Now I am fully aware that current research says that nothing beats continuous pouring of cold water for optimum cooling, but there are times when pouring water is either not practical or not an option. Equidaw of London reached out to me to product test their luxury cooling rug, no strings attached, just try it out. They also just won the new product award for Horsewear, Horsecare and Equipment at BETA.
I have seen a fair few cooling rugs hit the market over the years, one of which required a special liquid you had to buy and soak it in. So when this was just a straightforward dip in water I was pleased as it’s just not practical to have to use anything else.
The rug definitely is luxury in terms of the hardware, fabric choice and manufacturing. It is also luxury on price point, however, as a small British brand, the pricing is fair for the research and development and the work involved in making it.
I can definitely see how it would be useful for times when you can’t pour water. Such as travelling in the heat, after you’ve finished washing down but want to continue cooling, when stood for the farrier, dentist, vet etc in hot conditions (it doesn’t drip so at least your farrier won’t get wet too!). This is also a great feature for Estrid who hates the sensation of dripping water, so if we use a rug after washing her down and cooling her off with water we might be able to reduce her heart rate and keep her cool by using the rug as she won’t be annoyed by the running water.
As an Endurance rider I see me using this in vet gate holds or at the end of a ride. In holds where I want my horse to relax, eat and drink but stay cool it’s a great tool and at the end once you’ve finished crewing and want to walk your horse around but keep them cool, some people have crews that would follow pouring water over the horse for this but a lot of people don’t so this would be a good solution.
In the UK we may not have many opportunities to need a lot of cooling but when we do it’s usually dramatically different to what our horses are used to so they really feel the heat. I’m interested to see how much I reach for this rug next year and how it’s going to fit into my Endurance rider toolbox, especially as they intend to do further research into its effects vs water and how it can be best used for horse welfare.
Beth Endurance 