This post is the first in a series of Guest Blogs we’ll be featuring from Equi Cool Down fans. Be sure to leave a comment or reach out to us on Facebook if you’re interested in writing a guest blog for us!
Last summer, my barn’s lesson program was growing and my trainer and I set off to look for a big, well broke lesson horse. Something unflappable that our kids and adults could learn to ride on, and learn to canter on. We decided to head over to the local auction lot and try out anything drafty, or over 15.2hh. We ended up with a 13.2 pinto pony who had a hard time with straight lines and no concept of how to pick up a canter without a few crowhops and lead swaps. Hey, at least he’s cute.
While we picked him up, we were kicking around a few name ideas for the adorable untrained horse we were bringing home. By the time we pulled into our own driveway, he was named Rowdy. He wasn’t too hard to actually load, but driving home was a nightmare. He reared over the chest bar, broke his trailer tie, and OPENED THE TRAILER DOOR while we were cruising down a main highway, scaring the heck out of himself and everyone in the truck. We spent some time this spring working on loading him, and he was at a point where he would walk up on the two horse on either side, and would back into the front stalls on the four horse, and stand there quietly.
Last week, we decided to take him for a drive around the block to see if he traveled any better. We decided to bring Dory, our unflappable halflinger, because even if he tried to take down the whole trailer, Dory probably wouldn’t have noticed. They both loaded well and Rowdy stood fairly quietly on our drive. It seemed like a success… until we got home and dropped the ramp, and I hopped in to unload him. Poor Rowdy was dripping from his ears to his tail and trembling like he had just gone through the worst experience of his life.
To see such a sweet horse so frightened broke my heart, but more importantly, I had to figure out a way to cool him off quickly. It was HOT out – well over 90 degrees – and our barn spigot chose the hottest week of the year to stop working, so we had limited water to hose him off. Luckily, my Equi Cool Down body wrap, neck wrap, and leg wraps weren’t far away!
Equi Cool Down’s equine cooling products are new to me, but I’m already in love. I have been using them all week, and after seeing how nice the cooling leg wraps worked on Gali, my arthritic draft horse, one of my students went home and ordered two of the cooling beanies to wear under her helmet! The products are all so easy to use and they work SO well. Personally, I love how I can just throw them back in their package and not worry about them stinking, or drying out, or getting dirty in our high traffic tack room.
The body wrap and neck wrap did a great job of cooling off Rowdy with some water I was able to pull and spray on him from a water trough – way easier than trying to fight with our hose down the driveway and deal with juggling a horse and a hose in an unfamiliar bathing location.
After just a little bit of walking, Rowdy cooled off quickly and was able to go out in his big grass field, far away from the Trailermonster. I did pull him out of the field a few hours later for a ride, and we walked on and hung out in the trailer with some cookies after our ride, so he wasn’t too traumatized. We took him to his first show this past Sunday, and thankfully he trailered calmly with his buddy Fish (who has been borrowing my cooling body wrap all week). It was another 90+ degree day standing in the sun, but after his classes, we were able to walk around the showgrounds with his Equi Cool Down body wrap and neck wrap, and he cooled down and stayed cool! Several people commented on what a great idea the equine cooling products were, and I have to say, I completely agree! My whole set will be in the trailer with the rest of my show essentials from now on!