How do you treat your horses legs after xc?

algeredge

algeredge

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As the title really, I'm fairly new to eventing and have had a few runs at BE90 so far but after xc I usually walk him round until he stops blowing and wash him off. Last weekend I saw someone using soaking wet leg wraps on a young horse which got me thinking if I should be looking after his legs better. Any suggestions?
 
I use Leg cooling clay, cling film and then gamgee and bandages, the cling film keeps the clay wet and cold for hours. you can buy leg clay from any saddlery, NAF have a really good one. hope this helps!
 
Alice, does the cling film not cause the leg to "sweat" as the heat cannot escape? I've alwaysed used wet paper gamgee and bandage?? X
 
I think the most recent veterinary advice is a cooling gel, left uncovered. As cooling only occours via evapopation, so clay and bandages can actually have opposite effect. I suppose ice and a light tubigrip would also be effective for a short period of time.
 
Oh no I'm even more confused now! Thanks for your replies. I've got some cooling gel left over from years ago which is menthol so I'll use that up first. I've seen the NAF ise cool clay advertised thats meant to be easy to wash off. Has anyone tried it?
 
I think there are so many products on the market now a days that we feel as though we need to cover our horses in products!
After work it is ideal to cool the legs, this can be done with cold water.
The clays, gels etc work but water is just as effective.
Some horses get cracked skin from products (such as clays) so if you do use them be careful as to how long they stay on the legs.:)
 
We made DIY cooling boots.

We got an old pair of boots that we don't tend to use and my mum sewed pockets on the inside where we put one of those flexible ice packs in. We have an old cool box that we travel them in to keep them cool.

I think it cost us £5 to do.
 
I Walk off and wash down to cool off.
I wash legs with cold water and a wee tip of hibiscrub incase of nicks.
Rinse of then apply ice boots for 15 min intervals.
I saw someone use tubi grip folded to make a pouch for ice cube bags then hold them in place with their travel boots .... Genious .
I usually give oral arnica and ruta grav as well, just incase of knocks or bruising
 
I walk my boy until he has his puff back, then wash down with my mobi washer (:D just wanted to mention that as I'm very chuffed with it :D :D) then I walk him off properly for around 10 - 15 minutes.

I don't tend to use any cooling boots but I do own the premier equine HCT boots which come with a cooling layer that you soak in water (it swells up).
If I was competing on very hard ground, I would put these boots on for 30 mins max after he has been walked off. I would also keep them in a bucket of water until using them as they are then really really cold!

Even though I don't use cold boots every time, I haven't noticed my boys legs swell up at all, nor do they feel hot so I guess he has pretty good legs.


Cx
 
With Billy, I didn't do anything to his legs after the xc, but we did go for a 10min walk in the sea after each event; the only time I have put cool boots on his legs was after going xc on hard ground, thought they might need a bit extra :)
 
I use Harpley Equestrian Cool Boots. You soak them for upto an hour in cold water and they are fab.

I walk him off then wash him off all over then put the boots on for 20 mins whilst washing again if necessary and taking plaits out etc.

Seem to have done a good job so far :)
 
I wouldn't panic too much about what to put on at be90 level as the pressure put on the legs xc is not as much as when they move up the levels.

Having said that, we use ice tight, and just let it dry. Sometimes put a wrap around before going in wagon, just to keep boots clean. Have recently purchased some cool boots which i soak for 40 minutes before xc then fasten round like boots and think they are great. Lots of different types out there but I went for harpley as read lots of reviews and people seemed to be saying they were the same as all the rest but alot cheaper.
 
My advice would be to have your horse fitter than you think he needs to be before doing the event, then don't worry about doing anything special with them afterwards.

I never treated any of my eventers legs after competing, but they were always fit enough to do at least one level higher, if not two. I am dismayed by the level of fitness that I see in horses at 80/90/100 and even Novice levels. I personally believe that it is unfitness to do the job that causes leg problems, not failing to use unguents after they have run, though they might, just, help you "get away with it".
 
cptrayes said:
My advice would be to have your horse fitter than you think he needs to be before doing the event, then don't worry about doing anything special with them afterwards.

I never treated any of my eventers legs after competing, but they were always fit enough to do at least one level higher, if not two. I am dismayed by the level of fitness that I see in horses at 80/90/100 and even Novice levels. I personally believe that it is unfitness to do the job that causes leg problems, not failing to use unguents after they have run, though they might, just, help you "get away with it".
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Well thats a view ive seen on here a few times Cptrayes. Having not watched a BE80 upwards I cant comment on this, are you meaning that you think the horses doing these are unfit or that they perhaps arent your type to be doing BE??
 
While I would agree the level of fitness does seem to vary tremendously, I would still always do a bit extra for my horses legs after XC. I did always used to put ice tite on mine, paper then bandage and then leave overnight and never had a problem. The new way of thinking seems to the ice cool boots which makes sense and I have just invested in some new air cooling event boots and will ebay my last lot! Currently if I have worked or asked my youngster to do a bit more on hard ground I am sticking on green gel regardless. I would like to think I go for the "in case of" and not "need to" line of thought.
 
WARNING *you need to be very careful what cool gels and clays you use* because some of them are not competition legal.

You know where you stand with water and ice ;)

Finally why does the England Rugby Team never wander around wearing clays and gels if they are so good?
 
Good old fashioned ice! I have leg wraps each with a pocket that I slot a bag of ice into (you get bags that you make up yourself which are the perfect size), then wrap around legs. Put on/off at 20min-ish intervals for 2 or 3 times. Might be a waste of time, but figure it's worth doing in case it does help!

Also, a stash of these in a cool box is great for keeping bottles of water/juice cold at the event too. :D
 
asyouwish said:
Well thats a view ive seen on here a few times Cptrayes. Having not watched a BE80 upwards I cant comment on this, are you meaning that you think the horses doing these are unfit or that they perhaps arent your type to be doing BE??
Click to expand...

They aren't fit. They go up any small rise and they huff and puff so loud you can hear the strain (and they aren't all just noisy breathers). Some of them, you could obviousy not even feel their ribs easily standing still, nevermind see them when they are running. They are everywhere, especially at levels below Novice. There were, last time I looked, warnings for some courses that the course has hills in it and you will need your horse to be genuinely fit, because they have been concerned about entries where the horse was simply not fit enough to do the job.

It doesn't matter if they are lightweight or heavyweight, when under full steam there should be at least the occasional glimpse of a rib if they are fit enough to gallop a couple of miles and jump 20 or 30 fences without risking doing themselves an injury.

I think a recent post shows what I mean. Someone put up a thread asking if they could do their interval training in an arena. Well, yes, you can if you want to risk a tendon injury with a horse that does its interval work on flat ground at the speed you can get up to in an arena, yes. It probably helps if you are also talking on your mobile phone too, which is something that I have seen at a big equestrian centre near me :(
 
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