Weatherbeeta Landa Freestyle Review

Hi everyone, today I'll show you some photos and discuss the Weatherbeeta Landa Freestyle rug. Personally I like this rug, it is available in different weights so you can choose to have it as a rainsheet or with polyfill for something a bit warmer. The Landa I have is the rainsheet type in that it has no polyfill.

The rug I have is the Weatherbeeta Landa Freestyle-

600 Denier, Waterproof, Breathable, Freestyle gussets & cupped darts, blanket lining with satin in the neck and shoulders, no polyfill, standard chest closures, extra large tail flap.

This rug, although it's a Freestyle, does not have the "quick closure" clips on the chest, but it does have them for the leg straps. Strange, I know. The belly surcingles are standard, with the little rubber rings on them to prevent it undoing by itself.

I actually like this rug a lot, it seems to fit nicely and it's good for early spring or early autumn when it's cool but not cold, and rainy but with quite a bit of sunshine too. The rug doesn't rub out Logan too badly, it does break the hair a bit on his shoulders, and makes the hair quite short over his croup, but for him that's really quite minimal (he's just that sensitive!).

One of the few complaints I would have about this rug is that when you do up the velco neck straps that hold the neck rug closed it can become a bit tight. Even if you do it up as loosely as the velcro permits, when the horse puts his head down to graze it does tighten up around the base of his neck, which I worry about since I think for the horse that would become quite uncomfortable, especially since they spend about 80% of their day with their heads down!

Here are some photos of Logan wearing the rug. As you can see, it fits quite nicely and it doesn't slip to the sides at all, which is good. I hate arriving at the paddock and seeing a rug hanging further down one side than the other! One other thing that bothers me a little about this rug is that it can become a bit 'skintight' over his back... now I'm not sure if this will create any comfort issues, and I don't know if it would happen for every horse, but in Logan's case, in the no-fill Landa it does hug his back quite a bit... just an observation.

I hope this has been useful for you if you're trying to decide whether or not to buy this rug. All in all I would recommend this rug as a light one to put on when the weather is mild and pleasant but is forecast to go rain. It's a good rug for spring and autumn for when the weather is not cold, but is rainy, and it's good for "sun showers" since the horse stays dry but doesn't overheat. It's a good fit and the cut is quite nice, especially the large tail flap. Things I would improve if I had the option would be the neck rug would be longer and looser, and a slightly longer drop would be nice, but all together a good rug for a decent price, and a nice one for in-between seasonal rugs!

Disclaimer- I review products that I believe are relevant to the average Australian horse owner, and I give an honest review that is purely my own opinion. I am not paid to write any reviews, and I will never write a review that is contrary to my beliefs of the product. I will not write positive things about a product if I do not believe it is true, similarly, I will not write negative things about a product unless that opinion is based upon a genuine concern or problem (in my view) with the product. What I write is my own opinion, and I am free to voice it. I do not represent the company, organisation or brand of the product, I am just an individual who has tried a product and is giving a fair review of it. I am unbiased and to the best of my knowledge all that I write about a product, company or brand is true.


    

Mega-Tek Coat Rebuilder Review

Mega- Tek Coat Rebuilder from EQyss

http://www.

eqyss.com/

Hi all, the product I'm reviewing today is called "Mega-Tek Coat Rebuilder" and is made by a brand called Eqyss who make a range of hair and skin care products that can be used on horses and people! This particular product is used to regrow hair on the horse after rug rub, injuries, skin disorders etc. I have personally used it twice, once on a horse that was recovering from rain rot and had lost the hair on his back, and once on my horse to soothe his skin when he had rug rub.

The main ingredient of Mega-Tek is keratin, which is found naturally in the body and is an organic chemical, so for those who believe in nature's way, this is still an option for you. Mega-Tek can be used on any part of the horse, so long as you avoid the eyes and sensitive areas eg. nostrils, mouth, inner ear and genitals. You apply it directly to the skin and it's perfectly safe to apply with your hand (in fact, you'll get smooth skin!), but if you're particularly paranoid then you can wear latex gloves to apply it.

This product is particularly nice to use because it is in a cream form, and is easy to apply. It doesn't run off the horse like medicated oils often do, and you don't need to rinse it or anything like that. You just get some Mega-Tek on your fingertip and put it on the horse's skin. Easy! It smells really nice so you don't need to worry about the scent lingering on you or the horse,

unless you hate coconuts that is!

This cream is predominantly used on horses who have rubbed out their shoulders, or have a halter/flyveil mark on their hair where it has rubbed out a line across their face. It can also be used on scars to regrow the hair, but make sure the injury is fully healed.

Eqyss also make a range of products for the horses skin and coat, such as shampoo, conditioner, fly repellant, moisturisers and coat shiners. You can check out their website here: http://www.eqyss.com/

Here are some photos from a lady who used the Mega-Tek Coat Rebuilder on her horse to help regrow the hair after an injury. These are not my photographs, and I can't prove that the regrown hair is as a result of using Mega-Tek, I'm simply going by what the lady said, which is this:

"Hi! Just wanted to send you these pictures of my horse. He was kicked in May in the chest. You can see what happened -- he had some time off. Anyway, the hair on his chest was just not growing back in. [...] I thought I'd give your Mega-Tek Rebuilder a try. The results were nothing less than miraculous -- by the third day of using product (the Mega-Tek) on my horse he had a complete coat of hair on him. My friends were astonished at the results, and I just couldn't believe it. When you state that the product will "...accelerate hair growth up to 50% faster..." it isn't true -- it accelerates much faster than that -- at least on my horse! The pictures speak for them selves -- right now you would never know my horse had that injury, he is as good as new!"

Disclaimer- I review products that I believe are relevant to the average Australian horse owner, and I give an honest review that is purely my own opinion. I am not paid to write any reviews, and I will never write a review that is contrary to my beliefs of the product. I will not write positive things about a product if I do not believe it is true, similarly, I will not write negative things about a product unless that opinion is based upon a genuine concern or problem (in my view) with the product. What I write is my own opinion, and I am free to voice it. I do not represent the company, organisation or brand of the product, I am just an individual who has tried a product and is giving a fair review of it. I am unbiased and to the best of my knowledge all that I write about a product, company or brand is true.


         

Macs Equine "Cool Heat" Rug Review

Macs Equine- Cool Heat Rug

Hi all, today I'll be reviewing the Cool Heat rug from Macs Equine. You can take a look at their website here: http://www.macsequine.com.au/

This rug was featured on the Australian tv show "The New Inventors" where they discuss and promote new inventions that are coming onto the market. At the time I thought it looked interesting but I didn't think it would work for my horse, so although it's been in use for quite some time I haven't got around to trying it until now.

Fit-

This is one of the most important aspects of any rug, andI'm pleased to say that the Cool Heat fits very well. My horse Logan has large shoulders, a fairly flat wither and a very high croup- in other words, he's a Standardbred. The Cool Heat has a nice shoulder gusset in the same position as the Weatherbeeta Freestyle, but the gusset goes higher than the Freestyle and thus gives him more room to move. The rug comes up well past the wither and sits on his neck, which I think is a good feature as it means that the rug is unlikely to slide back,

as the wither prevents that. When the horse putsits head

down to graze however, the rug lifts off the neck and wither entirely, and the rug 'gapes', allowing air to flow in- this is part of the design and is not a fault! For me this is a big plus, as my horses mane rubs out incredibly easily, and so having the rug off his neck means he can keep his mane and look semi-decent in winter. There are double chest straps that buckle up rather than clip on. This is useful because you can set the tightness but at the same time it does take a little longer to do up than the "quick closure" straps that many rugs nowadays have. The straps are long, so there is a large range you can select from. I keep the straps relatively loose, as it's more comfortable for Logan if he can put his head down and graze without the straps pressing on the base of his neck or the point of his chest. The main body of the rug fits like most others, the one difference being that with the insulators on the underside of the rug it sits off him a bit, and doesn't get too tight across his back (wh

ich has happened with the Weatherbeeta Landa before). The rug has a decent drop, long enough to cover his belly and some, but not so long that it will get too muddy. It reaches well back and covers his rear with a few inches to spare. The rug also has a decent sized tail flap, but unfortunately it is not the 'wrap around' tail flap that many rugs feature, but a standard flap. On the plus side, it does have the bottom end of the tail flap free from the rug, so it doesn't bunch up. Here are some photos of the rug's fit.

Quality of Materials-

The outer layer of the rug is 600 denier rip-stop synthetic material. It is very lightweight, waterproof and 100% breathable. The inside of the rug has a very thin blanket lining across the main body, and polysatin in the shoulders, lower part of the rug (drop) and tail flap- in other words, the bits that get the most dirty are made of synthetic satin so it can be easily cleaned. The blanket lining that is inside the rug appears to be a cotton blend, but regardless it doesn't touch the horses skin, so if your horse has issues with cotton then fear not! The insulators that are throughout the rug are made from rubber, and are flexible but firm so they are not easily damaged. They can leave slight dents on the horses skin if left on for more than a day without having some sort of 'relief' such as a really good brush, massage or some time rug-free. Here are a couple of photos of the insulators. The way the rug works is that these rubber 'insulators' lift the fabric of the rug off the horses skin, thus allowing the horse to raise his hair when he feels cold (it's called piloerection, more or less it's goosebumps!) and lay his hair flat when it's warm. If he raises his hair the air that flows into the rug will get trapped, and his body heat will warm the air, creating a cosy hot air pocket. If the horse lies his hair flat then the air will flow straight through the rug, keeping the air fresh and cool on his skin. So here is a photo of how that is achieved:

After 1 month....

Logan's shoulders are rubbed out. There are two main areas on each of his shoulders that have lost their hair. One is about an inch long and half an inch deep (vertically) and just so happens to be in the exact shape of one of the insulators. I've figured out which one has rubbed him out there and I have removed it, and sewn satin over that part of the rug. The area where the insulator has rubbed him out is a small but very precise spot where all of the hair has rubbed out- it is completely bald in the shape of the insulator. The second problem area is a 'general' small/medium loss of hair on the point of the shoulder, coming around to the chest. It is not entirely bald but the hair is thin and the skin looks dry. I've put a satin bib on him and I will see if that helps. The rubbed out areas are exactly the same on both sides. To try and ease the rubbing I've removed two of the insulators, and put on a satin bib to protect his skin from the 'general' rubbing. I'll let you know how it goes in a couple of weeks, and I will have before and after photos!

"Before" photos of the rubbing. This is how it looked after about 1 month of wearing the Cool Heat. To try and prevent any further rubbing and give it a chance to heal I have removed the insulators at guilt and sewn in some satin.. in a month's time I'll upload pics to show the recovery :)

"After" photos of the rubbing. This is how his skin looked after 1 month of having satin sewn into his rug... (coming soon!)

Bonus Note!

On the note of rubbed out hair and dry skin, I cannot recommend Mega-Tek enough! The Mega-Tek Rebuilder from Eqyss is an awesome product and it really does grow the hair back so much faster than it normally would, and is a really good moisturiser for horses whose skin has rubbed out and become dry and hot.

Disclaimer- I review products that I believe are relevant to the average Australian horse owner, and I give an honest review that is purely my own opinion. I am not paid to write any reviews, and I will never write a review that is contrary to my beliefs of the product. I will not write positive things about a product if I do not believe it is true, similarly, I will not write negative things about a product unless that opinion is based upon a genuine concern or problem (in my view) with the product. What I write is my own opinion, and I am free to voice it. I do not represent the company, organisation or brand of the product, I am just an individual who has tried a product and is giving a fair review of it. I am unbiased and to the best of my knowledge all that I write about a product, company or brand is true.