Ice-vibe versus Back on Track boots

victoriaocarroll

victoriaocarroll

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Hi All. My horse is starting rehab from mild suspensory strains in his near fore and off hind limbs. I'm considering both of the above and have positive reviews from friends about the back on track boots but haven't read much about the Ice-Vibe boots.

I wondered if anyone has tried both and has felt one is better than the other? I will initially use the boots to aid recovery but will then use them before / after exercise going forward.

Thanks all!

Victoria
 
Ive looked at the Back on track stuff. We had a rug at work that worked wonders for the horse who wore its stiff back but also made him sweat profusely so they stopped using it.
This made me wonder if in fact they would be suitable for tendons as the general plan is to keep them cool?
I may be totally wrong and may have missed something scientific but i chose against them for my horse due to this reason. I'd be interested to read the better informed replies you hopefully get!
 
Yes, my horses seem to find the BoT stuff quite warming - I like the rug for that reason, to keep the muscles warm, but wouldn't choose the boots unless it was something like arthritis that might benefit from relief from cold.

I have had ice vibe boots and used them when rehabbing a check ligament - I don't know whether it helped other than the cold therapy angle tbh - the ice wraps were easy to use and moulded better to the horse than anything else I had to hand ;) Sold them now though, I don't think you can beat cold hosing for soft tissue things really, but it is a big time commitment.
 
I have ice vibes for my mare with a DDFT tear. Haven't used any of the BoT range so can't compare but have used my ice vibes regularly and she seems to respond well to them.
 
poiuytrewq said:
Ive looked at the Back on track stuff. We had a rug at work that worked wonders for the horse who wore its stiff back but also made him sweat profusely so they stopped using it.
This made me wonder if in fact they would be suitable for tendons as the general plan is to keep them cool?
I may be totally wrong and may have missed something scientific but i chose against them for my horse due to this reason. I'd be interested to read the better informed replies you hopefully get!
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From what I read, a combination of heat and cold is best for ligament or tendon damage....but that's from the producers website so you never know! From what I gather, the idea is to increase blood flow in bursts to the area, so while the cooling helps to reduce inflammation etc, it slows down the blood flow. By then heating it up it pumps blood back into the cooled area. My plan was to use the vibration pre-workout and the cooling for post workout. And during his rehab, use a combination of the heat and cooling pads.
 
I've the ice vibe boots and I love them - very handy! You can heat or freeze the inserts for them so you'd have more options, whereas the BoT is only a warming effect.
 
milliepops said:
Yes, my horses seem to find the BoT stuff quite warming - I like the rug for that reason, to keep the muscles warm, but wouldn't choose the boots unless it was something like arthritis that might benefit from relief from cold.

I have had ice vibe boots and used them when rehabbing a check ligament - I don't know whether it helped other than the cold therapy angle tbh - the ice wraps were easy to use and moulded better to the horse than anything else I had to hand ;) Sold them now though, I don't think you can beat cold hosing for soft tissue things really, but it is a big time commitment.
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Thanks Milliepops....did you find the vibration any use....did you use it prior to workout by any chance? Good to know they moulded better to the horse than anything else you tried.
 
only_me said:
I've the ice vibe boots and I love them - very handy! You can heat or freeze the inserts for them so you'd have more options, whereas the BoT is only a warming effect.
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Yeah that's what I was thinking.....you have the heat and cold AND the vibration. Although my horse has an issue on the front AND hinds so I'd need to buy 2 paris...buhbye Christmas bonus!
 
victoriaocarroll said:
Thanks Milliepops....did you find the vibration any use....did you use it prior to workout by any chance? Good to know they moulded better to the horse than anything else you tried.
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Couldn't tell you tbh... the leg would have healed eventually even without any intervention so impossible to measure how much benefit the boots were. I bought them in the usual flush of desperation that any horse owner feels when their horse is injured ;)
I did find the cold took the inflammation down ( just as any kind of icing would have done)

oh, and no, I only used them post exercise, had 3 in work at that point so waiting another 20 mins before she worked was pretty much impossible.
 
I agree with the other posters that a warming effect is not something you want to do to damaged tendons. I'm also not convinced by the Ice Vibes because they work at cross purposes- we ice to contract the veins/capillaries to reduce the amount of fluid that collects in an area, and the vibration is meant to increase the circulation. I feel like a simple ice boot may be a better solution. Not sure you have them here but we used to take Otter Pop popsicles (
otter-5.jpg
), a piece of wet paper (feed bag or newspaper work well, just something as a barrier between ice and skin) and wrap to the leg with a polo bandage for 20 minutes
 
ohmissbrittany said:
I agree with the other posters that a warming effect is not something you want to do to damaged tendons. I'm also not convinced by the Ice Vibes because they work at cross purposes- we ice to contract the veins/capillaries to reduce the amount of fluid that collects in an area, and the vibration is meant to increase the circulation. I feel like a simple ice boot may be a better solution. Not sure you have them here but we used to take Otter Pop popsicles (
otter-5.jpg
), a piece of wet paper (feed bag or newspaper work well, just something as a barrier between ice and skin) and wrap to the leg with a polo bandage for 20 minutes
Click to expand...

Thanks for that. I did find it a bit weird alright, but their mentality is you restrict bloodflow and then pump a lot of blood to the area by heating instantly. But anyway, I don't think there are enough earth moving reviews out there to make me buy them, especially as I would need four. I'm going to buy less expensive ice wraps and a (pretty expensive) ArcEquine instead. My horse will have every blooming gimic going by the end of his rehab!!!
 
Having tried a few of the ice boots, I personally feel that you cannot beat plain old ice!

I use crushed ice between two layers of tubigrip.

I do covet the whirpool boots, but have never been able to justify buying them, so make do with going to the beach and standing in the sea :)
 
victoriaocarroll said:
Oh dear....does 'past owner' mean you didn't get on with it? GAH!!! I just need someone to give my horse a 3 leg (and back, while we're at it) transplant. It would be cheaper and more straight forward!
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yeah, same here, we've got one good leg left and even that one she managed to fracture the splint bone :o

Hmm. It was OK for a while, but eventually ended up giving her white hairs and skin blisters on the contact points. I don't think I was a unique case, do a search on here. Some people have had major adverse reactions, others have been 100% fine. I wasn't convinced it was helping tbh, I tried it on myself when I was crocked and couldn't feel a difference - that's my case study of one (or 2!). I've come to terms with the fact that cold therapy, time, anti-inflammatories, rest and controlled exercise are the only things that are really proven ;) surprise, surprise, they also all come with tiny price tags.
 
OP I looked at ArcEquine for Pops but having spoken to Ian personally at YHL I was somewhat put off by his suggestion that my vet and YO/trainer knew nothing. This combined with the fact I have it in writing that he felt if I followed his rehab to the letter he would 100% guarantee my mare would be in full work by the end of January, yet wasn't confident enough to offer a money back guarantee if she didn't come sound after treatment was enough to make me walk away and continue with my vets recommendations instead.
 
FestiveFuzz said:
OP I looked at ArcEquine for Pops but having spoken to Ian personally at YHL I was somewhat put off by his suggestion that my vet and YO/trainer knew nothing. This combined with the fact I have it in writing that he felt if I followed his rehab to the letter he would 100% guarantee my mare would be in full work by the end of January, yet wasn't confident enough to offer a money back guarantee if she didn't come sound after treatment was enough to make me walk away and continue with my vets recommendations instead.
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off topic, but was this YHL this year? if so, did you happen to speak to the Stemtech guy? Similar hard sell, I looked at it online later because it sounded like snake oil and it seems to be like a pyramid selling scheme. It takes all sorts ;)
 
milliepops said:
off topic, but was this YHL this year? if so, did you happen to speak to the Stemtech guy? Similar hard sell, I looked at it online later because it sounded like snake oil and it seems to be like a pyramid selling scheme. It takes all sorts ;)
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This year and yes! We looked into it later and came to the same conclusion. Glad it wasn't just us that thought that.

I initially sought out the ArcEquine team as I wanted to ask about the reactions others had had when using the device (apparently this was down to the carrier gel which has now been modified). But the hard sell, some contradictions and dismissal of the advice of two highly regarded vets who I trust implicitly was enough to put me off.
 
I'm using arc equine and Ice vibe Boots on my horse who has sustained some mild damage to hind suspensory's. I am purely using the vibrating aspect of the boots to boost circulation in the area as my Physio advised that cold therapy is only worthwhile if it's used immediately post injury and therefore no use for a case like mine of gradual wear and tear rather than one off trauma. Impossible to have any real idea if either are helping but it's not doing any harm and even the tiniest amount of additional help is very welcome in these scenarios! Supportive shoes with lateral extensions and controlled exercise are probably the biggest factors aiding recovery but every little helps :)
 
FestiveFuzz said:
OP I looked at ArcEquine for Pops but having spoken to Ian personally at YHL I was somewhat put off by his suggestion that my vet and YO/trainer knew nothing. This combined with the fact I have it in writing that he felt if I followed his rehab to the letter he would 100% guarantee my mare would be in full work by the end of January, yet wasn't confident enough to offer a money back guarantee if she didn't come sound after treatment was enough to make me walk away and continue with my vets recommendations instead.
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Wow, great info, thank you! I guess maybe I'll try going down the less expensive route first and see how she gets on.....
 
Lulup said:
I'm using arc equine and Ice vibe Boots on my horse who has sustained some mild damage to hind suspensory's. I am purely using the vibrating aspect of the boots to boost circulation in the area as my Physio advised that cold therapy is only worthwhile if it's used immediately post injury and therefore no use for a case like mine of gradual wear and tear rather than one off trauma. Impossible to have any real idea if either are helping but it's not doing any harm and even the tiniest amount of additional help is very welcome in these scenarios! Supportive shoes with lateral extensions and controlled exercise are probably the biggest factors aiding recovery but every little helps :)
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Lulup are the 'ice' bits of the boots packs that you freeze? A few other products suggest putting them in cold water etc but for me it would be better to just grab from the freezer. My vet also mentioned icing straight after injury which wasn't possible in our case because it wasn't picked up until later on. But I guess the vibration effect would be similar to the effect of the ArcEquine....I just think the Ice boots are so expensive for what they are!! And I'd need to buy 2 pairs.
 
Our Arc Equine is sitting in it's box under the stairs having caused blistering & hair loss. They told us it was likely to be a reaction to the gel which was extremely rare. Having read some of these posts it would seem it's not THAT rare after all :(
 
stevieg said:
Our Arc Equine is sitting in it's box under the stairs having caused blistering & hair loss. They told us it was likely to be a reaction to the gel which was extremely rare. Having read some of these posts it would seem it's not THAT rare after all :(
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I think they've since changed the conductor gel, at least that's what I was told at YHL. But the original gel did cause reactions due to propylene glycol (PG) in the gel.
 
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