Hot Vs. Cold Therapy for Horses
Hot and cold therapies both have benefits when it comes to horse injuries—learn how and when to use each type.

Cold Therapy: Apply cold therapy when you want to reduce blood flow to an area. It’s most effective within the first 48 hours of an injury, but can useful on injuries up to seven days old. Applying cold therapy reduces inflammation and provides pain relief. “Icing,” as it’s sometimes called, can also be used preventatively as a post-workout regimen. Ways to apply cold therapy include cold-hosing, using an ice boot, and wrapping an ice pack around your horse’s leg.

[Read More: Tips on Icing Your Horse’s Legs]

iStock Images

Hot Therapy: Apply hot therapy when you want to increase blood flow and circulation. Increasing blood flow promotes healing by increasing the amount of oxygen in the area. Generally hot therapy is used for wound healing but is also beneficial for muscle spasms. Since hot therapy relaxes muscles, this makes it a great pre-workout regimen. Ways to apply hot therapy are—applying hot water with a hose or bucket, using a heating pack, and applying ointments. Since heat therapy can present a danger to your horse if applied incorrectly—high temperatures can cause tissue damage—contact your veterinarian so he or she can show you how to do it correctly.

[Read More: Understand Hot and Cold Therapy]

CATEGORIES
TAGS
Related Articles
Portriat of a Horse Equine
Feel Good Year-Round
Seasonal Strategies for Senior Horse Osteoarthritis Management
physical therapy for horse, Exercise and regeneration for horses, woman is working with horse for therapy
So your horse has OA...
Managing Equine Osteoarthritis Before It Manages You
Horse legs with protective wraps or boots tack up
Be on the lookout
Five Riding Red Flags for Your Arthritic Horse
Veterinarian checks horse tendon
know your horse
Early Detection is Key: Spot the Signs of Osteoarthritis
Newsletter
Receive news and promotions for Horse & Rider and other Equine Network offers.

"*" indicates required fields

Name*
Country*

Additional Offers

Additional Offers
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
Horse and Rider
Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.