Absorbine recently sent me two of their newest products to test and I have to say the Botanicals Natural Herbal line of body rinse and foam liniment, hit the mark! I was skeptical at first. Although I liked the idea of a botanical line, I figured the products wouldn’t be any different than the liniment products of the past, which although seemed to make the horses feel better, created a mess and had an overbearing alcohol smell. Boy was I wrong.
I first tested the foam liniment on myself. I use A lot of the horse products, on myself because I figure if they make a difference on me, then they are likely to make a difference for them. The first thing I noticed was the pleasant smell, not like the overbearing smell that icy hot or other muscle rubs have, which made it user-friendly and didn’t make my eyes water. I liked this because sometimes after long runs (me running), I use a muscle rub and it often smells up the entire house, something I have to apologize for whenever friends come over. However, this was not the case with the botanical foam. Along with its pleasant smell, it spread over my skin and didn’t feel sticky and it didn’t dry my skin out after use. Along with all of these benefits, I was pleasantly happy to find myself relieved of minor aches and pains, just after several minutes.
Now for the barn test?
Both the foam and the brace have Aloe Vera, Arnica, and a mixture of 10 different herbs. My favorite thing about the foam and the brace is that they are easier to apply to the horses than other braces. The foam actually goes where you want it to, not like the liniments of the past that you spill most of on the ground and hope that it gets where you want it. The brace makes up to 24 gallons and can even be diluted further if you want to. I was pleasantly surprised about the brace because I expected, based on the recommended dilution, that it wouldn’t work as well if you diluted it further, but that was not the case at all. The dilution recommendation is right on and was easy to do. The brace didn’t suds up and it didn’t leave a film that I felt had to be rinsed off later. I simply poured the brace into a 5-gallon bucket, filled it with water, and then sponged it on my horse with a natural sponge. I also felt comfortable leaving the brace on my horse (which I did) and knowing that it wouldn’t aggravate her sensitive skin. Although I don’t know if there is any factual significance to it, I also found that flies and mosquitos do not like the smell of the Asborbine Botanical brace and they were not attracted to it, a huge benefit in Texas during the summertime. I have found the opposite effect with other “herbal” body washes.
I have to give Absorbine a “Barrel Racing Bravo” for making an innovative product like the Botanical line that not only works well but is also user-friendly and utilizes natural herbs and oils to relieve minor aches and pains.
… and as much I liked the foam liniment for the horses, I even liked it better for me, so it’s moving back in the house from the barn!
