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. Which is why I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to try out products, so that I may share my many adventures with all of you! 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 that you simply have fun and find entertainment while reading about my many adventures of trying new products, and that hearing about my personal experiences might help give you factors to consider when you are on your own quest for new gear!
Label on Absorbine Botancials Concentrated Body Rinse - Photo by Lorraine Peachey
Most days, I feel like I am always on the run. After my morning routine of barn chores, I’m off to work for the day – and then after work, of course I’m usually headed home so that I can either get some riding in, or do some chores around the farm. A day off is always welcome. Especially if it’s spent sitting out on a beach, lounging poolside, or at relaxing at a spa.
But let’s get real – if I have a day off, I usually find it hard to sit around and do nothing. I usually find myself busy anyway. Sitting around getting a massage or having my nails done doesn’t have near the appeal of spending the day around the barn. Who wouldn’t rather get dirty and sweaty then stay clean and get pampered? Besides, my nails are always chipped after I get done my barn chores anyway.
The concept of a spa day is pretty nice though. If there’s no time to go to the spa though, it’s nice to have products to help soothe and relax those aches and pains from hard work or training, right? And I always believe that my equines like being pampered as well. Even though a spa day for them would likely involve some variety of mud bathing.
Absorbine Botanticals comes in two easy-to-use forms – a Massage Foam and a Concentrated Body Rinse – Photo by Lorraine Peachey
Recently, I had chance to try out the new Botanicals line of Natural Herbal Liniment from Absorbine. The Botanicals line contains 12 different herbs and oils, including Arnica and Aloe Vera. It was developed to not only help ease a horse’s tired muscles or sore joints, but at the same, provide a soothing aromatherapy fragrance.
The Botanicals Natural Herbal Liniment comes in two different forms–a 16 fl. oz. massage foam and a 8.5 fl. oz. concentrated body rinse. I’ve used both varieties, and have found them to be convenient and easy-to-use.
The Botancials Massage Foam dispenses in a no-drip foam form – Photo by Lorraine Peachey
I started out by trying out the Botanicals in the massage foam, because I liked the idea of being able to use a convenient pump. And the massage foam really was very easy to use–the pump dispenser actually reminds me a little of my favorite type of foaming hand soap.
When I dispensed some of the massage foam onto my hand, the first thing that I noticed was the pleasant aromatherapy fragrance. I was a little stumped when trying to figure out what exactly the fragrance reminded me of – but after looking at the labeling on the container, I think the aromas that I’m picking up on the most are those of Peppermint Oil and Lavender Oil. And of course, lavender is one of my personal favorite fragrances, so perhaps that is one of the reasons that the Botanicals aromatherapy is so appealing to me!
I found the Botanicals Massage Foam great for applications to a small, targeted area – Photo by Lorraine Peachey
I also took and applied the Botanicals to the backside of my own hand as well, to see how it made it feel (though having the aromatherapy fragrance linger around was another fringe benefit for me). Pretty much immediately, I noticed a nice cooling sensation where I applied the foam to my skin. Between the aromatherapy and the cooling sensation, I definitely felt like it had a soothing effect (though Botanicals is labeled as being for animal use only)
Another aspect of the massage foam that I personally really like is that there is no mess or clean-up involved with the use. The foam doesn’t drip or make a mess – it comes out of the dispenser in a foam form, which makes it easy to apply to a targeted area on your horse.
It’s easy to mix-up the Concentrated Body Rinse when using the measuring markers on the side of the container – Photo by Lorraine Peachey
The concentrated body rinse is also a convenient form of Botanicals to use, while being economical at the same time. One container can be used to mix up 24 gallons of body wash for your equine. Mixing up the rinse is a lot simpler than one might think – you should add 1/3 oz of concentrate per each gallon of water. The side of the container actually has measuring lines, so once you measure out your water, it is very easy to add in the proper amount of body wash concentrate.
Once mixed, you can use a sponge to apply the body rinse to your horse. I’ve found that this form of Botanicals liniment is great for use on large areas of the body. I actually just take a sponge and basically give my own geldings a soothing sponge bath with the body rinse.
Interestingly enough is the reaction that my horses had to the Botanicals. I’ve used both the massage foam and body rinse forms on all three of my geldings, and they all seemed very interested in the aromatherapy fragrance. I noticed that was how they each displayed their own signs of being in a more relaxed state after the application. The funniest thing was that at one point, I stopped to watch Ripley hang his head over his stall door, as he was just wearing a look of total contentment–even though he was waiting for hay
Once the concentrate has been mixed with water, the Botanicals Body Rinse is great to use to give a soothing sponge bath – Photo by Lorraine Peachey
I also like the fact that Botanicals is safe to use under any type of bandage, wrap or magnet – so I was able to apply some to my horse’s legs, and then wrap them with polos afterwards without worry. Plus, Botanicals also helps condition coats as well – my boys coats were soft and shiny after drying out from their body rinse sponge baths.
For anyone interested in using Botanicals on horses in competition, the USEF released the following statement in June 2014: “Some ingredients in Absorbine Botanicals Massage Foam and Body Rinse Concentrate are forbidden under the USEF Drugs & Medications Rule; however, provided the products containing these substances are administered only topically and as recommended by the manufacturer, there is no need for restricting their use during competitions under USEF rules. However, if these products are used inappropriately, e.g., in a manner other than topically, this could result in a positive finding in the blood or urine of the horse, which would be a potential violation of the rules.”
I personally like the Botanicals in both forms – I tend to use the massage foam for smaller areas of targeted applications, and gravitate towards the body rinse when I just want to give a soothing sponge bath. The Botanicals massage foam retails for around $15.95, while the concentrated body rinse retails for around $19.95 – and our awesome sponsor Smartpak currently has special pricing on both the massage foam and body rinse varieties of Absorbine Botanicals!
Go Aromatherapy Pampering (for our hard-working equines, of course!). Go Absorbine. Go Eventing.
