Tuesday, July 2, 2013

Contest Time!

Now that Lucy is back in work-ish, my priorities are to keep her feeling good, and not leave room for any reinjury. This means a careful warm-up each time I take her out to work on the lunge line, and a careful cool-down. I am also using liniment to treat her muscles with, to ensure she does not feel sore.

of course when a big honkin' bomber fly lands on her butt and makes her
 take off like a rocket and pull stunts like this, I can't help but sigh...

My usual go-to product for anything muscle-related is SoreNoMore, but I recently heard about Abraxas Equine (website), a small business specializing in all-natural herb-based horse care products. You can sign up for a free sample on their website, and I love trying out new products. They sent me some of their Hydra-Luxe Liniment, and also some of their Supra Daily Shampoo to try on Lucy. The shampoo is awesome because it is a low-sudsing formula, so it rinses out really easily. A lot of us equate bubbles with cleansing, but honestly, whenever I give Lucy a bath I spend more time getting all of the suds out of her than anything else, and it's frustrating! I don't want to leave any in there, because that would cause skin issues, and I do wish the shampoo rinsed out easier.

The Supra shampoo does just that: cleanses thoroughly and rinses out easily. It is very concentrated, and they recommend putting some in a bucket, adding water, and bathing the horse with the soapy water instead of putting soap directly on the sponge.

As for the liniment, it is Arnica-based and safe to use as a normal liniment, brace, or under wraps. It is the consistency of water, and spreads easily. A little bit seems to go a long way. I have a huge bruise on my wrist and hand that is very sore. I put some of the liniment on there and while it didn't have the immediate effect I usually get when using a liniment, it really soaked in and helped the discomfort, lasting for quite a long time. Today, the area is much less sore. The Hydra-Luxe formula doesn't use any alcohol or menthol to create that cooling effect, but instead focuses on long-term soothing and deep healing. You can read more about the formula on their website here.

Today I tested the shampoo and the liniment out on Lucy. After I lunged her, I cooled her out and then put her in the wash rack.

looking kind of clean, but really very dirty
I followed the directions of the shampoo and put some in a bucket, along with water. I sponged the soapy water onto Lucy and washed her normally. I thought the suds were quite bubbly.

after soap
I rinsed her off and I could immediately tell a difference between this soap and Gallop Shampoo, which is what I normally use. This rinsed right out of her coat and tail, and didn't leave any residue. When I used the sweat scraper to dry her off, the water ran out of her coat clear, without any additional soap that I missed.

I put her out in a grass paddock and let her dry in the sun. I didn't brush her at all and this is how she looked:






When I put her away to eat dinner, I applied the liniment down her spine and to her knees, suspensories, and hocks. She was busy eating dinner and didn't seem bothered by any of it. It smelled nice and felt light and slightly oily on my hands, but not gross. I hope it helps her muscles tonight.

Anyway, I am pretty impressed with this stuff, and no, I didn't get paid to say any of this! If you want to try out samples, check out their website, and if you'd like to win a bottle of liniment or a bottle of shampoo (I have one of each to give away), leave a comment here with your name, email, and which product you'd most like to try! Winners will be chosen randomly on Friday 7/5. Thanks to Abraxas Equine for sponsoring this giveaway!

33 comments:

  1. Maddy m.caswell@rocketmail.com and liniment for the boy! He needs it as much as I do. :)

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  2. Cool, I would love to try that shampoo! Mine is a pain to rinse out. jdebrul2 @gmail.com

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  3. Krista - suterkl@comcast.net - I'd love to see if the liniment helps my guy's sore hocks!

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  4. Oh man, I was JUST about to go get liniment but if I could win one that'd be sweet!

    Monica Vollmer, mavg24@mail.missouri.edu

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  5. Heading to the Abraxas site asap.

    Let's make Val's hip happier with some liniment! :D
    xianleigh(at)earthlink(dot)net

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  6. Oooh! I'd love to win the liniment!

    Katie, ka.lupoli@gmail.com

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  7. Lucy looks awesome!

    I would love to win either but especially the shampoo.

    Hillary
    equestrianathart @ gmail . com

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  8. Hi Kate!

    Thank you so much for the kind words. We developed this for our own horses and one of the Olympic eventers got hold of it and talked us into marketing the product.

    Please let your followers know that even if they don't win the contest we can still send them samples to try.
    There's a "free samples" button on the website.

    I love your blog.. you've done a really nice job!

    Curtis and Denise
    Abraxas Equine .com

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  10. Katie, kbrandt93@gmail.com, and I'd love to try the liniment, my girl has a sore back at the moment :(

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  11. Thanks for holding another contest! I'd love to try the liniment... Can't get Vetrolin in Canada anymore!

    Julie - julie_leblanc@hotmail.com

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  12. Thanks for sharing! I'm always looking for new products to try. I'd love to try the liniment!

    Leigh - leigh.apanell@gmail.com

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  13. Wow! That shampoo really does look awesome! I think I would love to try the linament gel though, thats exactly what my Pony needs right now!
    hpfreakette@yahoo.com

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  14. Finding new liniment is always fun! Definitely want to try that one :) ottbelle15@gmail.com

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  15. Thanks for posting the link to the Abraxas Equine - I love getting free samples to try :)

    Lucy looks so shiny and healthy - hope the products make her feel as good as she looks!

    Kelly - kwoodboss@aol.com

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  16. estout18(at)gmail(dot)com
    Liniment because the horses need it as much as I do, haha. Thanks for sharing this product. I'm always on the lookout for things like this!

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  17. Ooh -- I'm glad you mentioned the shampoo. I love vetrolin, but unless I'm at home with tons of time to rinse, it's kind of a pain! I will definitely have to try it.

    Tracy - buckeyequine@gmail.com

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  18. I definitely want to try the liniment. I went ahead and ordered a free sample--I'm completely out of everything and have been using a friend's.

    starkeycarly@gmail.com

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  19. amandamrains@gmail.com

    Shampoo -- I have the same issue with the Gallop shampoo (which, of course, I just bought because black pony is now bleached black pony...hah) and end up getting annoyed at how long it takes to rinse out. If I happen to win and it comes after black critter is gone, there are other horses at the barn I can torment with a bath. Mwahaha.

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  20. I would love to try the shampoo! I have a similar problem with the shampoo that I've used n the past and would love something that actually worked for me!

    Amber - Amber@naturesnaturalbeauty.com

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  21. Sound like fab products, I'll have to keep an eye out for that soap/shampoo stuff, although I'd be very pleasantly surprised if they have it over here!

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  22. Shampooooooo!!!! Gray ponies always need lots and lots shampoo. The liniment also sounds fabulous. I use arnica on my own muscles and it's wonderful!

    Mona - mona.sterling@gmail.com

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  23. I would love to try the liniment! Tori jealoushe@gmail.com

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  24. I would love to try the Supra Daily Shampoo for Max... as I'm sure you are aware, greys are *the worst* to keep clean!

    Lynn
    acoustic5141@yahoo.com

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  25. I would like to try the liniment! I'm just beginning to bring my 26 year old mare back into light work/ rehab after she fractured her pelvis 9 months ago. With the deep healing and working longer effect, it sounds like it would work great for her!

    Heather - Beautygirl1510@gmail.com

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  26. You had me at "arnica." For the liniment that is. =)
    Sarah
    saraherune@gmail.com

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  27. I'd love to try the shampoo! Lex hates baths so maybe something that rinses faster would be nicer for her. :) jess.clawson@gmail.com

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  28. great post! I'd love to win the liniment.
    calipony@gmail.com

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  29. Lauren laurentimpson@gmail.com....both sound awesome but I think I'd like to try the shampoo. I've been having good luck with the SoreNoMore

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  30. Kaysee kaysee.inman@gmail.com

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Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a comment!