Ice application without water drainage supports optimal hoof cooling in adult horses.

The study examines effective methods of cryotherapy for cooling horse hooves to minimize inflammation in the case of acute equine laminitis. The research indicates that the most effective method is to keep ice-water slurry around the hoof for at least two hours without draining it.

Research Methodology

• The researchers used a 4×4 Latin square design, which is a statistical method frequently used in agriculture and animal sciences, to experiment with different hoof cooling methods on four adult horses.
• Three different hoof cooling treatments were applied along with a control group which received no treatment.
• The treatment methods included: Applying ice in a fluid bag with drainage holes, ice in an undrained bag, and using an ice-filled commercial wader boot.
• Hoof temperatures were analyzed via thermal imaging over a period of 12 hours.
• Data from thermally imaged body temperatures, thermometer-based rectal temperatures, heat index, relative humidity, and ambient temperature were recorded to understand environmental effects.

Research Findings

• A significant interaction between treatment method and time was observed. All treatments started to show differences from the control group approximately 2 hours after application.
• The undrained bag treatment proved the most effective at significantly reducing hoof temperatures over the study period, with a change of approximately -23.7 °C ± 1.6.
• The commercial wader boot showed similar trends to the undrained bag treatment, but was poorly tolerated by the test horses.
• Effects of the environment differed between the hoof and body surface temperatures, suggesting the environment and body interact differently with the various treatments.
• The researchers concluded that treatments which ensure an ice-water slurry is maintained around the hoof are the most successful at reducing hoof temperatures in the hours following treatment compared to methods that allowed for drainage.

Implications

• The research provides a significant contribution to the understanding of the most effective cryotherapy treatments for acute equine laminitis, a painful and often crippling disease affecting horses.
• Equine veterinarians and caretakers can use these findings to administer more effective treatments for laminitis, improving animal welfare and potentially speeding recovery times.