Does a horse walker have any benefit?

3OldPonies said:
'Electrified 'pushers'' what on earth. I'm hoping that this is a device that moves the walker and not something that shocks the horses into moving.

Total novice at this horse walker business, as I'm probably demonstrating. Could someone explain please?
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Yup, just like an electric fence, it shocks them of they don't move. Nice, eh?
 
Electrified pusher does also prevent them from scooting under the partition ahead/ discourages attacking other horses.
Not that I agree with it, but it has more applications than just making them move.
 
3OldPonies said:
'Electrified 'pushers'' what on earth. I'm hoping that this is a device that moves the walker and not something that shocks the horses into moving.

Total novice at this horse walker business, as I'm probably demonstrating. Could someone explain please?
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I have been zapped by them (Thanks to typical boys who thought it would be funny to turn the walker on at full pelt whilst I was in there sweeping it out!!!) And honestly it's like getting zapped by a wee 12v electric fence battery that's all. More a reminder to keep moving than capital punishment for being a lazy toad!
 
Had one on a previous yard, used in the main by those who never rode and never turned out ... I don't like them, if I've time to be there ive time to ride.
 
3OldPonies said:
'Electrified 'pushers'' what on earth. I'm hoping that this is a device that moves the walker and not something that shocks the horses into moving.

Total novice at this horse walker business, as I'm probably demonstrating. Could someone explain please?
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The electrified pusher rarely needs to be used and gives no more of a zap than a horse would feel if you used a schooling whip.

I live in a town where race horses are conceived, born, trained and raced. I am surrounded by racing stables we have a training track 1km down the road. The area is knee deep in horse walkers. They are invaluable and cptrayes they don't replace an employee but enable us to spend more quality time caring for horses in general. At the last place I worked our walker took 10 horses loosening up prior to being worked. If we remember that these are all baby horses and better allowed to walk quietly without a weight on their back and can get the cheek out before work. No one wants to risk a jockey or horse being injured should they part company.

ozpoz At this yard we had 60 in work and at my previous job 100+ in work and NEVER in 10years or so have we had any walker related injuries.
To have heard of two being fatally injured is very tragic but very unusual.
 
It may be unusual but I think it is good to realise being zapped is not without risk for a high couraged horse.
I have several times heard of grooms forgetting they had horses on the walker too - not good.
I guess I'm old school. We used to ride one /lead one instead, or just walk in hand if required.
 
I have looked again and still can't locate the research into round v oval walkers, maybe someone else can find it?

I did find this. http://wageningenacademic.metapress.com/content/j3q3511435340324/#.VGuIS_msUid

Abstract
Horse walkers have become popular in the modern exercise regime for dressage horses, however recent investigations of injury risk factors have indicated a significant association between horse walker use and lameness. A detailed telephone questionnaire was conducted to document horse walker usage and assess whether horse walker use could predispose dressage horses to lameness. Information on horse walker features and use, and individual horse lameness history was recorded. Chi-squared tests were performed to identify horse walker variables associated with lameness. Although analyses failed to establish a direct link between lameness and any specific horse walker feature, the high proportion of lame horses in this study suggests that there is an underlying and, as yet, unidentified cause of lameness related to horse walker usage.
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Which really only suggests that this area needs researching properly, rather than giving any solid answers. Do horsewalkers cause lameness or are lame horses more likely to be put on a horsewalker?

I knew a yard that had a small circular walker which was used daily and the horses there had an unusually high proportion of suspensory ligament injuries. An ex-racing-lass friend of mine was very critical of what she saw as overuse of the walker and many horses with the same injury. Plus she was especially critical that the walker was used with the horses recovering from said ligament injuries and she would bemoan the lack of proper straight line walk work. Now of course it could have been chance that several horses on the same yard had the same injury, or it could have been something else at the yard (the school surface for example) that was contributing to the injuries.

It's certainly true that constantly circling loads the structures of the body unevenly, this is something that we all can use to our advantage when looking for lameness. How many horses can look OK on a straight line, but when circled in one particular direction, the lameness shows up more clearly, it's very useful. I was once hacking CM and she was fine on the straight, but as we trotted around a gentle, sweeping bend she felt 'off'. It was the first indication that she had an abscess brewing. I would not want my horse unevenly loaded in this way for a long length of time (I'm not a fan of too much lunging either). It's not just the limbs but the spine etc...

When it comes down to it though, most owners do the best that they can for their horses with the facilities they have and I know that many will think me overcautious about constant circular work but I wont ever be buying a horsewalker.
 
cptrayes said:
My post should have ended :


used instead of spending time with the horse or to avoid employing someone. And I think that's sad, and work being done by robots is something I would rather see happening in a car factory than a stable yard.
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I wondered where the rest of your reply was ;)

Still can't see how you think people are using it unstead of doing the work themselves when people are saying they are used for warm up/cooling down etc and not for sole exercise but in conjunction with.
Talking about robots I went to visit a robotic milking farm now that is interesting!! I was fascinated
 
thatsmygirl said:
I wondered where the rest of your reply was ;)

Still can't see how you think people are using it unstead of doing the work themselves when people are saying they are used for warm up/cooling down etc and not for sole exercise but in conjunction with.
Talking about robots I went to visit a robotic milking farm now that is interesting!! I was fascinated
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I'm commenting on what I see in livery yards, people using walkers to exercise horses on a routine basis as a substitute for riding them and/or turning them out.

Just because YOU don't do it doesn't mean it's not happening!
 
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thatsmygirl said:
Still can't see how you think people are using it unstead of doing the work themselves when people are saying they are used for warm up/cooling down etc and not for sole exercise but in conjunction with.
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the time I spend warming my horse up is the most important, it allows me to feel any tension or stiffness that when warm is not there, something feeling different when warming up can be an early warning to something going wrong
 
twiggy2 said:
the time I spend warming my horse up is the most important, it allows me to feel any tension or stiffness that when warm is not there, something feeling different when warming up can be an early warning to something going wrong
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Quite. And the time I spend cooling down on a long rein is my thank you to my horse for putting in the effort for me and a time to assess whether he is stretching and moving equally on both sides after working.

I can't actually think of a cool down more likely to result in problems than to walk tight circles in one direction only.
 
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In 40 years of horses I've never actually used one and it wouldn't tempt me to choose one yard over another because it had one. I have a hardstanding turnout area and would choose letting them mooch on that any time.
 
I'm not a fan of them, but I remember when the first one arrived at Patchetts, there was one horse who only liked to go one way, to begin with he just stopped but then he worked out that he could push it back the wrong way - took them a while to work out what he was doing but he was promptly banned completely!!
 
I am on a yard that has one and I think they are very useful. We have a 20 meter one which can change direction easily. If your horse is able to walk on a 20 meter circle then I would have expected 10 or 20 minutes on walker to be no problem. It is probably easier on the legs than jumping, quite a lot of dressage movements and cross country.

My pony has used it when recovering from a broken splint bone to get strong enough to be ready for turnout and riding again. This was on vets advice. He started off on 5 minutes and went up to an hour twice a day.

It is covered so they have shade in sun or shelter if it is raining. My pony can also go on it he needs a bit of extra exercise to prevent him from getting overweight in addition to riding and turnout. We do also have a water treadmill though and the vet said that is more hard work than going on the horse walker.

They are useful for exercise, there seem to be so many people struggling to keep the weight off their horse, going on the horse walker might be useful for them in addition to riding. It is also an easy way to exercise several horses at a time. I would not be using it instead of turnout or riding it is just an additional useful thing to have.
 
Like everything else there are pros and there are cons. It is equally down to personal choice..there is no right or wrong answer. If I had the the space and the money I would have one!!
 
PStarfish said:
My yard is just finishing off building a horse walker. Most liveries have said they'll use it while they muck out and I thought the same too, but thinking more about it, I turn pony out when I get to yard so would popping her in the walker for 20 mins or so first, serve any purpose? She is a 'head down to eat' kinda girl! So no, she doesn't particularly exert herself in the field. But will a 20 min walk on a circle help with winter fitness in any way? Never had this sort of luxury before. Do others use them daily or are they more for stabled horses who need a leg stretch?
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We have no horse walker here - I do not miss it at all, the only time I think its useful is when recovering from injury. That said I have lost count how many times I have walked our horse and others round the yard in hand without the luxury of a horse walker.
Its a luxury we can do without, as i see too many in neighbouring yards using them as exercise instead of riding or schooling a bit like a baby sitter.

The only other times I think one is useful is for older horse who cannot be ridden any more as a light for of excericse. Also after going in the equine pool to dry off so not to stiffen up - give me an equine pool or spa any day over a horse walker

Also cold backed horses bebifit prior to riding
 
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I'd never use it in place of exercising myself. But on the odd days I don't have time to ride, does 10/20 mins walking in a circle provide a benefit? Pony will still be turned out from 7 - 4ish.
 
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