Has anyone used it? Did it seem to help with building muscle? Our vet recommended it for my horse who’s rehabbing a DDFT injury, but I’m not sure if I should take the plunge to buy it now or wait until he’s further along into his rehab process (handwalking, etc.).
How far into rehab are you? It’s definitely not anything I’d do for starting out. What about it, and what about it in relation to this injury, does your vet think will help?
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We’re in the very early stages of rehab, less than 1 month post injury. Our vet seemed to think it might help prevent core and topline muscle atrophy since he’s 20 and currently stall-bound for the most part. She has us doing belly lifts and “back gooses” - applying light pressure to the sides of the spine to get him to hollow his back. Also doing some proprioceptive exercises with the front legs and using balance pads. Also working on some carrot stretches to try to maintain some mobility.
I don’t know anyone who’s used an EquiCore and while my vet is excellent, I’m wondering if that $250 would be better allotted to PRP and Shockwave bills that are on the way next week. My primary concern is addressing the leg injury at this point. My thought is that we can deal with any muscle loss once he’s into the active portion of the rehab.
I’m willing to throw the kitchen sink at this, but I’m skeptical of the EquiCore and looking for some third party opinions/experiences with it.
I love mine. I think it really helps encourage the horse use the abs and step under during unmounted work - like hand walking, treadmill time, or longeing. Even for my fit upper level dressage horses, we keep sessions short, 15 minutes max. That said, I do have one horse that it seems to have no effect on.
It’s certainly not necessary, but more like nice to have.
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It was recommended to me by the WEG PT after he worked on my horse when he was in the US last winter. His directions were to use it for 10, 15 minutes at the beginning of each ride while warming up. Then disconnect the straps and continue the ride. My horse is a trooper and I just reach down, pop off one side of each strap, drape them over his back and reconnect – all without getting off. My only complaint is I am not a big fan of the pad itself. I am considering taking the attachment points off and having them sewn onto one of my LeMieux pads.
Awesome, that level of detail helps! Have you considered getting the book Activate Your Horse’s Core? It’s really awesome. Between that, and a couple of Ace bandages, and looking up Linda Tellington Jones and the use of those bandages as a figure 8 around the body, you could get really similar results, for a lot less $ (though the book isn’t cheap). If it were ME, that’s what I’d do.
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The pad itself is not my favorite, but it’s otherwise a good product. Recommended a lot for rehabs around here. You can use it just walking, even hand walking or long lining. You start off slowly, a few minutes at first.
I think it helps some horses more than others for ongoing work. But it is good for rehabbing for a lot of them I think.
I have one I assembled myself with parts from Amazon and some help from a seamstress. I like it. I need to use it more on my TB as I’m not riding at moment. I only use it for 10 minutes of in hand work at walk. It’s amazing how mentally and physically taxing he finds those 10 minutes.
You could also consider Vicki Wilson’s band idea that would be much less expensive:
https://www.facebook.com/VickiWilson…vUObVpAP2_ZUfe
She sells the bands on her website.
https://vw-ltd.myshopify.com/product…system-bandage
I have the Thermatex Pro-Core Trainer – almost exactly the same, but made in Britain. I got mine through Hastilow USA and I think it ran about $150 at the time. I use it as part of my warm up for my ex-carriage horse who likes to drop his back and leave his hind legs behind him. I think it helps remind him to step under and I can see his core muscles working when I lunge him in it. I don’t use it for rehab purposes, but one of the vets I tech for recommends it for rehab as well. She’s seen some really good results in her patients who use it.
The Tellington and Wilson bands are very different from Equicore. I have used the Tellington bands (soft, stretchy Ace Bandages) and the Equi-core bands (latex, physical therapy bands). Some people find their horses do not change their posture with the softer bands. I find both work.
Yes, the bands are very different. The concepts are the same, and combined with the Activate Your Horse’s Core book, could give just the results the vet is suggesting
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A friend of mine is a PT, and I tried buying some black Theraband from her to DIY, but the material is just not the same. It’s too stretchy and tends to slip through the buckles. So I would say there is something to the Equibands themselves that are better for this job. Some of it is Therabands are usually coated in corn starch or something. But the thickness and tensile strength is also different. I just wish the saddle pad itself was offered in more options and materials. And I’ve not been able to source buckles that are about the same size.
I bought it to rehab my horse from back soreness last winter, and the change in just three weeks was dramatic. I’m a low-level Dressage adult ammie, dramatic change in 3 weeks is not something I’m used to getting out of my horse! :lol: I reviewed it here, and then I wrote more thoughts on it here. Looking back on it, the bands were the beginning of a turning point for us.
I’ve heard a lot of people get on their high horses about these being a negative-connotation “gadget”, but to me, it felt like adding resistance training to a human athlete’s training regimen. My horse’s whole body and way of carrying himself changed once we started using them.
The bands are under a surprising amount of tension when correctly adjusted, so I agree with others who have said an Ace Bandage or polo wrap won’t achieve the same thing.
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Thanks, everyone! This is very helpful. I think I’m going to take the plunge and shell out for the EquiCore. Hopefully I’ll be able to report back with results before too long!
I definitely don’t have a problem with a system like this (as opposed to a setup like a Pessoa rig).
I agree that proper work on the core is immensely useful, however it’s done.
My only concern is this is a leg injury that is just starting rehab, and there is no good core engagement without hind leg engagement
The goal of an Ace/polo wrap isn’t tension, it’s for proprioception and working to equalize use of both sides of the body via that. It’s just different from tension/resistance-assisted therapy.
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@CobJockey Thanks for that review and your testimonial - very well done. It does seem it would be more effective than just the wrap around band.
You wouldn’t start using the Equiband system at the optimal tension–you’d start a bit looser, and you could also start with just the belly strap or just the hind strap. And the first session could literally be a few minutes hand walking. CSU’s in-patient rehab use it for hand walking regularly when dealing with soft tissue injuries. It’s fairly hard for the average sized horse to have it so tight it’s like real resistance training (I have seen it be used this tightly on a pony). But you don’t start out at that tension, and I honestly have never used it at quite the max recommended (50% stretch). At a little less resistance, it is mostly just proprioceptive input. Including with the belly band which can remind the horse of its ab muscles.
For the hand walking stage, probably the Ace bandage figure 8 will give you enough input to get started. But for something that’s more easily transitioned to long lining and ridden work, the Equicore system is easy to use.
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It won’t let me tag JB… for what it’s worth, the injury is in the LF leg. Obviously there are whole-body compensatory effects, but his hind end engagement should be ok. I’m going to wait for the green light from my vet to start using it to make sure that we’re not stressing anything prematurely.
