Curious if anyone is using the Ice Vibe hock boots. I’m specifically interested in them as a pre-ride warmup - so probably either without the inserts or with heat instead of ice - for a horse who comes out stiff behind but any input is welcome!
I am also curious if they are worth the money–my vet has advised icing my horse’s hocks after any strenuous work and I bought the Ice Horse boots which are basically just hock shaped boots with specialty ice packs. They are nice but they do NOT stay on. I have tried in the stall, in the trailer and in cross ties and my horse gets them off so easily. She just extends her hind leg and kind of shimmy/kicks it off. It’s annoying to have to stand there the entire time she is being iced–might as well just cold hose–the point of the ice boots was so I could put her away for 15 minutes after riding wearing the boots while I did other things. I have the Back on Track hock boots and they are great–horse seems to like them and she wears them overnight in her stall, hasn’t got them off once, so I know it can be done 
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Back on track is the link I posted, do you think I can put a pad and vetrap and it would still stay on?
What about the Ice Horse hock boots? I think the Ice Horse packs can be used cold or hot…
I love my Ice Horse tendon wraps, but the formula in the packs eventually freezes into solid blocks rather than the puffy snow, which wouldn’t be a problem if you were using them for heat.
I have BOT hock boots too, but you really need to have them on for ~1 hour before riding to have them “heat up” the leg much.
You could also just try drug store heat packs - a lot of them now come with velcro straps for wrapping around human legs and backs.
I also have the Ice Horse tendon boots and was disappointed that the ice packs freeze so hard. You have a good point though - that wouldn’t be an issue if they were used as heat packs. The Ice Vibe packs can also be warmed up though, and they have vibration too. I bought a pair yesterday … going to try them today. Already I don’t love that they only give you 2 vibration strips (when there are pockets for 2 strips in each boot) and the vibration is kind of rough, not a nice steady buzz like the massage blanket at the barn. But I will give them a try.
I do have the BoT hock boots and they help a little in very cold weather, but I’m looking for something more.
Truthfully, we’re probably getting close to hock injection time (sigh) and I’m not sure how effective anything is when the inflammation & pressure built up, but I have to try.
Well I tried the hock boots with the vibration only as it was warm today and maybe they helped. Or maybe it was the extra turnout time he had before I rode.
So I called Horseware to find out if I could, in fact, microwave the ice packs and they didn’t even know you could use them warm … it as a very unhelpful call. I guess for $280, asking for more detailed info is just such a PITA. I’m not impressed.
I wouldn’t suggest microwaving something intended to be frozen, the contents might boil, or the outer covering might melt.
If I were intending to put something warm inside the boots, I might get packs intended for heating like at the drug store, or make my own by making simple bags of rice to insert.
I’m a BOT fan as well as an Ice Vibe tendon boot fan. I might suggest putting the vibrating hock boot over the BOT boot if it fits, so the BOT warmth can be vibrated in.
Some of the packs can be used hot or cold - I know the Ice Horse packs have instructions on them for using cold or hot.
Ice Vibe packs can definitely be used as warm packs - the user guide says so. The user guide says to submerge them in hot water. I find that messy and inefficient and not super-feasible once winter rolls around. Hot water doesn’t stay hot for long in a 15-degree barn! Using a microwave would be much more efficient and keep the packs dry.
So anyway I did experiment with nuking them today and they warm up just fine in the microwave. They didn’t explode and I didn’t set anything on fire. They really don’t take long at all and that was on 70% power so maybe that’s why Horseware doesn’t recommend it - as a CYA for them.
Horseware’s FAQs say this: Yes you can put the cold packs in warm water not the microwave and apply them with the massage before exercise or on older horses that might have arthritis to assist to reduce stiffness. Do not let the packs get to hot as you could burn your horse.
