Why Meg Klaaysen won’t go a day without her Activo-Med system

Eventer turned FEI dressage rider Meg Klaaysen will tell anyone that listens that her Activo-Med is her secret weapon. It’s not only a warmup and recovery tool but a training aid and the thing that keeps her horses happy, relaxed, and most importantly in top condition.

“I started my riding career as an eventer with horses competing 2* and 3*. I had off-the-track thoroughbreds and young warmbloods and did everything to keep them fit and happy.” From seeing a regular physio to providing them with all the right supplements, like most high-performance horses,  Meg’s team were still suffering from niggling issues.

“I knew there had to be a better way to manage my horses so that I could keep them in the best condition so I started researching.”

Meg had been using magnetic therapy on her horses and could visibly see how it worked to stimulate blood flow. When she came across the Actvo-Med system using Pulsed electromagnetic therapy she was interested! After trialing the system on her eventer and seeing how relaxed and happy he was she was hooked.

Over the past 10 years since being introduced to the system, Meg has accumulated the complete set of Activo-Med equipment including the latest Activo-Med Combi Pro rug, font and rear combi boots, PecDominal Girth, and the Handheld PEMF Device + Light Cluster.

“My horses always give me 110% and so as a rider and owner it’s up to me to give them the best.”

Meg firmly believes that listening to your horses is the key to knowing when something’s not right with them. “Because my horses are treated with the Activo-Med system every day they always feel their best and I have a baseline of how they should feel. When they’re not 100% right, our horses tell us, we just have to be in tune with them as riders to hear it.”

In fact, not long ago Meg’s 15yo ex-eventer who was training Grand Prix suffered a fractured pastern after a paddock accident. By combining the Activo-Med rug, boots, and handheld cluster every day while he was stabled for 6 months when he was trotted up his vet was shocked at how he looked. “The vet said, he looked better than he did before! He didn’t lose any muscle condition because I kept his treatments up and he’s come back even stronger than before.”

But it’s not just the performance horses who get the treatments. “I bring my young horses in and let them stand there tied up with the rug on. It helps them realise that coming in is a nice thing to do and means I can get on top of any niggles right from the start so that when I hop on they are a clean slate with no injuries or issues.” With young warmbloods, their bones and joints are like sponges so it’s crucial to ensure they have the absolute best start in life.

Meg doesn’t just use the system to help her horses recover, she also uses it as a training aid. “I use S2 and S4 to bring down tense or tight horses. Rather than trotting and cantering them around in circles for 20 mins to bring them down you pop the rug on, relax them, and then your ridden training time is exactly that, quality training time.”

Meg uses the system as a training aid and knows it saves her hours in the saddle working down her horses but she also knows “it’s so much more than just a massage or warm-up rug, it’s a real step above those systems because while it’s warming them up it’s also helping them feel their best so that when I get on, they feel good right away.”

So would Meg be without her rug? “Not a chance! She says laughingly, “I’m obsessed! I use the system every day on my horses and people comment on how relaxed they are. It’s helped me keep my horses going because they don’t have downtime because of injuries.”

Want the latest news & deals in your inbox?