Aerochill Cooling Boots: ‘useful at competitions without ice’ 7/10

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Welcome to our new group test of cool/ice boots. All of the boots in this group test have been put through their paces by professional event rider Sam Jennings. Find out what she thought below.

Official description

Aerochill Cooling Boots have been developed to promote recovery and cool horse’s legs after exercise. They are designed to follow the shape of the horse’s leg and fetlock so they will offer support and reduce typical post-work swelling. They use evaporative cooling to decrease recovery time, ensure the cooling of tissue and regulate outer thermal temperature. The boots can be reactivated by simply soaking in cold water and are suitable for use on front and hind legs.

First impressions

These boots only need to go in cold water, rather that a freezer, prior to use. They looked like they would cover all the vital areas of the leg and were not complicated to fit.

Overview of performance

You did need to soak them a lot longer than the instructions said and they didn’t cool the legs as much as a pair using an ice pack and freezer would (*cooled the horse’s legs by around 2 degrees when worn for 20mins after strenuous exercise). They were easy to put on, had good coverage and did cool the leg to some extent.

Likes and dislikes

I like the fact they don’t need a freezer to prepare them, making them useful to use at competition were you don’t have access to ice.

*How the reduction in leg temperature was measured

Sam used an infrared non-contact digital thermometer to measure the temperature of the horses’ legs immediately after work and then again after the cool boots had been applied to the legs for 20mins. This test was repeated across different horses after different types of strenuous work (fast work, jumping, cross-country, etc) and an average temperature reduction was worked out across the group. These tests were undertaken in the environment that the boots are designed to be used and so the temperatures recorded may have been affected by environmental factors.

Verdict

These are suitable for someone who is competing at low level with no access to a freezer or ice that is keen to do what they can to lower the temperature of the horse’s legs.