That familiarity also highlights some of the limitations of traditional methods. A horse is a large, mobile patient. Keeping an ice pack or cooling boot exactly where it is wanted can be awkward, while water-based cooling is not always practical in every yard, stable or competition environment. Treatment can also become a relatively broad process when the practitioner may actually be interested in one defined area. This is where targeted cryotherapy becomes particularly interesting.

A portable handheld device allows cold to be directed towards a specific area without immersing or wrapping the limb. For an equine therapist, physiotherapist or rehabilitation professional, the attraction is as much about practicality as temperature: treatment can be taken to the horse and incorporated into an existing hands-on session.

The horse therefore provides a useful way of understanding the broader argument for localised cryotherapy. The question is not whether cold treatment has value as a concept; it has been used around horses for generations. The question is whether the cold can be delivered in a more controlled, convenient and targeted way.

TruCryo has developed a dedicated KaasenEquine configuration based around its UK-manufactured handheld cryotherapy platform. The system uses liquid CO2 and a selection of nozzles, with training provided to ensure users understand the equipment and the appropriate treatment protocols.

As with human therapy, localised cryotherapy should not be viewed as a replacement for veterinary diagnosis, rehabilitation expertise or established treatment. It is another tool available to the professional.

Perhaps that is why the equine market makes such a good case study. When the patient weighs half a tonne and cannot tell you exactly where it hurts, portability, control and practitioner judgement become very easy benefits to understand.

‍