Some people use Back On Track wraps which increase circulation but also cause heat. I have always iced and stable wrapped with poltice, which is supposed to draw out heat.
What is your after exercise routine for your horse’s legs and why?
Always ice. You want to reduce inflammation. Ask any runner and they will tell you the same.
2 Likes
Yes… heat before exercise and ice after and if you’re rehabbing an injury in the acute stage you always want to use ice until you are sure all the heat is gone.
2 Likes
I’ve used the BOT hock boots and sheet pre-ride on some older horses. Ice after.
Interestingly routine icing is now going out of favor for human athletes at least according to some recent sports medicine research I saw. Don’t have the research on hand. Wondering if anyone knows how this might apply to horses.
1 Like
Compression therapy is getting to be more popular for people, like the air compression boots. I think the big difference between people and horses, as far as the legs go, is that horses have no muscle in the lower limb, whereas a lot of exercise recovery techniques for people now focuses on the muscles. Some of the goal for both is to help circulation. I think because horses have poor lymphatic drainage in the lower limb during rest and lack of muscle there, that icing after exercise is therapeutic. But, you shouldn’t have it be too cold for too long–same as with people. Some stimulation of exercise (mild heat, vibration) of the lower limb of the horse can be helpful before exercise …similar to doing a long walking warmup for these tissues.
