This is an archived Horseadvice.com Discussion. The parent article and menus are available on the navigation menu below:
HorseAdvice.com » Diseases of Horses » First Aid » Bandaging Horses »
  Discussion on Cooling tendons in all 4 legs or only front?
Author Message
Member:
lynnland

Posted on Monday, Jun 21, 2010 - 2:09 pm:

Hi gang,

I had no idea where to post this so...this is where I ended up.

Our jumping ring is quite deep sand such that after a lesson in there I generally wrap all 4 of my horse's legs with a poultice to cool the tendons. This is a pain and he does have a bit of a habit of pulling them off overnight. So, I was contemplating purchasing some ice tendon wraps (https://www.mackinnonicehorse.com/second_tier/products/tendon_wraps.html). I generally wrap all 4 but it seems most people only use these on the front (and they don't come in a hind leg version). I realize that in jumping the front tendons take most of the abuse but...working in deep sand I would think that cooling boots for all 4 would be more appropriate. The plan would be to leave them on for about 3 hours after the lesson.

Any advice?

Lynn
Member:
canter

Posted on Monday, Jun 21, 2010 - 4:28 pm:

Hi Lynn,

I don't have an answer to your question (although I can't see how using the boots on the back could possibly cause any harm, assuming they are adjusted correctly), but have a request instead. If you do decide to purchase these, please let us know how you like them.

I recently purchased a pair from another manufacturer, and don't feel they get my mare's legs as cold as cold hosing, nor do they last very long - no where near as long as the ones in the link in your post. Wondering if I should try another brand or go back to cold hosing (ugh!)
Member:
rtrotter

Posted on Monday, Jun 21, 2010 - 7:30 pm:

Lynn & Fran,

I have a pair of these ice boots along with a portable Ice machine, ice gel wraps, and moldable ice packs. I got them all when I was rehabbing a mare with a bowed tendon, didn't like any of them except for the portable ice machine which did a really good job of keeping her legs cold, problem was I could only do two legs at a time.

What I found worked the best was a bucket of ice water, polo wraps and a turkey baster( or a big cup). Soak the polo wraps in the ice water, apply to legs and baste with ice water every once in a while.

You can poultice after and while messy you do not have to do your horse up, the poultice will still pull any heat and then dry up and flake or fall off by itself. My horse did not pull bandages off so what I did with her was take those same wet polo wraps poultice and put the wet wraps on over the poultice. I also put the poultice bucket in the ice water to keep it cold.

What I found with the ice tendon boots was the combination of the heat from the horses legs and the outside temperature made the ice boots act like a sweat( after the ice packs melted) after a very short time.

A bag( or two) of frozen peas under the polo wraps works well too.

Rachelle
Member:
canter

Posted on Tuesday, Jun 22, 2010 - 7:19 am:

Thanks, Rachelle. Your experience with the ice boots is exactly what mine has been - by the time I get to the barn (only 4-5 minutes away), catch a somewhat bored and thus misbehaving horse and get them on in 80+ temps, they just don't cool as much as I would like.

Ice water is also problematic, but the water from the hose is really, really cold, so I like the idea of applying the polo wraps and re-wetting them as they heat up. I can groom, do chores as she's standing there, vs. holding a hose on her for 30 minutes.

I almost fell asleep cold hosing the other day, leaning my forehead against her upper leg!

Thanks so much for the suggestion.
Member:
mrose

Posted on Tuesday, Jun 22, 2010 - 12:36 pm:

If you or anyone you know has had knee surgery,( or if you are friends with the local ortho doc) save the cooler machine they use on you. I have two. They look like small ice chests with small hoses which circulate ice water through a thin rubber mat. There is a little pump inside the cooler. You fill the chest half full of ice and add water to the fill line. I use vet wrap to hold the mat around a horse's leg. If the horse is fidgity, I put it where it can eat hay while getting treated. Not ideal if you have more than one leg (unless you have more than one machine) but terrific for one leg. They sell these in some of the catalogs, but they are pricey. The ones I'm talking about are considered disposable, but mine have lasted for years.
Member:
vickiann

Posted on Tuesday, Jun 22, 2010 - 2:50 pm:

Great idea, Sara.

My husband had one of those when he had his shoulder surgery. I'll have to see if it is still around here somewhere.
Home Page | Top of Page | Join Us!
Horseadvice.com is a BBB Accredited Business. Click for the BBB Business Review of this Horse Training in Stokesdale NC