Cold hosing or ice boots?

[Clairlyagenius]

Hello all!

Well, if it's not one thing it's another, and my horse has injured her leg (again), there's a shallow enough cut, but it's also swelled up like a (small) balloon

So the last time this happened, I cold hosed, as well as the obvious cleaning and disinfecting, and that was fine I guess, but a bit of a pain because she doesn't particularly like standing in one spot.
I have come across the Shires Arma Hydro Therapy Boots online, which say it turns to a cooling gel when wet, and is reusable and no mess.
Looking up studies I have found one study say cold hosing is better, and another saying boots are better..
Has anyone used these, and found them good? Or is cold hosing better?

 

[Equi]

I would be cautious of getting an open wound wet.

 

[Clairlyagenius]

I would be cautious of getting an open wound wet.

See that was a worry too! The last time she got a cut I cold hosed, disinfected everyday after etc. and it still flared back up after going down and got an infection. A very small one, as I got very little out with poulticing, but now there's a lump on her hind leg forever Do you think cold hosing could have contributed to that?

 

[mini-eventer]

Ice boots are the best for swelling, cold hosing is good for flushing a wound - I was advised this by a vet.

cooling gel boots are OK if no other option but they don't get colder than the water they are soaked in then warm up quickly. They would be last resort for me

 

[Clairlyagenius]

Ice boots are the best for swelling, cold hosing is good for flushing a wound - I was advised this by a vet.

cooling gel boots are OK if no other option but they don't get colder than the water they are soaked in then warm up quickly. They would be last resort for me

Okay good to know!
I won't waste the money on the shires boots then, I can save up for proper ice boots instead to help with the swelling.

Probably an obvious no, given the temperature difference, but do you know can ice boots work in the fridge instead of freezer? I know there's a fridge at my stables, but I don't think there's a freezer..

 

[Squeak]

You can use the disposable ice bags from supermarkets with a boot or bandage to hold it in place but you do need to make sure you have a layer such as a jay cloth between the ice bag and the horses leg.

I have the shires boots and have always thought they felt colder than the water they soaked up. No idea if they would go the freezer - you can get some that do.

 

[MinnieP]

Have a look at Bonner Bandages… they’re fabulous.

 

[Tiddlypom]

Have a look at Bonner Bandages… they’re fabulous.

Was just going to suggest a Bonner bandage! Very useful for injured humans, too .

My originals are over 30 years old, but they’ve been relaunched, they are just the same.

Cold hosing is IMHO still best for a still open wound, though, to keep it clean.

 

[TPO]

If a cut was causing lameness/issues with standing I'd speak to the vet.

Cold hosing is better for cooling eg legs after work. But that isn't always possible to ice (not applied directly to skin) is next best option.

Don't worry about any "vibe" marketing, there's no muscle below the knee.

Having had a tiny shallow cut, that was cleaned, hosed and taken care of, balloon within a couple of hours resulting in vet call & stitches (well staples), I'm perhaps more cautious than others would be

Where is the cut? Any chance of it being a puncture wound?

A swollen limb & discomfort/pain would be a call to the vet for me.

 

[Clairlyagenius]

You can use the disposable ice bags from supermarkets with a boot or bandage to hold it in place but you do need to make sure you have a layer such as a jay cloth between the ice bag and the horses leg.

I have the shires boots and have always thought they felt colder than the water they soaked up. No idea if they would go the freezer - you can get some that do.

See I was looking at the Shires boots, because I was hoping for a solution without a freezer, and they seemed perfect! Do you find they stay cold for long?

 

[Clairlyagenius]

If a cut was causing lameness/issues with standing I'd speak to the vet.

Cold hosing is better for cooling eg legs after work. But that isn't always possible to ice (not applied directly to skin) is next best option.

Don't worry about any "vibe" marketing, there's no muscle below the knee.

Having had a tiny shallow cut, that was cleaned, hosed and taken care of, balloon within a couple of hours resulting in vet call & stitches (well staples), I'm perhaps more cautious than others would be

Where is the cut? Any chance of it being a puncture wound?

A swollen limb & discomfort/pain would be a call to the vet for me.

No lameness so far, thankfully! I did say to my instructor (he runs the livery yard) did I need to call the vet, but he didn't seem too concerned. If the swelling isn't down by today though I think I probably will ask him to get the vet out, just for peace of mind...

It's on the inside of her front leg, just over halfway between her knee and her fetlock. We were actually extremely lucky, as we think she got into a fight with another herd member, and went around the gate and barged through the fence, but she somehow avoided the ditch beside it, which is about 10 foot deep... It's definitely not a puncture wound, you can see she skinned it pretty badly, but there's no extra like, holes or tears, if you get me? No lameness, she lets me touch around it/ clean it with a sponge, doesn't pull away when touching the swelling either, which she normally would if something was painful to her..

 

[Squeak]

See I was looking at the Shires boots, because I was hoping for a solution without a freezer, and they seemed perfect! Do you find they stay cold for long?

Tbh I haven't used them a lot as they're my lorry back up but they did seem to stay cold when I have used them.

Although I would agree with the others that my first choice would be cold hosing for a cut that's got heat and swelling in.

 

[Squeak]

Don't worry about any "vibe" marketing, there's no muscle below the knee.

At the risk of going off on a tangent I really like the ice vibes - I would never use them on an open cut or a new injury, especially if I wasn't sure what it was but I do find they're brilliant when a horse has knocked itself and I've cold hosed enough days to pretty much get rid of heat but there's that last bit of swelling that takes a bit longer to go.

They're also useful on puffy legs from being stabled overnight.

 

[MuddyMonster]

I too would err on the side of caution with a cut with a lot of swelling but it sounds like you are doing that anyway.

But generally speaking, I use wine coolers instead of proper ice boots (mainly for hard/fast work or when ground is hard which i appreciate is different to using for a cut) as I struggled to find ice boots small enough for pony legs - they go in the freezer and then I pack them into a cool box with ice to keep them cool when riding. They work just as well as far as I can tell!

 

[mini-eventer]

Okay good to know!
I won't waste the money on the shires boots then, I can save up for proper ice boots instead to help with the swelling.

Probably an obvious no, given the temperature difference, but do you know can ice boots work in the fridge instead of freezer? I know there's a fridge at my stables, but I don't think there's a freezer..

They need to go in a freezer, I take mine out in the morning and keep in a cool bag with ice packs and they stay frozen, if you don't have boots you can bandage ice pops to the leg, I put a cloth underneath so they are not directly on the skin. Or I pull a tubigrip bandage over his foot, double it over and slot them in.