June 17, 2012–Have you ever scrunched up a straw wrapper, accordion style, and then dropped a few drops of water on it from your straw to watch it expand my kids (taught this somewhat messy restaurant trick by a friend old enough to know better) called it ?making worms.? So that, of course, was the first thing that came to mind when I was watching this video. But after cruising the aisles of the recent AmerEquine Festival of the Horse in Fort Worth, Texas looking for interesting and unusual horse products and equipment to tell you about, I ran across Wysi Wipes, which is one of the coolest products I?ve seen in a very long time for trail riders, campers ? and just about anyone on the go who likes to travel light. This thing that looks like a double-stuff Alka-Seltzer tablet expands when sprinkled with a small amount of liquid into a full-sized, durable moist towlette. They?re hypo-allergenic, all-natural (made from plant fiber cellulose and contain no chemicals or additives), environmentally friendly (biodegradable in 60 days in a composting environment), reusable and, as Rodney Anderson, the Kold-Rite rep whose hands you see in the above video (more on Kold-Rite in a coming post) explained, whatever liquid you pour on the wipe is the kind of wipe you create. So, if flies or mosquitoes are an issue, pour a little fly spray on one of these tablets to create a repellent wipe. Need that to go? Do a couple before hand and stick ?em in a Ziploc to carry in your pocket. Need to clean a cut or scrape or other first aid issue? Choose your favorite non-stinging antiseptic. And I’m no vet (so be sure to ask yours if this is an OK idea for trail or camping equine first aid), but I would supposed you could use a liquid product like Vetericyn to infuse a Wysi Wipe to go under a wrap to clean, doctor and protect a small equine wound while you’re still on the trail. If you’re camping, you can use these little shape shifters with water, facial toner or cleanser, disinfectant, or any other liquid for cleaning anything from hands and faces (and other things), as well as tack, cooking and camping equipment. Besides portability and versatility, what I like best about Wysi Wipes is the price. You get 12 of them in a small package for $2.50; they are also available in a variety of packages and pricing depending on your needs, uses and preferences. The website, of course, suggests keeping them in the barn, tack room, trailer and first aid box as well as with your camping and trail riding gear.? (Click here for the complete list of options and prices) They also have a cousin, the Wysi Cloth, which expands to a larger, 17? x 21? lint-free washcloth; these come 10 to a roll (about the size of a sleeve of golf balls) for $5.95. And no, I?ve not been paid for this plug. I just thought these were cool products and wanted everyone to know about them. Has anyone else heard of Wysi Wipes? If you have used them ? or if you decide to give them a try, please let us know what you think! ?And, of course, just because I happened to get so excited about this product that I wanted to tell you about it, this post in no way creates any connection or liability for this or any other product by discoverhorses.com, the Equine Network, or AIM. Just sayin?.
