Equine (Horse!) Ear plug testing

My horse Chally has become slightly gun shy, so I have bought every ear plug on the market and here is my review

Note I don't have any affiliations with these companies and purchased these directly from different retailers. Completely unbiased opinion!

See the link below to videos of my testing

Sheepskin ear plugs from moms-hobby on eBay
£5 (USD $8)
Description
Big fluffy bits of sheepskin with stitched to form a chunkier section to push into the ear canal
Review
These work pretty well, they will not stay put when the horse shakes so you will need a fly veil
Noise cancelling ability is relatively poor as the material isn't dense enough to stop loud noises
Chally could clearly hear a revolver cocking
Rating 
Shake proof 2/5
Noise blocking 2/5
Ease of use 5/5
Overall rating 9/15


Pomms
£10 ($16)
Description
Slightly moth-eaten in appearance, golf ball dimpled style of very squeezy balls. Very light, but material also looks not dense
ReviewSuper squishy gold ball type plug, marketed to block some noise whilst allowing the horse to hear, but also why they didn't score highly in noise blocking. These are probably very comfortable for the horse to wear,
Rating
Shake proof 3/5
Noise blocking 2/5
Ease of use 4/5
Overall rating 9/15


Plughz
£9.99 for 2 pairs ($16)
Description 
Smooth balls, relatively stiff, but still plenty of squeeze in them
Review
These said "No Shake" on the size, and I was pretty sceptical, but have used them on two horses without requiring a fly veil to hold in place.Relatively easy to use, roll in and push down.
Rating
Shake proof 4/5
Noise blocking 3/5
Ease of use 4/5 - Sometimes a little hard to remove
Overall rating 11/15

Zilco
£3.95 ($6.40)
Description
Relatively stiff foam plugs on a string, highly popular in racing where they can be pulled out by the jockey
Review
I have actually had these for a while and didn't think they were much use, however after I removed all the leads which made them lighter, and have been more forceful about insertion they do stay put without a fly veil. They work well on noise blocking, but you do need to push in well, I imagine probably less comfortably for the horse (I couldn't discern this from my horses as they look rather offended by any plug!)
Rating
Shake proof 4/5
Noise blocking 4/5
Ease of use 5/5
Overall rating 13/15


EquiFit
£7.00 ($11.20)
Description
Memory foam ear plugs, very squishy, similar to human ear plugs used for shooting. One side dyed to a colour, which has made the foam stiffer
Review
Initially I found these hard to put in, but after browsing the UK site I saw a flyer saying "roll". Indeed if you roll these in the palms of your hand you can form a nice sausage shape which is far easier to insert
If done so they don't have far to expand you can make them moderately shake proof, but a fly veil is probably a good idea so you don't loose them at the start. When I took the veil off and the horse had a good shake they stayed put. However on removal, its obvious they tend to fold up rather than push down into the ear canal, so I think its hard to get a good noise proof seal
Rating
Shake proof 3/5
Noise blocking 3/5
Ease of use 4/5
Overall rating 10/15


C.S.O Sheepskin Ear Plugs
£6.60 ($10.50)
Description
Little individual balls of tufted wool
Review
Useless! Too small to fill the ear canal, you have to go digging to remove them from the ear! Easily shaken out and incredibly easy to lose.Horse can hear everything.
Rating Shake proof 0/5
Noise blocking 1/5
Ease of use 1/5
Overall rating 2/15

Conclusion
Overall winner is Zilco, both on price and effectiveness. For competitions I may try mixing and matching for maximum muffling - for example plughz + sheepskin


About the testing 
I used a cap gun to asses the noise properties, combined with using a .38 revolver firing blanks
Here are links to so videos of the cap gun testing: Click here for videos

1 comment:

  1. Hi Jenna,

    Would you be interested in Blogging on a new "Patch" technology specifically designed for pain management/calming effects in Horses?

    Our Website is www.aculifeuk.co.uk

    Cheers
    Gabor

    ReplyDelete