Welcome to EN’s Product Review series! Who doesn’t love shopping, especially when the object of your search is new gear for yourself or your horse? As an enthusiast of all products equine, I LOVE trying out new gear. Please join me as I narrate my personal journey of trying out all of the products featured. While I will make no recommendations, I hope you have fun reading about my many adventures of trying new products, and that hearing about my personal experiences helps you on your own quest for new gear. Go Shopping.
I've found that the Back Blanket stays nicely in place, and also that the Velcro is easy to fasten and unfasten (no yanking necessary to unfasten it!) - Photo by Lorraine Peachey
After a long day, sometimes I just have some lingering aches and pains. Getting work done around the farm can take its toll on the body over time. Depending on the particular ache or pain of the day, what I do next varies. If my wrist is acting up again from going overboard while cleaning stalls, I might just grab an ice pack out of freezer to ice it for a bit.
On other days, I might just have a knot between my shoulders that won’t seem to loosen up; then, I tend to gravitate towards picking up the heating pad to help make me feel better. I might pop a Tylenol (or two), but really find that cold or heat therapy can make a big difference in helping to speed my recovery time and ease any aches and pains.
Truth be told, though, I only really resort to grabbing an ice pack or heating pad to use on days that I feel like I really overdid while working around the farm. I normally just ignore run of the mill aches or twinges that come up after a routine day of barn work. Would icing down or using heat every day be beneficial? Probably. But I just don’t stop and take the time.
Ice Horse log near the front of the Back Blanket. Photo by Lorraine Peachey.
My philosophy towards icing down my horses started to change earlier this year when I had the opportunity to try out a pair of Ice Horse Tendon Wraps. I was very interested to learn about the benefits of ice therapy. It isn’t just for horses who are in intense work or competition; cold therapy can also benefit horses in the context of maintenance and hopefully even injury prevention.
Since I had such a positive experience using the Tendon Wraps, I was very interested to have the chance to try out the Back Blanket from Ice Horse. Of course, I was already familiar with the First Ice technology that Ice Horse products feature. In case you are not familiar, First Ice packs look like they contain gel-like beads when they are at room temperature.
The contents of the First Ice Packs turn into a light, fluffy snow when they are frozen. Photo by Lorraine Peachey.
But things get really interesting after the First Ice packs spend some time in the freezer. After they have been placed in the freezer to be prepared for use (they are recommended to be placed in the freezer for at least four hours), the gel-like beads inside the First Ice packs actually turn into a light, fluffy snow. Use after use and time after time again, it just does not get old. I love being able to pull out the First Ice packs only to see “snow” inside them.
I’ve found the Back Blanket to be quite easy to use, and it provides a nice amount of coverage. It is contoured and covers the back, starting at the withers and shoulder blades. The blanket continues to stretch along the spine and over the sacroiliac joint. It features 10 pockets, in which you can place either First Ice or Deep Heat packets to provide either cold or heat therapy.
I’ve found the Back Blanket provides a nice amount of coverage, starting at the withers and shoulder blades. The blanket continues to stretch along the spine and over the sacroiliac joint. Photo by Lorraine Peachey.
The material of the Back Blanket feels soft and does contour nicely to the back when in use. The pockets for the inserts are made out of a mesh material, and I find them very easy to use; adding in either the First Ice or Deep Heat packets into the mesh is quite simple to accomplish. You can fill all pockets with inserts or only select pockets for a more targeted treatment.
When securing the Back Blanket, I use a total of four surcingle straps; there is one that starts at the withers and is pulled around where the neck meets the chest of your horse. Two additional straps are to be wrapped around your horse’s belly, and, finally, there is a small strap to secure around the tail.
The surcingle straps are actually made out of anti migration fabric. And because the fabric is not slippery, the straps help to keep the blanket in place. Photo by Lorraine Peachey.
The surcingle straps are actually made out of anti migration fabric. And because the fabric is not slippery, the straps help to keep the blanket in place so that the packs stay compressed while your horse is being treated. I’ve found that the blanket stays nicely in place and also that the Velcro is easy to fasten and unfasten (no yanking necessary to unfasten it!).
You might be wondering: what exactly ARE Deep Heat packets? The packets offer heat therapy as an alternative to cold therapy. It is very important to follow the instructions that come with the Deep Heat packets while preparing them for use. I start out by making sure that the packets are first at room temperature before heating.
First Ice packs look like they contain gel-like beads when they are at room temperature. And Deep Heat packets also have that gel-like feel. Photo by Lorraine Peachey
I then place the packet upside down in the microwave; depending on your microwave wattage, you will have a different heating time. If in doubt, though, the directions recommend heating for 35 seconds before removing the packet and kneading it for approximately 1 minute (in order to allow the gel to heat evenly). If needed, you can continue to heat the packet for additional 10 second cycles until it has reached the desired temperature for use.
There are also instructions on using hot water to prepare the Deep Heat packets for use, though I found that using the microwave worked very well for me. I heated the packets (in the microwave) two at a time and then proceeded to place them in a tote bag so that I could ferry them down to the barn with me for use.
After I leave the Back Blanket on for 30 minutes or so in these COLD temperatures to get his muscles relaxed, I take Ripley out for a ride, and it seems like he is able to move forward into a nice, swinging gate much faster afterwards. Photo by Lorraine Peachey.
We’ve entered the time of year where we have quite a bit of cold weather there in Pennsylvania (well hello there, winter). And because of that, I’ve found that sometimes it takes a little bit longer than normal for my horses to warm up — particularly Ripley. So to try to help get him quite literally “warmed up” before his workouts, I’ve been using the Deep Heat inserts in the Back Blanket.
After I leave the Back Blanket on for 30 minutes or so, I take Ripley out for a ride, and it seems like he is able to move forward into a nice, swinging gate much faster afterwards. Which is nice, because I like the idea of using the Back Blanket as a “heating pad” to relax Ripley’s muscles in these cold temperatures before heading out for a ride.
I really like that the Back Blanket is versatile enough to use to administer either cold or heat therapy to my horses. With the First Ice inserts, I can treat my boys with packets that will mold to their backs AND remain cold for up to two hours. But on the other hand, I can also change things up and use Deep Heat packets in order to encourage muscle relaxation and increase blood flow.
The Back Blanket from Ice Horse comes with 10 First Ice insert packets and has a retail price of $149.95; you can find it here. You can also purchase Deep Heat insert packets separately to be used in any Ice Horse wrap. Deep Heat inserts can be found here.
Go Heat OR Cold Therapy (to help the Equine Back). Go Ice Horse. Go Eventing.
