Califronia Chrome's iced up

 

California Chrome won the Preakness today in record time. America is now cheering for him to be the first Triple Crown winner since Affirmed powered through the three races back in 1978.

All eyes are on one beautiful chestnut colt. But let me give you a little insight about what the triumphant winner is doing tonight. Much of race horse success is due to ice.

What’s ice got to do with it?

That’s right. Athletic equines can attribute sustainability in their career to calculated warm up routines and post-workout ice packs on their legs. A horse’s legs are terrible cushions for impact. They are long, slim, and are easily injured. And if a horse doesn’t have his legs, he can’t compete. Especially on the race track.

Ice not only soothes sore limbs, but it keeps swelling down and shrinks blood vessels. It’s the first line of defense when you suspect a leg injury and is often used as a preventative measure in sports that are susceptible to swelling anyway. Almost every race horse has suffered an injury at some point in their career and these can re-surface after an especially tiring exercise.

Icing is a science

There are a few techniques to ice down a horse. Back in the “old days” grooms would submerge the horse’s leg in a bucket of ice water. For the next ten minutes, their job became holding, coaxing, and pleading with the horse to stand still. As the leg became colder, that job became more difficult.

In time, other resources became available. Special ice packs were made that could be chilled and wrapped around the leg, secured by Velcro closures. Another technique was to apply cooling gel and wrapping leg bandages around the gel.

A few inventive horse people came up with the idea of putting the horse’s leg through an inner tube and filling the tubing with ice. Or, freezing ice in a Styrofoam cup and peeling the cup away as the ice melts and it is rubbed on the horse’s skin.

Freeze your cares away

The next few weeks will hold high stakes for California Chrome. He has a trainer earning his rights in the professional race world, an owner enjoying six wins by a horse he paid a fraction of the money for compared to his rivals, and a breath away from fulfilling a dream none of them saw coming.

Their days will certainly be filled with a media frenzy. Their early mornings and nights will include a detailed training schedule. And most importantly, California Chrome is guaranteed to be stocked with ice.