Looking for the best / easiest ice boots for treating laminitis …I’ve been doing ice /cold water in buckets, ice in IV bags etc …looking for something less labor intensive and ideally to be able to ice in the stall without spending a fortune …wondering if dry cryotherapy is as effective as ice & water …worried that prolonged soaking is going to soften foot up too much and cause other issues
I found myself using the red hoof soaking boots by Hoof Wraps the most often. Initially got them because they were one of the few options that would fit my draft horse.
Tractor Supply usually has a few lying around, or the vet supply places can get them to you fairly quickly. They are less than $40, are made of a slickish material that
cleans up easy and doesn’t trap shaving or other filthiness, and you can turn them inside out to clean and dry.
Much easier to get on/off than the closer fitting brands.
Won’t last forever, but my big girl was not able to destroy them immediately, and they are cheap enough that I didn’t have the urge to sit down and cry when she finally
did them in.
Sorry you are struggling with this, it is no fun at all.
1 Like
I really like ice horse ice packs. I keep them in my freezer and bring them to the barn with me in a cooler. I don’t know where you’re icing, but if it’s the hoof that’s tricky.
I feel your pain. Icing is such a bother.
1 Like
So sorry you are dealing with this. I did last year and it sucks. Sucks sucks sucks. Period.
Get yourself a pair or two of Jack’s ice boots:
[URL=“https://www.doversaddlery.com/jacks-ice-boots/p/X1-04584/”]https://www.doversaddlery.com/jacks-...ts/p/X1-04584/
I know they are a bit pricey, but they work GREAT. They are what Tufts uses in its clinic for laminitis. You can use them in the stall no problem. I made one small adjustment, which is that I make a breakaway loop using baling twine on one of the holes in the boots where you clip the strap, so that if horsey panics, the strap will break at the loop.
The first time I used them my horse was like “what the heck are you doing down there” but now she doesn’t even blink. In fact, I’ve spent the last week icing my horse for something else and she runs away from me when I approach with the Cryochaps, which are regular ice boots like eventers use. One day I decided to use the Jack’s boots and she could have cared less!
Also, they will very slowly drip through the foam at the bottom, but not so much that I would worry about prolonged soaking issues.
1 Like
Haven’t had to deal with laminitis (thankfully!) but have iced my fair share of feet. Davis boots are great since you can fill them up with ice water and the horse can move around a little without stepping out. My horses don’t tend to walk around much in them, but I can leave them in the stall unattended while they soak and they can go from one end of the stall to the other. Does only feet though. Also good for laminitis (so the label says) are cloud boots, which I have used when my darlings opt to depart from their shoes. Provides soft cushion for the soles. Again, no experience with laminitis, but these might be good options to look into.
Good luck, and sorry you guys are going thru this.
1 Like
Thank you everyone for all the suggestions and support …this is just awful and terrifying as it came on suddenly …my vet thinks my horse was borderline IR/metabolic… and from having lived out all winter and spring (our winter was unusual and grass never went away up north) while our barn was being built didn’t help matters as she got heavier than she normally is when kept in work …she was tipped over the edge by being given steroids about 10 days ago by the local vets recommendation to treat her itchy skin/sweet itch
Sorry this is happening. No ice boot recommendations from me. That are all basically terrible. Maintaining ice boots is almost impossible even in hospital situations with 24/7 staff on dedicated ice boot duty. I can recall dozens of specially purchased boots and super expensive systems and some wild DIY projects over the years. We keep coming back to a large commercial ice machine, rectal sleeves, duct tape, and prayers. Repeat/replace hourly including the prayer to the ice boot gods that they stay in place for so long. Because they often don’t. A single step or a stomp can displace the whole thing and it must be refilled and reapplied. You must do this so frequently because ice melts fast and water warms quickly, especially when applied to hot hooves and legs. It is not not a quick process, either. You can easily spend 20 minutes filling/fitting/securing ice boots just to have them displaced/spilled/busted by a random step or stomp before you even walk out of the stall. Some horses just cannot be managed in ice boots. They might be stall walkers or stompers or random leg shakers, whatever. The ice just literally cannot be applied or maintained as quickly as they walk out of them.
Also, it is important to note that a constant very cold temperature must be maintained to achieve therapeutic benefits. Repeated cold/warm cycles have proven even worse for laminitis than no ice boots at all. You just can’t dump some ice on their feet 3 or 4 times a day. You certainly won’t achieve any therapeutic benefit and would like actually cause harm doing that sort of thing. It is better not to ice at all than compromise.
2 Likes
