Cooling Paste

W

wyrden

New User
Joined
4 June 2018
Messages
5
Visit site
Hi,

I was talking to our headgroom, an older lady who worked for so many people and has so much experience. Now I was asking her about her favorite ways of cooling legs after XC, and she started talking about this paste she used to made but couldn't find the ingredients anymore. Can anyone help me out? I would absolutely love to help her find the ingredients again and try it out myself!

She used; Vinegar and ; great whitening powder. Now, we can't find the great whitening powder anymore. Did they stop producing it or has it a different name right now? Would there be a good alternative?

Thanks!
 
Ithink your great whitening powder ,is GRATE whitening powder , or Hearth stone ,a form of compressed limestone .Limestone is basically calcium carbonate. They used to mine it here in surrey .It would react with the vinegar and no doubt form a paste of some sort. Kaolin is also known as China clay and is produced through the degradation of Granite. It is washed out of the quarries in cornwall with high pressure hoses and then the liquid is allowed to settle The remaining sludge is then dried. Either finely ground chalk or Kaolin would form a cooling paste as they work by holding a lot of water.As the water evaporates it cools the leg. This is why it is important not to wrap the leg as this would prevent evaporation.
 
Last edited:
Bob notacob said:
Ithink your great whitening powder ,is GRATE whitening powder , or Hearth stone ,a form of compressed limestone .Limestone is basically calcium carbonate. They used to mine it here in surrey .It would react with the vinegar and no doubt form a paste of some sort. Kaolin is also known as China clay and is produced through the degradation of Granite. It is washed out of the quarries in cornwall with high pressure hoses and then the liquid is allowed to settle The remaining sludge is then dried. Either finely ground chalk or Kaolin would form a cooling paste as they work by holding a lot of water.As the water evaporates it cools the leg. This is why it is important not to wrap the leg as this would prevent evaporation.
Click to expand...

Oh my god, you're kidding me hahahaha. You'd probably noticed I'm not English, and when she told me the powder it sounded as Great hahahaha. I'm seriously laughing my ass off. Think I'll look around for Kaolin powder en give it a try! Thank you so much!
 
What is the current thinking on using cooling clays (Ice Tight as such like)? While initially it should keep things cool, it will quickly dry and then trap heat in. It's well known now that heat results in tendon damage, and that the large tendons on the equine limb are designed to self-cool (why they are so visible / palpable!). I do wonder about leaving clay on...
 
Even then, look at the best advice on cooling horses after work - get them wet, then scrape off quickly. Otherwise you just cook the muscles in their own heat. Not convinced even clay left damp / wet (often by covering it with something wet and then bandaging over) is any better...
 
greybadger_19 said:
What is the current thinking on using cooling clays (Ice Tight as such like)? While initially it should keep things cool, it will quickly dry and then trap heat in. It's well known now that heat results in tendon damage, and that the large tendons on the equine limb are designed to self-cool (why they are so visible / palpable!). I do wonder about leaving clay on...
Click to expand...

A few years ago there was a German vet at the BD convention who was quite definite in his views that cooling gels, pastes and clays were a waste of time and using ice or cold water was the way to go.
 
greybadger_19 said:
Even then, look at the best advice on cooling horses after work - get them wet, then scrape off quickly. Otherwise you just cook the muscles in their own heat. Not convinced even clay left damp / wet (often by covering it with something wet and then bandaging over) is any better...
Click to expand...

Err, the current advice is to keep on applying cold water, no need to waste time scraping.
 
Sorry - I wasn't complete with the slightly throwaway answer. The point is, of course, to not let hot water remain on the horse. Scraping off when done, or more water on while still cooling, both achieve this.
 
Greybadger, I agree with you. Cooling boots/gels/clays or what ever you use, we normally use after the normal cooling down. I also quite like using a cooling gel or a paste on bumps or whatever. Thank y'all so much!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top