So, you’re probably wondering what the heck I’m talking about when I’m saying fire or ice. Well, I’m talking about ice or heat, and I want to go over when you should use one or the other to best help you and your horse.
First off, ice! Ice is a vasoconstrictor. This means that it has the effect of constricting, aka making the blood vessels smaller. This in turn reduces the amount of blood flow to the area that ice is applied to. As a rule of thumb ice should only be applied to areas for approximately 10 minutes at a time before you start running into the risk of tissue damage.
Heat has the opposite effect. It acts as a vasodilator which means the blood vessels become enlarged and increase blood flow to the area. Time for application
of heat varies, but a general rule of thumb is to apply heat anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes. When we use it in the clinic, we always layer the heating pad with towels and hot pack covers to help avoid potential burning or injury to the skin. So be careful with how long you use heat and be cautious it doesn’t get too hot.
So, when should you be using heat or ice to help your horse?
The answer is pretty simple actually. Ice should be used when you have pain, swelling, inflammation, or discomfort. The reason being you don’t want to allow excess blood flow to occur in the area because that will potentially increase all of
those issues. In the clinic we use ice every day on patients at the end of their sessions, or at least offer it. We do this because a majority of the patients we see are post-surgical, so we really want to make sure we are getting rid of all the increased inflammation we just caused during their treatment. This helps our patients to recover and progress faster if all things go according to plan.
Heat should be applied when you have soreness, stiffness, or even some aches. Heat can be used before exercise or to help reduce symptoms from chronic pain or injury. If you are trying to aide in the warm-up process before jumping on and putting in a good workout, heat can help to speed that along by loosening up the muscles beforehand. Because heat can help warm up and relax muscles, it will also allow for increased range of motion. We use heat in the clinic at the beginning of a session if the patient is feeling extra sore or stiff when they come in.
Another great thing to do before riding or working your horses is STRETCHING! Stretching helps to reduce muscle tension by increasing range of motion and increasing circulation, thus warming up your horses' muscles. I'll go over some stretches at a later date.
Keep in mind, you should never be applying heat or ice directly over an open wound. You can safely apply ice or heat to the areas around the wound. (I'm talking direct application of a hot/ cold pack, or gel liniment of some kind. Not cold hosing, that has the benefit of aiding to clean out an open wound.) I would talk to your vet before using either.
Now that we know the benefits of both heat and ice and when they should generally be applied, we can look at some products that are on the market
specifically for horses. These products advertise that they provide heating or cooling effects, sometimes even both. What I’m talking about is items such as liniments, poultice, sweats, and gels.
BE CAREFUL and make sure you READ THE LABELS about the intended use of each product. Don’t just slap something on you horses' legs or body because someone told you to.
I have tried many of these products over the years. That being said, I have my few favorites that I'll share with you. It has been tricky for me though. I have to be careful because both of my horses have very sensitive skin that can have pretty harsh reactions to some of these products.
First some products that claim they aide in cooling down or drawing heat out.
Tendonel Freeze by Elemental Equine. This is personally one of my favorites because you not only feel the cooling effect on your hands after application, but it’s gentle on my horses' skin.
Absorbine cool down
Poultice- there are several different brand names out there now. I personally use ice tight, but I use it sparingly due to the increased sensitivity of both horses. Again, make sure you read the label about the intended purpose and the ingredients.
Cavalor muscle cooler
For heat I have not really used any of these products. I'm not positive on their effectiveness, but I want to be able to provide you with some options if you think you could benefit from it. If you are looking for a product that provides heat, you are going to want to look for one that is a "sweat". Its main goal is to increase circulation to an area and will typically be used on a chronic injury in horses. You might also see something such as a neck sweat that is used to improve the horse's appearance, but I'm not referring to those types here.
Heat products include...
Finish Line Fura Free Sweat and Salve
Fura- Zone
McTarnahans Sweat
The Big Sweat by Tenda
Now we also have products such as liniments that provide both heat and ice. Think of them as the horse version of Icy Hot. First the product works to increase circulation/ blood flow to draw heat to the surface, but then has a cooling effect. Most of these products have some type of alcohol in them that aides in the cool down process. Generally, these products are used for a total/ whole body cool down after a workout. Such products include:
Vetrolin Liniment
Thermaflex liniment gel (can be applied to specific body parts)
Vigor liniment
Cavalor cool sens (my personal favorite)
Obviously, there are many, many, many more products out there than the ones I mentioned. Just be careful what you choose and that it does what you need.
Remember...
Heat should be used when trying to warm up an area to reduce tension, increased range of motion, or provide pain relief to a chronic injury.
Ice should be applied to help reduce swelling, reduce inflammation, recover from an injury (especially if it is a "fresh"/ recent injury), or after increased stress is applied to the horse's body.
You don’t have to use any of the products that I mentioned above to get the results you want. You can just as easily use ice boots, ice massage, or regular old crushed ice in a bucket when you need cold applications. You can also use a human heating pack, warm hose water, or one of the Epony heating pads for when you need heat. There are many options out there. Just do your research.
As always though, talk to your vet first!!! Don't just take my word for it. Coming up with a game plan from your vet, massage therapist, farrier, chiro, anyone who provides some kind of work on your horse is going to give you the best possible outcome for you and your horse.
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