Hock Swellings and How Ice Hock Boots For Horses Could Help

Ice hock boots for horses may increase the effectiveness of your horse’s cool-down routine. Furthermore, they can help reduce inflammation or pain after injury. The Cryochaps Absolute Wrap is designed to provide ice and compression to the hock after exercise or injury. Horses can sometimes experience inflammation of the hocks. There are many different types of hock swelling, and some can be caused by injury. This blog article focuses on two types of hock inflammation: bog spavin and bone spavin, and how ice and compression could help your horse. 

Bog Spavin & Bone Spavin: How Ice Hock Boots Could Help

Cryochaps ice boots for horses can be used after exercise or after injury. In the event of bog or bone spavin, applying our ice hock boots to the area can provide essential ice and compression. This can help to reduce swelling and relieve pain. Cryochaps can also be used after exercise as part of your horse’s cool down routine. Our equine ice boots can aid post-exercise recovery, which is important in helping to prevent hock injuries. 

Bog Spavins

Bog spavin is excessive fluid in the largest of the hock joints. It can result in enlargement of the hock, and either one or both hocks may be affected. It can occur at any age, but is more often seen in younger horses. Bog spavin can have a number of causes, including injury, degeneration of bone or cartilage in the joint or joint infection. 

Whilst you should always ask contact your vet for a formal diagnosis, applying ice and compression in the first instance can help reduce swelling and pain. Treatment for bog spavin will depend on the cause, and may include box rest, joint medication or surgery. 

Applying ice and compression as part of your horse’s cool down routine may also help reduce swelling of the hocks. Cryochaps Absolute Wraps are an ice boot designed to fit around the horse’s hock, providing ice and compression after exercise. 

Bone Spavins

Bone spavin is a term for degenerative joint disease (osteoarthritis) of the lower hock joints. It is often seen in competition horses, particularly showjumping or dressage horses. Younger horses (particularly racehorses) can get a form of bone spavin called juvenile spavin. 

You may be able to see a hard bony swelling on the inside of the hock. The horse may also exhibit lameness ranging from mild stiffness to severe lameness. Bone spavin can affect either one or both of the hocks. 

Causes of bone spavin can include:

• Conformation
• Incorrect shoeing
• Genetic susceptibility
• Overworking and repetitive motion
• Bone spavin can result from a single traumatic injury, or years of repeated stress to the joints

Again, you should always seek the advice of your vet. Treatment for bone spavin aims to reduce pain. This could be by reducing the inflammation or reducing the movement of the joint.

Cryochaps Absolute Wrap Ice Hock Boots for Horses

Our ice hock wraps for horses are designed to fit around the horse’s hocks, offering full coverage of the hock area. They provide the essential ice and compression required to reduce inflammation in the event of bog and bone spavin. Using our ice hock wraps for horses after exercise can also help post-exercise recovery. Purchase Cryochaps Absolute Wrap ice hock boots for horses here.