Ice Horse Hoof Ice Boots Review: Cold Therapy for Laminitis

A serious cold therapy boot for a serious situation, and the one product on this site where calling the vet comes first.

The verdict: A pair of hoof ice boots whose inserts stay soft, mould to the hoof and hold therapeutic cooling for over two hours, with a non-slip silicone sole so the horse can stand normally while wearing them. Buy them if you manage a laminitis-prone horse and want cold therapy ready before you need it. Understand first that acute laminitis is a veterinary emergency, and these boots are something you use alongside a vet, never instead of one.

Specifications

Specifications above come from Professional's Choice's published specifications for the Ice Horse Hoof boot. Treat pricing as approximate, since Amazon pricing moves.

What it does well

• Cooling that lasts over two hours from one set of inserts, which is the difference between a therapy you can actually deliver and a bag of ice that fails in fifteen minutes.
• Inserts that stay pliable when frozen, so they wrap the hoof rather than sitting on it as a rigid block.
• A non-slip sole, so the horse can bear weight and shift normally instead of standing rigid on a slippery surface.
• Breathable non-neoprene fabric, which matters over long applications where neoprene traps heat and sweat.
• Peel-away closures, so removing them does not involve tugging at a limb that is already painful.

Where it falls short

• Cold therapy for laminitis is a veterinary treatment protocol, not a home remedy. Continuous digital hypothermia has to be applied correctly, to the right level, for the right duration, on veterinary advice. Guessing at it can waste the window in which cooling actually helps.
• You need a freezer with room for spare inserts and the discipline to rotate them. Two hours of cooling means the second set has to be ready at the two hour mark, and on a bad night that is a long shift.
• They are expensive for a product you hope never to use, which is exactly why people buy them after the first episode rather than before.
• Fit varies with hoof size and shape, and a boot that does not seal cools the air rather than the hoof.
• Nothing about a boot addresses the cause. Laminitis is usually secondary to a metabolic problem, a concussive event or an illness, and until that is diagnosed and managed the episodes come back.

What owners report

Owner reports on ice boots divide sharply between people who bought them in advance and people who tried to source them during an episode. The first group is uniformly glad; the second describes the delay as the worst part of the experience. That is the most useful thing published reports tell you about this category.

The other consistent theme is insert rotation. Owners repeatedly mention buying a second set of inserts so cooling can continue without a gap, and several describe that as more important than which brand of boot they chose.

Who it suits

• Owners of horses with a history of laminitis, PPID or insulin dysregulation, buying before the next episode.
• Yards keeping cold therapy on hand for emergencies.
• Anyone whose vet has recommended cold therapy as part of a management plan.

Who should skip it

• Anyone hoping to treat acute laminitis without a vet. Call the vet first, every time, and treat any horse that is suddenly reluctant to move as an emergency.
• Owners of a horse with soft tissue injury in the limb rather than the hoof, where a full leg wrap covers the area that needs it.
• People without freezer space for two sets of inserts, since one set is half a treatment.

Alternatives worth considering

Keep reading

• Ice boots vs therapy boots for laminitis
• PPID vs EMS explained
• Best Cushing's and PPID supplements
• Equine Fusion Ultra Jogging boots review

This review draws on published specifications, manufacturer figures and the consensus of verified owner reviews. We have not tested this product ourselves, and we say so rather than implying otherwise. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.