Testimonials

I am really enjoying working with Equi-Med Ag and using their antibacterial boots and dressings. The over-use of medications and drugs is a concern for both our horse’s longterm health and also the environment. Equi-med are refreshing in their approach to the pro-active approach to equine skin conditions. As well as solving the issue of doping and medication control in active competition horses, their products are practical and effective.

Richard Davison, Four time Olympian and former Performance Manager to Britain’s gold medal winning Olympic Dressage Team

I’ve had great results with this product. I had to pull out of Olympia and Vidauban due to skin problems around my horses heels. I wish I had known about equi med boots earlier as I’m sure I could have avoided such disappointment.

Cracked Heels – Dan Sherriff (International Dressage Rider)

I would like to say a huge thank you to Equi-Med Ag and your stable boot that has helped my mare in foal who suffered sudden onset and severe scratches recently and after failed attempts at treating with creams and bandages (just making it worse) just 4 days after starting the use of the stable boot I saw a huge improvement and 4 weeks later all trace of any scabs are almost gone! I think everyone should have a set of these in their first aid kit as it would save a whole lot of bandaging and money wasted on creams and the sorts! Thank you from myself and Gem!

Evelyn Brereton-Australia

Here are some pictures of a severe leg wound caused by the horse getting caught in wire. Luckily Cedric was on hand to deal with the injury. After cleaning and tidying the wound the best he could, the leg was dressed with Equi-Med Ag wound dressing roll. This was in May 2013 and  just four months on Dancer was been given the all clear and is now back in work enjoying his rides round the fields. There was no need for skin grafts and only needed minimum debriding, a very different outcome had Cedric not known how effective our dressings are!

Dancer – Servere leg wound

This winter was a nightmare. Our horse’s legs were raw, swollen and covered in lesions from a condition triggered by UV light. She had been prescribed steroids and various creams from the vets which were having a slow effect and caused dirt to stick to her legs which meant that frequent washing off was required. Washing made her more sore and irritated so it was a vicious circle. The treatments also created mountains of washing where the exercise bandages we use to keep the light away were getting smeared with cream.

This nightmare all changed when I was offered a pair of Equimed AG boots to try. We ditched the creams and decided to see what happened. Literally within days we started to see dramatic changes! Her legs had previously been very fluid filled from box rest but the swelling was now reduced, the raw pink skin that she hated us touching started to calm down and the weeping lesions began to dry out. A few weeks later the surrounding skin was back to normal and the remaining lesions had shrunk in size and were flaking away. The boots were keeping her legs clean and dry so bandaging for exercise was now clean and easy.

Five weeks on her legs are almost entirely clear and having been stabled for four months while we tried to get this under control our mare is finally at the point that turn out will be possible again. I am so glad that we tried the Equimed AG boots as it has totally changed the way we deal with this time consuming condition. Our vet was amazed when she saw the results as she had previously told us that our horse’s legs would be scarred for life!

Rebecca Hallewell

My horse Sunny who is a Hunter x Hanovarian aged 20 years old, was diagnosed with Lymphangitis in Novmber 2010 after suffering a bout of Mudfever.

You can imagine my horror when the vet told me his condition could have been life threatening. After prompt treatment with Anti biotics and Bute the huge swelling all the way up his leg started to reduce, however he was left with a large amount of scabs and lumps up the inside of his Hind leg which were weeping fluid and rather painful for my poor old fella.

Equi-Med Ag suggested I try out their stable boots which they thought might help, the result were amazing! After bathing the leg daily in warm water and Hibiscrub I applied the stable boots and within three weeks Sunny’s leg was completely clear and he was back to his normal self, no more swelling or scabs to be seen.

I can honestly say this product works with brilliant results and can highly recommend it.

Filled Legs – Alyson Palin

As an equine veterinary surgeon that does quite a lot of ambulatory as well as clinic based work, I have used activated carbon wound dressing, with and without silver particles, on contaminated  wounds in horse’s limbs for several years. I have found them superior to normal absorbent dressing for the management of this type of wound. When  Equi-Med asked me to try this material, in the form of leg wraps and wound dressings, on cases of mud rash and other skin irritations, I thought that it might be worthwhile doing but kept a degree of scepticism since this is a notably stubborn and difficult condition to treat, especially in horses that live outside in the very wet North East of England. Mud rash (cracked heels) is a very common skin condition affecting the skin, normally at the back of the heels and pastern area, but sometimes extending up to the cannon. It is caused by prolonged exposure to moisture, and the macerating effect that this has on the skin. The little cracks in the skin that are caused by this process get infected by ground living bacteria, causing suppurating sores that later develop into scabs. The most common bacteria is Dermatophilus Congolensis, but others like Pseudomonas Aeroginosa or Staphylococcus Aureus can also be involved in more severe cases. This condition can vary from being very mild to severe enough to cause lameness and lymphangitis ( massive swelling of the leg).

I have tried the dressing in moderate to severe cases, and have seen cases where a drastic improvement in the appearance of the lesions was seen only after a few days of treatment. One particular case springs to mind which was very aggressive, affecting the pastern and fetlock areas, was causing painful, profusely exhudative sores. This was making the horse lame and intolerant to any interference with the affected area. The level of discomfort and the nature of the sores/scabs was suggestive Staphylococcus, although this was not tested by culture in the laboratory. This type of bacteria is very difficult to deal with. Conventional treatment would be an antiseptic skin wash and antibiotic or silver containing creams, with or without oral antibiotics. The activated carbon and silver dressings were used for a total of 15 days in a three week period, and this resulted in a quick and dramatic improvement, with complete resolution in three weeks. I have also tried this material in cases of chronic suppurative lymphoedema of the distal limb in heavy feathered horses, where they helped with the management of this incurable condition.

I would suggest that there is enough anecdotal evidence to conclude that silver impregnated activated carbon dressings/leg wraps are useful and have a place in the veterinary industry.

Alexandre Font, Ldo.Vet. MVM. MRCVS.
Partner, Bearl Equine Clinic
Stocksfield, Northumberland

Wow wow wow- what an amazing product. My horse suffered really badly every winter for the last 3 years. He would often be lame due to severe swelling around his fetlocks and the scabs would be so thick they would often remove almost all of the hair on the inside of his legs.

Within 2 – 3 days of him wearing the boots on an evening I noticed a huge improvement and within a week he was completely scan free.

This winter I used the boots on an evening most wet days and we had absolutely no signs of scabs what so ever. My horse is approaching 20 yrs old and often in the winter he would suffer from general swelling of his joints etc just due to old age and I have even found the boots help stop this happening. He has had no swelling or stiffness in his joint since I started using this product.

My horse has been 100% happier since using this product and I would certainly recommend it to anyone and I would not go through another winter without them.

Catherine Jacques

After trying a number of different products nothing seemed to really clear it up and Finn became increasingly difficult to deal with.

Finn, now 12-years-old became so sensitive to touch on his hind legs because of his scabby skin that applying creams and washing his legs became almost impossible without him flinching and kicking out.

Worst of all it was near impossible to pick his feet out and the problem continued even after the skin had eventually cleared up.

He is such a sensitive horse and the slightest bit of mud in the field would result in severe scabs covering his hind heels and fetlocks. We had tried everything going on the market and were at a loss.

We considered keeping him in throughout the winter, but being 17.2hh he is a big horse to keep stabled up. The skin would get so bad that he wouldn’t even allow the area to be touched which made clearing up his hind legs almost impossible.

I came across the Equi-Med Ag stable boots through a friend and I did a bit of research before buying a pair. I was amazed at how easy they were to use and how well they actually worked their magic after having tried so many other products that had failed.

The scabs soon cleared up and stable management became much easier. We kept him in for a couple of days in a clean and dry stable with the boots on until the boots had chance to fight off the bacteria. After a couple of days he was back out in the field, coming in at night to be washed off and then having the boots on again for the night.

As they are designed to be breathable and comfortable I had no worries about leaving him in the boots. Now each year when winter comes and the fields get muddy, I have no need to worry as Finn has his Equi-Med Ag boots.

Geoff Smith

I have owned, ridden and competed horses for 25 years and muddy conditions causing issues has been a regular occurrence over this time affecting different horses to different degrees. My current horse is a 17.2hh Belgian warmblood and has been the worst hit. His legs were was so painful that I had to abandon using exercise boots on his hind legs and even take care when picking out his hooves as he was so sensitive he was unhappy to be touched without occasionally lashing out. I made all my usual efforts- wash/don’t wash, turn out/keep in, oils from vet, aromatherapy balms- to no avail until Equi-Med Ag products were recommended by a friend.

After only two days of applying Equi-Med Ag wraps, the scabs on Harley’s pasterns started to dry up and crumble and, although it got a little worse before it got better as the boots seemed to draw out scabs further up his legs, within a week he was well on the way back to normal. I could start to use exercise boots again inside three weeks and gradually all the scabs have disappeared leaving dry and healthy looking skin with little hair loss. I will continue to use and recommend Equi-Med Ag products and hope to have seen the last of the adverse effects of mud.

Gina Bardon

I have a piebald Belgian Warmblood gelding with 4 white legs so winter and mud is something I’ve had to deal with alot. But in the winter of 2009/2010 he got a scabby patch on one of his front legs that i just could not get under control. I have tried every cream on the market and also anti-biotic cream that was supplied by my vet all to no avail.

So when a friend of mine suggested I use Equi-Med Ag stable boots I was sceptical! I was advised by Equi-Med to clean his legs, towel dry and then put on the stable boots. I kept him in for two or three days with his boots on as it was extremely wet that week and I could not believe the change in his ski, in just a couple of days. Within two weeks the scab was completely gone.

I still use my Equi-Med Ag stable boots every night and I’m excited to say his bad skin is a thing of the past. This is definitely a must have product.

Lucy Garside

After vet treatment costing a small fortune, antibiotics etc my mares mud rash just wasn’t getting better as quickly as it should have, I rang Kay at Equi-Med Ag to ask about stable boots, after a long chat I purchased a pair, after only 5 days wearing the boots in the stable at night, all swelling had gone and scabs were dropping off leaving healthy pink skin…………….an amazing product, worth every penny!! I now have a happy sound horse who is pleased to be back in work. Thank you so much Kay!!

Viv Dent

I have owned Crosby for three years and from day one he has suffered from various degrees of sore scabby legs. I had previously used and swore by cow udder cream as a treatment and then a barrier cream as it had worked on my previous horses. Last winter Crosby suffered the worst I had ever seen, on two of his white socks, depite using a barrier cream. He was covered huge sores and his legs were so swollen he was unable to walk very far.

I was lucky enough to be given some activated carbon with silver material that Equi-Med use in their boots to help draw out the bacteria that causes the problem and within just a few days I could see the results. As it was so severe it took a few weeks for him to totally recover but I could see the improvement daily. His legs were kept dry as I didnt need to put on any creams and it made removing the scabs so much easier

At the beginning of this winter I was offered the Equi-Med Ag stable boots to try and despite the deep muddy fields he has not shown any signs of the scabs. The boots not only draw away any bacteria before it has a chance to take hold but also keep his legs warm and dry at night. They look smart, theyre machine washable and are quick and easy to use. The Equi-Med Ag boots now form part of his daily stable routine.

Karen Mcmanus

Fantastic boots well worth the investment! Having tried all kinds of lotions & potions which didn’t work I thought I would try these boots, Aragon had scabs so bad he was reluctant to bare weight on his leg, I noticed after one night of wearing the boots the filling in his legs had gone down & within 7 nights of wearing the boots the scabs has almost gone! Highly Recommended!

Katherine Bennet

So simple, so effective…so try it!

It’s a good job I’m not squeamish! When faced with a large wound on a youngster’s hind leg I knew it would be a long job to put it right. The vets estimated six months, if all went well, and pencilled us in for weekly wound checks, surgically debriding the site once a fortnight, until a point at which he would need skin grafts.

The end result would always be down to me, realistically, doing the day to day management; everyone has their own theories and previous experience made me aware of the common problems with how horses heal, especially on limbs.

Thank goodness for Equi-Med Ag dressings. They have been brilliant at keeping the wound clean and clearing debris and moisture that would otherwise sit on the site, clogging the tissues with the remnants of the army of potions and creams that are typically required to kill bacteria and suppress proud flesh. The silver and carbon don’t harshly strip the skin, like some dressings do, but quietly create a good environment that allows the site to heal.

I was sceptical in the beginning. It was really hard to wrap the wound up and leave it for up to a week, on expert veterinary advice, at such a critical point. All prior knowledge was telling me I would unwrap to find an infected and sticky mess that would require lots of washing. I don’t like to wash a wound site too often, it seems to encourage scarring; so I was really pleased when dressing changes were just that, a change of old for new, with minimal fuss and no additional medication required.

The wound healed, in my opinion, much quicker and with less scarring than anyone predicted. The dressings ensured a steady ongoing rate of healing so much so that the scheduled vet visits to sedate the horse and debride the wound went from every two weeks to four or five weeks apart. That’s some saving on vet bills, and greatly reduced the stress to the horse.

So I prepared for the skin grafts, convinced the dressings would ready the wound site properly to receive the grafts, and then give the necessary clean and stable environment they would require to ‘take’…. But in the end we didn’t need to graft at all as the wound was closing nicely; given the initial expanse of the damaged tissue it is an excellent result.

Equi-Med Ag technology is such a simple product, like most truly useful things are; it just does the job it is intended for. The soft and lightweight fabric roll can be cut to size and shape by owners and bandaged so as to apply just the right amount of pressure and only where it is needed. The fact that it can be left in place (suitably padded for absorbency and support) for several days makes it ideal for wounds that require stability, for tricky patients or owners unable to dress daily.

I’ve been pleasantly surprised, as have the vets, at how well these products work and I’m happy to recommend them, and the company for its customer support and service.

So there will always be Equi-Med Ag in my veterinary cupboard from now on – although hopefully we won’t need it.

Laura Pyke of Vlacq Stud, N Wales