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Cooling the Legs Down
Q I have been eventing in the lower levels and have not felt that I needed to do much about cooling my horses legs after competition, other than a good long hose down, but I will be competing at a higher level this season and would like to know what is the best method to use to cool his legs and prevent any damage.
Amanda Smith - Adelaide, SA
AThere are several options you can use for reducing the heat in horse’s legs, both during competitions and after heavy training sessions. Tendon temperature can reach 45 - 46 degrees in the 10 minutes after heavy work and has been linked to heat damage of the internal core matrix and fibres. It is important that work bandages or boots are removed immediately or the heat can be retained in the limbs for an additional one or two hours before they return to normal body temperature. A quick wash down, immediately after exercise, with water or 5 - 7 minutes in ice packs, especially on hot days, may prolong the overall soundness of the horse in day-to-day training.
Running water has the advantage of also cooling the feet and deeper bone structures and cools the legs down faster than most gel type ice packs. As the ice pack begins to melt and an insulation layer is formed between the ice pack and the leg the heat loss slows down by two to three times. The down side of hosing is the use of water during restrictions and the problems that the excess water can cause by laying around in wet conditions. Some dam water can also be contaminated with microbes, which can cause infection on any small cuts or abrasions. To avoid softening the skin or promoting fungal invasion you can wrap a single layer of cling film around the leg during hosing so it doesn’t get excessively wet. This does not significantly reduce the cooling effect of the water.
Ice boots, which surround the hoof, pastern, fetlock and knee are probably the most effective way to cool limbs, both at home and competitions. These save time and wasted water. Investment in a full limb ice boot would be worthwhile if the horse has a history of ‘bowed’ or injured tendons.
Access to the ocean immediately after exercise is beneficial, as sea water is hypertonic and acts to ‘draw’ fluid through the skin to assist in removing oedema and low grade swelling in the lower limb immersed in sea water for 10 minutes as a horse is worked.
It is now common practice at competitions held in many hot countries to spray both horse and rider with a mist of ice crystals prior to the competition, lowering the skin and internal core temperatures over a set period. This delays the elevation of body temperature for up to 10 minutes, reducing dehydration, heat stress and fatigue in both horse and rider. The lower limb is not sprayed as this would cause the tendons to chill and be less flexible. Riders and horses are also sprayed after the competition.
There is new technology available in the form of refrigerated water tanks where horses can stand or walk on a treadmill for 10 - 15 minutes after exercise. These circulate water or saline up to the belly and can be modified to help wound healing. Many overseas racing and eventing stables have adopted the use of tank therapy to aid in the rehabilitation of lower limb injuries.
Recently, a new evaporative cooling bandage or wrap has become available, which provides a handy way of cooling the limbs and tendons down after exercises. Marketed as the Equi-N Ice wrap, they can be kept in the tack box or glove box of a vehicle and used to cool the tendons by wrapping one around each of the lower limbs. Studies have shown that the wraps draw significant amounts of heat out of the limbs by evaporation of an alcohol based solvent for up to 10 or more minutes. They can be simply ‘recharged’ prior to each subsequent use by soaking the bandage in the solvent purchased in a replenishment bottle. They are also a great emergency cooling and stabilising wrap for lower limb injuries.
Dr John Kohnke BVSc RDAis a well known Australian veterinarian who provides a nutritional consultancy service to many trainers and studs, as well as owners and riders of equestrian horses. He has written and edited two major books and numerous book chapters on equine nutrition, which have become well recognised hand books for horse training, breeders, owners and veterinarians throughout the world. He has written over 2000 articles on horse feeding and health care, presented over 1800 seminars and lectured on horse nutrition to students of horse care courses.
www. kohnkesown.com