EZ Ice - no, really!

One of the biggest challenges I've dealt with when treating a ringbone flare up has been icing Gali's legs.  In the summer, it isn't awful, because cold-hosing is easy enough.  Still, standing there for twenty minutes gets boring for both Gali and I, and ends up with both of us being cranky.  In the winter, however, it's been a nightmare.  Gali refuses stand in a rubber tub for more than a minute, he knocks buckets over, and even if I do manage to get his foot in cold water, I don't like having to soak his entire foot just to attempt to chill his pastern.

So, when his ringbone flared up against last week, I decided to go up to Dover and pick up the same chilled gel bandage that Alexis used to use on Adam.  When I got there, I saw they had something even better - a velcro "boot" that is meant for icing laminitic hooves. 

For once, my horse's lumpy pasterns have come in handy.  I knew from trying to fit him with bell boots in the past that his ringbone and sidebone make it very difficult for anything to actually fit around his hoof at the coronet band, so it looked like this hoof boot would rest perfectly on his calcification.  A photo from the Jeffers website shows how it's supposed to rest:

... and this is how it ended up sitting on Gali. 

Completely, unintentionally, replicated the Jeffers picture...

Just as I thought, it was perfectly sized to sit right on the area I wanted to ice! (Please ignore the strange way he's standing...)

The wrap stayed cold for a long time, while I groomed and grazed Gali, and he didn't mind it at all.  Afterwards, I walked him out and he seemed to be moving less stiffly than he was when I brought him in.  It's too early to tell if this is helping, but I'll keep you all updated!