In this month’s blog we’re going to explore how you can use a water treadmill to help improve your competition horse’s fitness and boost quick recovery from hard work – one watery step at a time! It wasn’t all that long ago that the equine water treadmill was only really seen as a tool for aiding the rehabilitation of horses after injury or a long period of time off work.
That’s because the gentle, straight-line, non-rider-weight bearing exercise it provided is ideal for horses who have suffered from soft tissue or joint injuries in their legs or topline. The water also helps to absorb concussive shocks, making it ideal for horses that need low-impact work. The water treadmill has also been shown to improve the use of limbs in arthritic horses in terms of joint mobility, so it’s a great all-round rehab and injury management tool.
But when teams of scientists were busy quantifying the benefits of the water treadmill for rehab purposes, they also found that it offered other benefits that are ideal for fit competition horses in peak condition. These benefits include:
- Boosting their aerobic capacity. The resistance provided by the water when the horse is on the treadmill means the work improved their aerobic capacity. That steady fitness work is a lot gentler and lower impact than cantering, galloping and jumping, which will help prolong your horse’s competitive life.
- Increased joint range of motion. Researchers have found that by varying the depth of the water in the treadmill, the horse will use its topline and hindquarters slightly differently, thus increasing the range of motion in joints that might usually be worked in gridwork, for example.
- Supporting recovery from hard exercise. Hard training, such as working up the gallops, cross-country schooling or gymnastic jumping in the school, can leave your horse’s muscles full of lactic acid and other by-products of cellular respiration. It’s lactic acid crystals in our muscles which can make us feel very stiff and sore after a workout, and horses get them too. A session on the water treadmill afterwards helps boost circulation to those muscles, clearing out the waste products and helping muscles recover more quickly.
Plus, all those same benefits that make the water treadmill great for rehab horses – low-impact exercise, straight line work and a chance to exercise without the weight of the rider – also apply to competition horses. And finally, they say a change is as good as a holiday, and we know lots of horses who come here to Thorpe Farm for water treadmill sessions who positively love their workout!
We currently have an offer for owners who want to combine a 30-minute session on our all-weather Andrews Bowen gallop with a water treadmill session for recovery afterwards. This means your horse can enjoy a pipe opener before a spa session to work the lactic acid out of those muscles afterwards. Our water treadmill and 30-min gallops combo costs £50 plus VAT, so just drop us a line to get booked in.