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.