Have you heard of the brand Epiony? Well if you haven’t have you been living under a rock? It is the new kid on the block when it comes to essential equestrian must have products.
With everything going on in the world & being out of work and away from the horses it has given us a lot of spare time to start penning our thoughts on the products we have been using. The beauty about these Epiony products is that not only can your horse benifit, you can too!
Want to read more? You know the drill by now, scroll for all the ins & outs!
About The Brand Epiony
Epiony Ltd was founded in 2016 by Emma Easton-Powell BSc (hons), a university student aged 21. Emma started her brand from the ground up at the age of 19 with no previous experience or funding. She started with £200 she had saved up from her birthday and Christmas and started The Massage Mitt in 2014, then rebranded to Epiony Ltd in 2016 and since then has continued to grow into a global therapy brand.
The idea for The Heat Pad came about due to her weak lower back, sometimes after riding or general exercise her back could ache and heat helped ease any discomfort without her having to take painkillers every time. However hot water bottles were impractical to walk around with, were bulky and took time to make so she decided to design a lightweight, portable and flexible Heat Pad that could be used anywhere, not just your back.
Epiony has quite the backround story, to read it in full click this link, it is very inspirational reading how much Emma has grown this company to what it has become today.
The Epiony Heatpad
The Heat Pad runs off a 12 volt smart lithium ion battery with four temperature settings and has been made from a light weight super soft leatherette fabric combined with heat resistant insulation wadding to trap and reflect the heat back onto the muscles to soothe and relax either you or your horse.
It is one of the easiest products to use, turning it on you keep your finger on the button, and to set the tempeture you simply click it to the tempeture you wish. the light indicates the heat intensity, red, orange & green. (green lowest, red highest)
With the heat pad it arrives packed up in a gorgeous carry bag, inside you get two straps, one long surcingle that can be adjusted to size, a neoprene waist belt which is a wider strap that is great for using on your horses neck. Also you get your lithium battery & a charger. It is all safety first when it comes to Epiony, the battery has a special built in thermostat to prevent it from overheating, basically If the battery gets too hot it automatically turns itself off.
For The Human
So anyone following us on Instagram will know that myself (Orla) and Cosmo had a fall when we were jumping a few weeks ago. I landed smack bang on my right shoulder which almost instantly seized up. As with these kind of injuries, I iced it for the first day but after that, the best treatment is heat – enter the Epiony Heatpad. I was in a significant amount of pain after the fall, my neck was extremely sore and stiff and I couldn’t really use my right arm – the heatpad was a godsend. Each evening I’d strap the heatpad on using the straps provided, which are very easily adjusted to fit us humans, and I’d sit with it on for a good hour as it soothed my aches and pains.
After 3 days of using it, I noticed a significant improvement in the muscular pain in and around my shoulder and neck. I’ve had similar injuries before and these have easily taken up to a week to see this kind of improvement so I was grateful to have the heatpad to speed up the healing process.
For The Horse
There are many amazing factors this product has for your horse. For one, it is excellent at reducing stress & helps with relaxing of the muscles. A lot of people find it great for using on your horse pre-exercise as it essentially helps warm your horse up & get the blood flowing to those key muscles your horse would be using during exercise.
The Heat therapy also helps decrease stiffness & increase flexibility that in time improves your horses comfort. This would be a great addition to any horse on rest or any that is recovering from injury. From using it on Dante, I found that using it before exercise almost relaxed him a little too much, so I began using it after workouts as more of a reward to help ease his muscles after work. I found it really helped him and loosened him out when I went to ride him a day or two afterwards. I mainly use it on the top of his neck/poll area & the top of his lower back on his Sacroiliac muscle in 20 minute time frames. These areas tend to tighten up more frequently and the heat helps relax the muscles that bit more. It is a great addition to my kit & helps prolong Dante’s physio visits by a few weeks.
The Epiony Massage Mit
The Massage Mitt is suitable for horses, cats, dog and humans. It relaxes tight and tense muscles, increases blood circulation and reduces stress. It is made from a robust polymer and nine 360 degree rotating steel balls. This hand shaped mitt is exceptionally easy to use and works along with the shape of the surface it works on ensuring comfort and relief in both the masseur and the recipient.
For The Human
The massage mitt is the perfect complementary treatment to the heatpad. I had some serious knots and muscle pain in my shoulder and neck even a few weeks after the fall so when I didn’t have time to sit with the heatpad, the massage mitt was the perfect reliever for my sore, tight muscles. I would regularly try to give myself shoulder massages (as with most riders, I tend to have tight shoulders) but this mitt made it just so much easier. It also allows you to move a bit further down your back, applying even pressure across your muscles as you move. To be honest, Dars is lucky she got it back, I wanted to keep it so it’s definitely on my purchase list!
For The Horse
Again this is another amazing product to loosen & get muscles moving or “awake” prior to exercise. I use it mostly on Dante’s shoulders and around his saddle area. It is normally a quick 10 minute massage before tacking up. It is a super tool to have when you simply don’t have the time to be spending pampering over your horse.
On his days off from work when I have the time to be up grooming he will get an all over body massage. Using circular motions with the mit it really gets the blood circulating in turn releasing tension. It is quite rewarding to see his relaxing expressions when it is being used. It certainly loosens him up thats for sure.
Cleaning The Mitt
I have yet to clean the mit.. sorry Orla, I know you have been using it on your shoulder! So I have copied over the instructions that the Epiony website have given, it is on my to do list once I get back down to the yard!
Our Verdict….
If you dont have one of the above, save up your money & make the purchase. In my opinion it is an essential! It is money well spent or if you want to it would be a good idea to go halves with your horsey friend. Both horse & rider benefit massively from both products, the heatpad was even used by my pregnant sister & she loved it to relieve lower back pain.
They are available to buy direct from www.epiony.com. £139.99 – Heatpad / £10.99 – Massage Mit. Epiony products are definately money well spent if you invest. If you need to save up for a while prior to purchase or if you decide to go halves with your friend, you wont regret it!
We also recommend you keep an eye on their social media accounts, facebook & Instagram, Epiony run regular competitions, you could be lucky enough to win some of their amazing products.
Two super products that I can’t recommend enough for anyone looking to purchase. The heatpad seems a little on the pricier side, but when you look at the benefits it is certainly exceptional value for money.
They do have a third product, the Thermal Wand this retails at £169.95, it is a little outside of our price range at the minute, but another product we certainly have our eye on.
Thank you for reading, and if you have any questions regarding both products please do get in contact. This was not a gifted post & my review was based from experience & a great Christmas present!
Until Next Time,
Darielle
NoBuckingWay 