Equine cryotherapy, or cold therapy, to cool a horse after exercise, is a well-established practice within the equine community, aimed at accelerating recovery, treating or preventing injuries, and assisting the horses ongoing performance.
Traditionally, this form of treatment has been carried out by applying a continuous flow of cold water over the horses body and legs to help reduce heat and inflammation. This is only partially effective, as water-based cooling by hose, as we discuss later in this article, can be inconsistent and inconvenient.
This has naturally led to a global rise in "ice therapy" products being used, with a vast array of manufacturers producing "ice boots" containing removable ice or gel packs, which sit directly against the leg.
Although these products do help lower leg temperatures after exercise, they do come with many drawbacks, some significant, which we will cover. In essence, all ice boots require constant access to a freezer or electricity, and typically cool the tissues too aggressively, with temperatures falling way below the optimal range for safe and effective recovery, with tissue damage a real threat.
Innovative products such as the EQU StreamZ product portfolio provide horse owners with a modern alternative, delivering consistent, optimal cooling with far greater ease of use.
Horse owners ask us a key practical question: “How long will the Coolboots (or any cooling device) stay cold for, and for how long will horses’ legs remain at a therapeutic “cool” temperature?”
In this article, we look at the science behind cooling horses’ legs; the practical constraints in using water or ice as a form of cooling therapy, and some strategies you can deploy to provide optimal cooling for your horse’s legs. Whether you have a sports horse and take part in showjumping, eventing, dressage, barrel racing or other equine disciplines - maintaining your horses leg health is of great importance.
We’ll also show how EQU StreamZ Coolboots have been carefully designed to deliver maximised benefits within the cooling window that is most strongly supported by research, and how you can get the best out of your Coolboots.
Cooling Options to Horse Owners
Water-based cooling
As we mention above, and as many of you will have seen at a yard or event, cold hosing, using a continuous flow of cold water, and is a long-used method to reduce inflammation and prevent injury.
However, using hose water for cooling is often described as inconsistent and inconvenient.
Temperature Control is Hard to Regulate
- Water from a hose varies with seasons and locations. In the summer water from the outside hose may be lukewarm, offering minimal cooling, while in winter it may be icy cold (or frozen depending on location) and uncomfortable for prolonged use.
- The lack of consistency in water temperature makes it hard to achieve a reliable therapeutic effect.
Uneven and Non-targeted Application
- Water flow will not contact all areas of the leg evenly (especially tendons and ligaments on the inside of the limb).
- Horses may move, step, or shift, causing uneven coverage.
- Some areas cool faster than others, making results variable.
Time-Consuming
- Effective cooling requires 15–20 minutes per leg for real benefit. This can be a tedious task after a long day.
- For multiple horses, this adds up to a significant labour demand, especially in large stables or training barns.
- This makes it impractical in busy settings.
Environmental Impact
- Continuous hosing requires access to a suitable water source and drainage. A standard garden hose delivers between 50-90 litres of water every 5 minutes, so the concept of hosing each leg for 15 minutes requires up to 450 litres of water! 100 horses at an event needing that shows just what an environmental impact this creates.
- Water runoff can make stable floors slippery, increasing risks for horses and handlers and lead to less sanitary conditions.
- In cold climates, using water can create significant ice hazards to both the horses and the handlers.
Stress and Handling Issues
- Not all horses tolerate standing still for prolonged hosing.
- Some horses react poorly to cold water being hosed on their legs, making the process stressful and unsafe to apply.
Inconsistent Cooling Effect
- Unlike ice boots or gel packs, water warms quickly on contact with the horse’s body.
- Continuous flow helps, but in many cases, handlers stop too soon or water flow isn’t strong enough, resulting in less effective cooling.
Ice Boots for Horses
There is a plethora of ice boots on the market which require ice or gel packs to be frozen, or the whole boot. These are developed and marketed to reduce temperature in a horses’ legs, and they vary from low-cost basic boots with ice packs, to boots manufactured by the leading equine brands worldwide. Let’s take a look at the usage of these products.
Pros of common Ice Boots:
- Can be better than hosing legs.
- Provide consistent cold application directly to tendons and ligaments.
- Can be applied to all four legs at once, if required.
- Hands-free once applied (staff can multitask).
- Portable, no hose or drainage needed and less water wasted.
Cons of common Ice Boots:
- Can easily create ice burn to the horse’s legs.
- Are not at optimal cooling temperature for recovery.
- Gel and ice packs can quickly reach a period where they no longer cool, and will increase heat, especially if housed in neoprene or vinyl.
- They require access to a freezer (power) or ice supply.
- They can consume the entire space of your precious freezer space when at events
- Ice boots must be maintained, cleaned, and ice packs refrozen between uses.
- More expensive than using water.
- One of the market leading products requires charged ‘vibration packs’ which also requires access to power.
Ice Baths for Horses
Requires the use of ice buckets for a horse’s leg/s to be placed within icy cold water, which require the horse to stand absolutely still in order not to spill the contents of the bucket. This typically proves very difficult as the extreme nature of icy water is naturally rejected by the horse.
Many people also struggle to gain access to large volume of ice. In essence, it’s ‘an option’ but incredibly impractical an din most cases not put into practice.
Handheld Cryotherapy Devices
These expensive devices use liquid co2 to provide a stream of cold air that cools the area that is being treated.
Pros of Cryotherapy machines:
- Most consistent and effective - controlled, stable temperature.
- Can combine cold + compression, which aids circulation and reduces swelling.
- Shorter application times (often more efficient cooling than water).
- Widely used in high-performance horses (racehorses, eventers).
- Clinically proven in peer-review studies.
Cons of Cryotherapy machines:
- Very expensive equipment to buy
- Requires a power source and regular maintenance.
- Less practical for events, small yards or casual use.
Cooling Wraps for Horses
Equine cooling wraps are specialised bandages designed to reduce heat, inflammation, and swelling in a horse’s legs - made from various materials.
Pros of common therapy wraps:
- Convenient, portable, and quick.
- Low-cost option.
- Useful at shows or away from the barn.
- No need for hoses or ice.
- Some clinical evidence.
Cons of common therapy wraps:
- Very limited cooling duration.
- Many make unsubstantiated claims
- Temperature can be uneven compared to full ice boots.
- Very limited evidence to support claims.
- Most simply use ice; which creates issues. (see below)
- Single-use packs create waste and costs.
Understanding Cooling Times
So, in this article we have established that many handlers and horse owners recognise the importance of cooling their horse’s legs down after exercise and that the options on the market do have significant challenges associated with them.
But, for how long should you cool your horses’ legs down for? Let us take a closer look.
Why “cooling time” is a tricky concept
Before we attempt to put a number on “how long should I cool my horses’ legs for,” it helps to appreciate why the question doesn’t have a simple, universal answer.
The duration a boot or pack remains cold for, is distinct from how long the horse’s tissues (skin, superficial tendons, ligaments) and blood vessels stay cooled (i.e. maintain a temperature below baseline).
Key challenges when using ice:
- Ice packs become warm, then hot: The solution or cooling medium used within ice packs, bead packs or gel packs gradually warms as it absorbs heat from the leg and from ambient surroundings.
- Ambient conditions: Air temperature, humidity, solar radiation, wind, and even ground temperature all affect how fast heat creeps in.
- Contact efficiency: Gaps, poor fit, or movement can reduce conductive cooling.
- Circulation & metabolism: Warm blood flowing into the cooled region (reperfusion) brings heat, counteracting the effect.
- Diminishing returns: Over time, as temperature differences narrow (leg vs pack), net cooling slows.
- Safety constraints: Overcooling too quickly or prolonged exposure to ice may risk tissue damage or trigger a rebound hyperemia (excessive blood flow).
Just like an ice cube, how long your EQU StreamZ Coolboots (and your horse’s legs) stay cool for depends on multiple factors which include ambient temperature, whether the StreamZ Cold Packs are being used or not, the horse’s own leg temperature, circulation, and any movement.
As we’ve touched upon, the question is not “how long do the boots stay cool for?” but instead “how long do my horses legs need to stay cool for?”
Let’s take a closer look at the science of cooling.
Scientific Literature (and Expert Practice) for Cooling Horses After Exercise
While there remains limited research on exact duration for commercial “ice boots” (especially proprietary technologies used in products such as the EQU StreamZ Coolboots.
Coolboots), several studies and reviews of equine cryotherapy offer useful guidance:
General cryotherapy durations in equine/animal studies
- Some dry cryotherapy sleeve systems have been tested in controlled settings: 20 minutes of cold plus intermittent compression yielded measurable tissue cooling
(i.e. in superficial and tendon temperatures) (see e.g. PMC cryotherapy reviews).
- A landmark study applying cold immersion to equine limbs (ice-water bath) for 30 minutes reported a drop of ~11.6 °C in laminar tissue temperatures.
-
Veterinary and rehabilitation protocols commonly adopt 20–30 minutes as an effective “dose” of cold application in acute injury settings.
- Some equine physiotherapy or rehab practitioners recommend 15–20 minutes in chronic or post-exercise (non-acute) settings to avoid overcooling.
- Expert blogs and equestrian health guides typically advise no more than 30 minutes per session, allowing rewarming or rest between sessions. (E.g. Animal Osteopathy: “Always ice for 20 minutes and no longer than 30 minutes at a time.”) animalosteopathycollege.com
- Studies support the use of cooling a horses legs using ice as effective.
Risks of overcooling or diminishing benefit
- After a certain point, extended cooling produces progressively smaller temperature drops.
- Too cold or too long may provoke rebound vasodilation (the body overcompensates by increasing blood flow) or local tissue stress if circulation is compromised, i.e. ice-burn.
- Some sources caution that temperatures below ~10 °C can risk tissue damage; many equine cooling protocols aim for a safe window (e.g. cooling to 15–19 °C) rather than maximizing cold at all costs, but some do not. Central Lakes Equine
- Practical real-world use: cooling packs or boots may shift, loosen, or lose tight contact, further reducing cooling efficiency over time.
Conclusion About Cooling Horses
Putting together the literature and practical constraints, a guide estimate is:
20 to 30 minutes is a well-supported window during which cooling yields meaningful physiological benefit, while maintaining user safety and practical usability.
EQU StreamZ Coolboots have been developed to provide “up to 30 minutes of optimum temperature control” - without needing ice packs - which align with the findings in the studies above. Beyond 30 minutes, any additional benefit typically diminishes, and the margin for performance variability grows.
Further evidence will become available shortly, publishing independent study data on the impact the Coolboots have using thermal imaging techniques.
The Design of EQU StreamZ Coolboots and how they Optimise Cooling Duration
EQU StreamZ addition to the popular cold therapy sector with the EQU StreamZ Coolboot, helps deliver sustained, effective cooling for horses while being more practical and easier to use than traditional ice-based products:
Cooling, without requiring ice
• The Coolboots are designed with materials that provide cooling to the horse’s legs. Grooved fibres quickly wick warm moisture away from the skin to the fabric's outer surface, increasing the surface area for rapid evaporation. This process removes perspiration and prevents heat buildup, helping to regulate the horses body temperature more effectively than standard cotton fabrics. Coupled with this, other materials used in the Coolboot help fully absorb and retain cold water for extended periods of time. The outcome of this is a feeling of coolness, for longer.
Deep-tissue cooling, with StreamZ Cold Packs
- Our Cold Packs are designed with materials that have high heat absorption capacity, allowing them to absorb more thermal energy before warming.
- Surrounding insulation in the boot structure helps reduce ambient heat ingress and slows warming from the outside.
- Multi-layered interfaces (for example, a wet liner, conduction surface, and insulating backing) reduce rapid heat flow.
Materials in the design
- 3D super absorbent mesh is used, this helps retain water and slowly releases it away from the surface.
- Coolmax cooling material is used, which is both hypo-allergenic & antibacterial, providing optimum comfort and safety.
- 3-strap system minimise gaps or movement that would introduce air.
- Fully waterproof and absorbent.
Pre-chilling strategies
- Freezing the Cold Packs well in advance (to their lowest safe temperature) helps
“front-load” the cooling potential and provides a deep tissue therapy option.
- Using multiple alternating packs (i.e. swapping in fresh cold packs midway) can prolong effective cooling beyond that a single pack could sustain.
- Similarly, using ice-cold water to soak the boots in will provide a few degrees of additional cooling.
Realistic performance targets
- Rather than promising “hours of ice-cold therapy,” the design goal is to maintain therapeutic cooling (i.e. keep the leg below a beneficial temperature threshold) for that 20–30 minute window after exercise.
- If the external environment is cooler (e.g. shaded stables, cool ambient), the effective cooling duration may stretch beyond 30 minutes in practice.
- Conversely, in very warm, sunny, or windy conditions, the actual cooling window might shrink.
By combining these design choices, the EQU StreamZ Coolboots are optimized to deliver cooling effectiveness through the clinically validated period.
What “Staying Cold” Really Means in Practice
To help horse owners who own EQU StreamZ Coolboots to manage expectations and use the product effectively, here’s how to interpret “the boots stay cold” in real-life use.
Cold Retention vs. Therapeutic Cooling
- Cold retention refers to how long the Coolboot remains at or below a given low temperature which offers a beneficial effect to the horse’s legs.
- Therapeutic cooling refers to how long the horse’s tissues stay cooler than baseline (i.e. sufficiently reduced in temperature) to deliver anti-inflammatory, analgesic, and metabolic-slowing benefits.
- Even as the Cold Packs gradually warm, the horse’s leg will slow in temperature rise (i.e. the tissues warm more slowly), so benefit may extend beyond when the pack is no longer “icy cold.”
Observable signs and Monitoring
- Users can monitor skin temperature (touch test, infrared thermometer) over time to see when cooling effect starts to fade. Studies will be provided shortly.
- Some users may detect diminishing “cool feel” around the 25–30 minute mark (especially in warm ambient conditions).
- Signs that cooling effect is no longer effective: the leg feels warm to touch, the packs feel tepid, or ambient heat seems to dominate.
User Tip: Swapping Packs or Repeating the ‘Dip, Shake and Fit Process’
- In longer procedures (rehab, injury management), swapping to a fresh cold pack after ~25–30 minutes can extend cumulative effective cooling time. These are available from StreamZ separately.
- Alternatively, is using for ‘everyday cooling’ and to support the horse after exercise; no ice packs are required and the Coolboots should provide cooling benefits for 10-30 minutes. If you wish to prolong that time simply remove the boots and repeat the ‘soak and shake’ process.
- Always allow some “rest” time (i.e. 20–30 minutes) between cooling sessions to permit safe rewarming and avoid overcooling risk. There is no reason why you cannot continue to repeat the cooling process as often as required.
Two Separate Meanings of “Stay Cold” — why the question is tricky
When owners ask, “How long will the Coolboots stay cold?” there are actually two different things they might mean:
1. How long do the Cold Packs/boots themselves feel cold to the touch? (i.e., cold retention of the product) 2. How long do the horse’s tissues remain at a lower, therapeutically useful temperature? (i.e., therapeutic tissue cooling)
Those two are related but not identical.
What clinical studies actually measure (and why 20–30 minutes keeps showing up)
Veterinary cryotherapy research usually measures tissue temperature changes (skin, superficial digital flexor tendon (SDFT), laminae, hoof wall) in response to various cooling methods (ice boots, ice-water immersion, dry sleeve/compression systems, cold hosing).
Across multiple methods and studies, the clinically useful window — the time used in many protocols and trials — falls in the ~20–30 minute range for one application. That’s why many clinicians and device manufacturers, including EQU StreamZ, design for “up to 30 minutes” of optimum cooling.
Key, representative clinical findings:
- Topical ice application / immersion studies: A classic study of topical cold application reported large tissue temperature drops following prolonged cooling (one-hour immersion resulted in deep tendon temperature decreases in some protocols). However, practical field methods often use shorter sessions (20–30 minutes) to balance efficacy and safety. AVMA Journals+1
- Dry sleeve / commercial cryotherapy devices: A 2022 study evaluating a commercial dry-sleeve cryotherapy system concluded that 20 minutes of treatment (with or without intermittent compression) produces measurable cooling of subcutaneous and tendon tissues and that 20–30 minute protocols are consistent with veterinary recommendations. PMC
- Ice-boots and gel packs: Controlled lab work measuring thermodynamic effects of commercial ice boots and gel packs shows they do reduce surface temperatures and can provide meaningful cooling, but they usually do not reach as low a tendon core temperature as ice-water immersion or compression/stretch systems. Still, ice-boots show rapid initial cooling and clinically useful effects in the 20–30 minute window. PMC+1
- Method comparisons: Multiple studies comparing cooling methods conclude that ice-water immersion is the most effective at producing the lowest endpoint tissue temperatures, with cold hosing and some compression systems next, and passive gel boots often removing less heat over the same time. But for practicality and safety, many practitioners still use 20–30 minute gel/boot sessions. ResearchGate+1
Because of this converging data, many equine rehab protocols recommend 20–30 minutes per application, often repeated 1–3 times per day depending on the problem and under veterinary direction.
Clinically Published, Concrete Examples of Cooling Benefits
Below are clinical study examples. Each example shows what cooling did (or did not) for equine tissues and supports the claim that targeted cooling has measurable physiological effects.
Example A — Laminar and venous temps: method comparison (Reesink et al., 2012)
Reesink and colleagues measured digital laminar and venous temperatures while comparing three topical cold treatments in live horses. They showed that applied cryotherapy methods significantly alter internal digit temperatures, and that methods differ in depth and magnitude of cooling achieved. This supports the point that method choice influences how long and how much tissue cooling you’ll get. PubMed
Example B — Strong tendon cooling with longer immersion (Petrov / AJVR)
A frequently cited AJVR paper reported that prolonged cold treatment (longer applications, e.g. up to 60 minutes in controlled immersion) can dramatically reduce SDFT core temperatures (in that study, reductions approaching tens of degrees Celsius were recorded with long immersions), demonstrating that the amount of cooling is a function of method and exposure time. This is why immersion + long duration is the gold standard for maximal cooling. PubMed
Example C — Dry/commercial sleeve results (Jacobs et al., 2022)
A 2022 controlled study found that a commercial dry-sleeve cryotherapy system produced meaningful cooling with 20 minutes of application; intermittent compression improved the magnitude of cooling in some measures. The authors concluded that 20–30 minute sessions align with current veterinary protocols and are practical for field use. This is directly supportive of EQU StreamZ’s “up to 30 minutes” guidance for optimal benefit with dry/boot systems. PMC
Example D — Thermodynamic study of ice boots (Quintanar et al., 2018)
This study looked at how commercially available ice boots affect surface temperatures and found they can significantly reduce superficial limb temperatures rapidly after application. The reduction was most pronounced early in the session, with diminishing cooling rate as temperatures equilibrated — consistent with the concept of a high-impact initial window (the first 20–30 minutes) followed by tapering benefit. PMC
Example E — Comparative energy removal (multi-method evaluations)
Evaluations comparing a number of methods (ice & water immersion, cold hosing, ice packs, evaporative cooling, gel, etc.) report that standing in ice & water removes the most heat over 30 minutes, while cold hosing and high-quality gel packs remove moderate amounts. These energy-removal comparisons provide a quantitative rationale for why immersion/cold hosing lower temperatures deeper and longer than passive gel boots. ResearchGate+1
Examples of EQU StreamZ Coolboot Use - Case Scenarios
To help users visualise how this works in practice, include two or three example scenarios with timings:
Post-exercise cooldown (Spring morning, 12ºc outside) - No Cold Pack
After a training session, a user fits the Coolboots immediately after an hour long morning hack. The boots maintain effective cooling for the entire 30 minutes. No Cold Packs are used.
Post-exercise cooldown (Summer evening, 25ºc outside) - No Cold Pack
After a training session, a user fits the Coolboots immediately after an hour long evening hack. The boots maintain effective cooling for 15 minutes, where they are removed and reprocessed on the other two legs for a further 15 minutes. No Cold Packs are used.
Pre-exercise cooldown (Summer morning, 28ºc outside) - Cold Pack used
Before a training session, a user fits the Coolboots immediately after arriving at the yard, the horse has been resting and in a cool barn. The Cold Packs are used. The boots maintain effective cooling for 18 minutes, where they are removed and reprocessed on the other two legs without Cold Packs for 10 minutes. Overall 28 minutes of cooling are provided. This process sis repeated pre ad post exercise.
Injury rehab protocol (moderate severity)
Two sessions daily: Using Cold Packs direct from the freezer; Cool for 30 minutes.
Challenging ambient (using on a hot, sunny day)
On a 30 °C day in full sun, the user places the horse in shade, pre-freezes the Cold Packs thoroughly, and applies the Coolboots immediately after exercise. Cooling effect may begin to fade around 20–22 minutes; monitoring indicates that by 25 minutes the leg is noticeably warming. The user may shorten the session or remove after 25 minutes and following the cooling process for additional cooling.
Limitations, Cautions & Disclaimers
As with any therapeutic intervention, it’s important to be transparent:
- The 30-minute claim is based on “ideal conditions” (good contact, moderate ambient). Users should expect variation.
- Cooling longer than 30 minutes per session may risk tissue stress or undesirable physiological effects (e.g. rebound vasodilation).
- Always inspect the skin before, during, and after use: do not apply over broken skin, open wounds, infections, or areas with compromised circulation.
- Horses with circulatory disorders, neuropathies, or sensitivity to cold may require modified protocols.
- Always consult your veterinarian or equine physiotherapist if your horse is under active treatment or has serious injury.
- This blog article is for informational purposes; product use should align with veterinary or specialist guidance.
Safe Use: What to Avoid and when to Consult a Vet
Cryotherapy is generally safe when used sensibly, but there are important cautions:
- Don’t exceed recommended single-session durations without professional guidance — most field protocols cap single sessions at 30 minutes unless a vet specifies otherwise. (Longer immersion protocols exist in clinical settings but are supervised.) PubMed+1
- Avoid applying to open wounds, infected skin, or areas with compromised circulation unless directed by your vet. Studies measuring tissue viability after cooling show safety when used appropriately, but contraindications remain. PubMed
- Watch for signs of overcooling: persistent blanching of skin, unusual stiffness, or changes in behaviour. If you suspect tissue compromise, stop and consult a veterinarian.
- If the horse has a vascular or neurologic condition, get professional input before routine cryotherapy. Several clinical trials exclude such horses for safety and consistency. PMC+1
Conclusion about Cooling Times with Horses
Cooling therapy for horses is a careful balance of physics, biology, and practical considerations. While the exact duration and effectiveness can vary depending on conditions, research and veterinary guidance show that 20–30 minutes of effective cooling on a regular basis delivers the most therapeutic benefit, making it more impactful than simply applying ice or cold water.
This relatively short period of time allows tendons and ligaments to cool safely, reduce inflammation, and support recovery after exercise.
Modern cooling products, from low cost ice packs to premium stable boots, now offer a range of applications that help horse owners manage leg temperature consistently, easily and safely.
By understanding the optimal cooling window and applying therapy thoughtfully — with good contact, rotation, and environmental considerations — owners can maximise the benefits of cooling while keeping their horses comfortable and protected.