray and resealed for 30 seconds and they're all good to go again!

Now to me this all sounded a little to good to be true, especially having used Ice Vibe boots for a few month and even in the winter I struggle to keep the ice wraps cold so they don't generally get used after exercise which is when I feel they're needed more but instead we have to painstakingly stand in the freezing cold at the hose pipe cold hosing.

So my first attempt to use the Ice socks I chopped one of them in half and popped them up over Silks hooves on to her leg.  I then popped her air flow tendon boots on and set off for a short hack.

When I got back from my hack, I'd been around 20 minutes and I'd had a few minutes trot -  Silk also added a few minutes jogging in.   The first thing I did was take off her boots and felt her legs.  They were boiling! So I popped some more spray on the socks down her tendon and carried on untacking.  Her legs had another 30 minutes with the socks on and there was no improvement with the heat in her legs so I pulled them off and took Silk to the hose to cold hose her legs instead.  I didn't want to jump to conclusions that they don't work at all because I haven't put boots on her for so long and pretty sure they're always boiling which is why I stopped putting boots on her.  

The next day when she came in I was worried that she would end up with really a really hot tendon overnight again since it's now getting warmer so I pulled out the other sock and popped it on her leg.  I put the full length sock on hoping there would be more obvious results with it covering more of an area but after 45 minutes I still didn't feel much improvement.

Trying the ice socks another way

I felt I had to be missing something so I messaged Equi-N-Ice on Facebook to ask if I was doing anything wrong.  Turns out although I wasn't doing anything wrong I was feeling for the wrong thing!?  Having always used Ice boots/wraps or cool gel these type of products push the cold into the leg,  where as the ice socks are designed to draw the heat out of the leg.  Which is pretty great and must be much better for the leg/tendon in general. 

So with my new knowledge I popped the ice socks on Silk after I rode, pulling them off before leaving 45 minutes later.  The next morning Silk's legs were cold to the touch, it was a really warm morning which generally would mean her legs would be quite warm.  I felt like doing a little dance around her stable.  Since this day I have always put her socks on after riding when her legs are warm, leaving them on as long as I can (usually up to an hour) and I've found the morning after her legs have been lovely and cool.  I have also tested that it is not just a fluke that her legs are cool, not putting her socks on when I've not rode but her legs have been warm from a day in the sunny field,  which resulted in warm legs the next day. 

So once I got to know the information behind the product properly I found it an excellent product, my only negative is that the socks are so annoying to put on (I'm going to invest in some of their bandages) and one tore after catching on a little bit of chipped flare on her hoof.  They always look dirty as they're white in colour and due to being pulled over the hoof,  damp with the solution on they naturally pick up every little piece of dirt possible.  I also found that the socks were a little too baggy on Silks stick thin Thoroughbred legs so they would slip down the leg very easy  (again though the bandage version will help this and it didn't happen when under the boot being ridden).  I also find that being under her black tendon boots there a little bit messy looking - so would be great if they came in a darker colour. 

I highly recommend this product to anyone wanting to give their horse's that little extra care, especially those that compete fast pace or jump a lot or like me are dealing with a horse with a previous injury.  The bandage version I believe would be an excellent post cross country treatment.  

You can browse all of Equi-N-Ice's products on their website HERE

Review - Haygrazer Bag

I've been dying to get my hands on one of these bags for ages.  I was over the moon when Haygrazer kindly sent me one to review for you lovely lot!

This was sent to me with perfect timing,  I was really struggling to find a happy medium with Silk's hay!  She's so picky and I had been giving her extra so that she always had some left,  but then there was an awful lot going to waste as she wouldn't touch anything that had been left the next day.  I was also finding when I had put a massive pile in for her the mice were always going into the bottom and I was scare when I was removing what was left each day that I was going to end up stabbing one with the pitch fork.

So I then started to give her less,  but working out the right amount is just impossible.  I hated when I came up to find I'd not quite given her enough to last her and there's nothing left.  Never knowing exactly how long she'd been without either.

Her big unruly pile of hay, probably with added mice underneath it!

When I received my Haygrazer bag which are designed with many uses in mind with one being to slow down the eating I couldn't wait to get it into Silk's stable and see if it could help with my dilemma!

When it came I found it very different from any other hay feeder I've had before,  I'm not a fan of haynets so I'll only use one if I have to but the Haygrazer having larger holes and being able to be hung a little lower than a net so it should cause any strains that are known to be caused from haynets.  The material seemed hard wearing and although it's not something I needed to try myself I could see why it would be a great option for those soaking hay, not only due to the mesh bottom which allows the water and dust to fall through but also due to not getting soaked in the process of carrying it or hanging it.

When filling the bag I first thought it seemed a lot bigger than expected but I found I over filled it rather easily and was unable to get the lid fastened so had to empty some out.  I feel that I wouldn't be able to just give her one bag for her time in if she didn't have her hay pile.  But I also wouldn't just leave her with one haynet if I used haynets,  I however didn't have a haynet to compare the size of each.

Much neater

So I set Silk's stable up with a smaller pile of hay and then the haygrazer bag,  I used some twine to hook on the clips, although I was unsure about using clips as I've heard so many horror stories of horses getting caught on them so ended up taking them off and just using the twine to the d-ring the clips had been on with a quick release knot.  I couldn't wait to see what she would make of it!

Her first sniff

She investigated the bag pretty quickly and had a nibble out of it,  which resulted in an expected spook when it first moved.  She then went straight back to it and carried on eating from it which I didn't expect as I though she would eat the easier pile off the floor first. 

Later in the week I decided to see if she would eat from it when it would be a little harder,  so I hung it away from the wall and I actually found she still ate from this first.  It didn't seem to faze her at all when it would swing around after she'd managed to take a bite.  Even with the movement I don't feel it really slowed her down at all but it certainly made it more interesting for her to eat.

I used the bag for over a month,  I've found it hard wearing, although I found tying it up a pain.  The strap is great for carrying it but it's not ideal for hanging it,  nor are the clips.  I think for myself personally to use in a stable with the horse I wouldn't buy this product but I defiantly think the Haygrazer bag is a great idea for show days, travelling to the show it will keep the trailer more tidy and pulling out for the horse to outside of the trailer will keep you tidier than if it was a haynet.

Check out the Haygrazer website to see their bags HERE