Product Test: Which Horse Leg Cooling Product Removes the Most Heat?

Many horse riders know it’s important to cool their horses’ legs after exercise. Cryotherapy – the use of very cold temperatures – is used for short periods of time after exercise or injury to minimise swelling and inflammation and kickstart the recovery process. There are a number of methods horse owners can use to cool their horses’ legs, but which is the most effective? This article outlines the results of a study into how effective various horse leg cooling methods are.

About The Study

The study was conducted by Dr David Marlin, and it tested a range of horse leg cooling methods and products. It tested cooling gels, cooling clay, cold water boots for horses and the Cryochaps ice boot among other methods.

The study tested how much heat was removed from a phantom leg after 30 minutes of application. A phantom leg – hot water in a flask – was used in place of a live subject. This was to make the test repeatable by minimising the variables that would exist when using a live subject.

How Did the Cryochaps Ice Boot Perform?

Cryochaps removed significantly more heat than water cooling boots or clay, cooling the phantom leg by 13.5°C. See the graph below:

For more information, please refer to the original published article: Marlin, D.J. (April 09, 2019) Evaluation of the COOLING EFFICACY OF DIFFERENT EQUINE LEG COOLING METHODS Comparative Exercise Physiology.

Choose The Cryochaps Ice Boot for Effective Horse Leg Cooling

Cryochaps have been found to drop temperatures by over 10 degrees – significantly more than cooling clay, cold water boots for horses and cooling gels. Available as a single wrap, pair of ice boots or a quad ice boot set, the Cryochaps K2F ice boot is the method of choice for effective and practical horse leg cooling.