Eskadron’s Pro-Cool Boot Set: ‘effective and a good fit’ 8/10

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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

Eskadron’s Pro-Cool Boot Set is ideal for therapy in the event of strain, over-work, swelling and acute trauma, but also as an excellent form of prevention of injuries. The boots allow you to alternating between cooling and heat treatment, which makes them suitable for helping to treat tendon injuries, damaged tendon sheaths and suspensory ligaments. They can be used while the horse is standing or during exercise. The boots are available in three sizes to ensure a perfect fit.

First impressions

I really liked that they came with a cool bag, but it looked like they may need ice blocks in the bag to keep really cold. They looked very smart, well designed and strongly made.

Overview of performance

These boots were very quick and easy to put on and were very well designed so they cooled all the important areas of the horse’s legs. After around 20mins of wear, they cooled the legs by approximately five degrees after strenuous exercise*. As they were so easy to put on, they were great for horses that come off the cross-country slightly “wired”.

Likes and dislikes

The ice bag is a nice touch, but any cool bag would do the same job. I liked how easy they are to use and how proficiently they cooled the legs.

*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

Although the price is on the steep side, I would recommend these as you do get what you pay for.