Re: [RC] EquiPedic Heat Comparisons - Barbara McCrary
I don't pretend to understand all this
scientific stuff. I can only relate experiences. My horse is
perfectly happy with his Equipedic pad. Also, my daughter wanted to ride
Swanton Pacific 75 this year and asked if she could borrow my Equipedic pad for
a few trial rides. Then she rode the 75 and was delighted when the vet
examined her horse's back at the post-ride check and told her that the horse had
no soreness AT ALL. This on a horse that has always been problematical for
a sore back.
OK Folks. I am not a scientist and I don't even play one on TV. But I do
have an advanced degree and know how to read research reports. The evidence is
overwhelming that Phase Change Material (PCMs) does work. Initial studies were
done by NASA, the Air Force, and Triangle Research Corp. David Covin was
one of the primary inventors of this technology. You can review his work and
products at www.deltathermal.com. He
has published at least 21 papers on this subject since 1989. At www.coolvest.com/tech-info.shtml
you will find studies done by NASA, the Air Force and OSHA. At http://www.firstlinetechnology.com/ you
can read about their Swede vest and how the cooling effect lasts for as long
as four hours. At http://www.technologyreview.com/articles/02/03/visualize0302.asp you
can read an article published by MIT on phase change materials. Of course you
can always Google "phase change materials" and find many more references using
your computer that utilizes phase change technology on it's heat sink.
This technology is not alchemy as some has suggested before. It is real.
It works. It is used in clothing, home heating applications and even car
seats from GM in addition to all the military and law enforcement
applications. I am beginning to understand why Tom Ivers reacts the way he
does. It seems that no matter how much research or scientific proof exists for
a technology there is just a core group that has to insist that it doesn't
work. Unfortunately, that is their lose, or I should say their horse's lose,
in this case.
Again, for those who may have missed the point, the testing was done by
an independent agency. I, nor my company, did the testing. My understanding is
that they embedded the thermo-couplers in the bottom layer of the pads to
determine what effect a constant heat had on the materials used in saddle
pads. The results are what they are and what we have claimed from the
beginning. There is a four to seven degree variable with regard to cooling
when using phase change materials when compared to non phase change materials.
We are still the only company to have released any testing data on saddle
pads. We challenge any of the other manufacturers to do the same. Also if
anyone has access to a controlled environmental chamber where we can test on
live horses, so that all parameters are the same, we will be there with our
products.
Our goal was to produce a product that addressed the five areas affected
by a rider and saddle on a horse:
Congruence
Compliance
Temperature Management
Moisture Management
Blood Flow and Oxygenation Management
We believe that we have accomplished that and do it better than other
products available on the market today. For those who have not used our pads
or our other products, we invite you to try them out. We think you will find
that they do everything that we say they do and nothing more.
