aaaaaaand a horse walker question :)

F

FrankieBoy

Well-Known Member
Joined
3 December 2007
Messages
439
Location
Essex, UK
Visit site
Is it OK to put an unfit horse on a horse walker, and will it help with fitness? Sounds like a numpty question but I've only ever seen them used to warm up fit competition horses before work. Also, Do the horses need boots/various protective gear to go on one? Never used one before in my life, but have been given free use of the facilities at the yard next door...
 
yes....and yes.

obviously for short periods at first then build up..

but remember to alternate direction each time the pony goes in
 
they are ideal for fittening work just build them up gradually as you would when ridng.i put boots on my horse and u can get rugs that dont rub for winter.all i would say is put your horse on with one that is used to it for first time.we have one and it is a god send!
 
It's ok to put an unfit horse on the walker, but start with only a few minutes, boot it up as though for lunging, and supervise it until it gets the idea.
S
grin.gif
 
Thanks, Would it be a case of ten mins in one direction and then ten in another... or just a different direction each time she goes in?
Will she need any specific boots or anything?
Sorry, Im not used to having posh equpiment to play with
confused.gif
 
yes, it's a good idea to have them following an experienced one, esp the first time. also, the walker speed needs to be adjusted so that your horse is neither being chivvied along, nor dawdling.... the first makes them resentful so they go slower (leading to sitting on the gate behind and stopping the walker, on occasion!) and the latter makes them look for mischief and sometimes try to turn round...!
 
Yes its fine, I had one at my old yard which 90% of people used. I sometimes used to put over reach boots on my lad (when I remembered!) but thats all. Most walkers will have a setting you can use so after x amount of time it will automatically turn around so horses are worked evenly.
 
Boot up for the first few times at least. We sandwich new horses in between two calm old pros for the first week or so just so they have a steady neddy each side to give them the idea. Be very careful when turning them around - this is when lots of accidents happen IME. I would never, ever use a setting on a walker that turned them around without supervision. In an ideal world I'd prefer to put them on one way the first day, then the other way the second day... but ours (where I work) do half an hour one way then half an hour the other way in one "sitting", because they don't all go on every day.
If the walker has an electric button/switch to stop them sitting on the partitions, be careful when you use it! A lot of them at work hate the electric, but we have some large, lazy horses who need the occasional reminder that they are capable of walking at a sensible speed without using the partition to push them along
smirk.gif
They do sometimes need a zapping!
 
I would say until they are used to it, 10 mins in one direction. the next time 10 mins in the other dierection. Don't really like turning horses round on them unless they are very used to it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top