Cooling Legs

M

Mbronze

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After doing the xc i always wash down my girls legs with nice cool water but would really like to start using something like ice packs or cool boots after.
The problem is as a student i cant really strech my budget to cool boots so i was wondering if i could somehow use ice packs, and wrap her legs up using gamgee and bandages.
Does anyone do this, and if so how?
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The best thing is freeze up some ice cube bags and keep cold in a cool box with ice packs around them. When finished put jay cloth round your horses legs and apply the ice cube bags directly on top and then bandage just tight enough to keep in place. Take off after no more than 20 minutes leave for 20 minutes and repeat (if still cold enough). Going over 20 minutes would start to do more damage than good.
 
Lots of other options such as the Equi n Ice bandages (£7ish each) or Ice Tight under bandages. I would be cautious about bandaging normal ice packs onto legs due to uneven pressure and being too cold.

Personally, I use cool boots for the first 20 mins and then ice tight and bandage overnight.
 
I am about to do just this!

I have eskadron bandage gamees which I am going to sew a pocket on to so that I can place the ice packs in them and banadge them to the leg. The pocket will stop the ice being in direct contact with the leg and so prevent freezer burn, but will allow it to cool the leg effectively. I just bought my ice packs off ebay and already had the gamgee and bandages.

Sorry can't tell you how I have got on with them as haven't used them yet!
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we made some that april made and have worked pretty well and been very easy on the purse strings
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we also always put bandages in a cold bucket of water and then wrap round and keep on for half an hour and it seems to work - we do use ice tight but have had problems with little nics getting slightly irritated resulting in swellings/heat
 
Thanks everyone for all your useful advice, its so hard sometimes eventing on a budget!! I'd love to give her the best of everything if i could.

I have done a bit of arts and craft on my xc gear to save money so I will try aprils idea tonight!! Thanks again, and if all fails i may just start putting bandages on her from a cold bucket of water.
 
Ditto the comment re: tubi grips, either use an extra long one that you can double over or one to protect the leg and another on top to hold an ice pack in place.
 
ive just bought 4 cheap flexi ice packs for £2.50 each. Put them in the freezer the night before then take them in a cool box. Bandadge on and leave for 20 mins! Work really well.
 
[ QUOTE ]
After doing the xc i always wash down my girls legs with nice cool water but would really like to start using something like ice packs or cool boots after.
The problem is as a student i cant really strech my budget to cool boots so i was wondering if i could somehow use ice packs, and wrap her legs up using gamgee and bandages.
Does anyone do this, and if so how?
grin.gif


[/ QUOTE ]

Why on earth do you feel the need for ice packs????
The horse world these days seems to be geared around parting caring horse owners from large sums of money for things of dubious benefit,( and your a bad owner if you dont buy the latest Gimick)
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An Ice pack is for the time ,god forbid, when some poor horse pulls a tendon ,and you urgently need to reduce the swelling betwean the tendon fibres,which then tears healthy fibres and increases the damage.
There are basicly two ways to cool a normal tendon,The application of somthing cold or by evaporation.I dont believe you can go wrong with a bit of cold hosing,and then plastering the legs with Kaolin.There is nothing magical about Kaolin,it is a very fine clay produced from granite.But it does hold a lot of water ,which evaporates over a number of hours cooling the leg.Some people put a layer of wet paper and a bandage over this .I am not entirely sure whether this is necessary,While it probably extends the time that some cooling occurs,I suspect that it reduces the maximum cooling effect.In the morning you peal and brush off the dried Kaolin.
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