Fascinated by horse treadmills and swimming pools..

I know someone who bought a horse from this place.

http://www.northernequinetherapy.co.uk/hydrotherapy_facilities.php

The poor horse looked rather miffed when he got to the bog standard DIY yard with the new owner. He looked around as if to say, "Where's the solarium and pool?!"
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They keep the water cold for bacteria reasons - it would be excellent for a laminitic horse in particular.
 
Swimming is wonderful for horses. My old horse fractured his radius which then got infection right through the bone. My vet said that he would never be sound, but I sent him away to a rehab place (similar to the one Oberon has posted) and he swam twice a week for about six months. He came sound and went back to doing dressage better than he had ever done. He loved it so much, he created a bow wave when he went in - he actually cantered in!!
My mare has a ligament injury and she will be swimming as part of her rehabilitation (if we can get her in the pool!)
 
I always intend to go sometime with The Tank as they aren't too many hours away from me.

My only complaint is they don't like Arabs
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Oberon said:
They keep the water cold for bacteria reasons - it would be excellent for a laminitic horse in particular.
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Actually they find that in many cases, swimming can actually be detrimental to laminitics. It is thought to be due to extra strain on the pedal bone attachments as the toe 'flicks' in the water.

Super for so many other things though
 
ruth83 said:
Actually they find that in many cases, swimming can actually be detrimental to laminitics. It is thought to be due to extra strain on the pedal bone attachments as the toe 'flicks' in the water.

Super for so many other things though
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OOh - I didn't know that, thank you.

I assumed because of the recent cryotherapy research plus the exercise that it would be good for them.
 
Oberon said:
I always intend to go sometime with The Tank as they aren't too many hours away from me.

My only complaint is they don't like Arabs
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There's one not far from J41 of the M6 as well - I use that one just because it's a straighter drive, although it's a bit further mileage wise....it's exactly the same as Rathmell...
 
ruth83 said:
Cold water spas are quite popular for laminitics and sometimes with the lower level cases water treadmills but the swimming can cause more pedal bone issues
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Thanks for that.

Can you point me towards the research? I'm hopeless at finding stuff online :)
 
My horse has been to the northern equine therapy centre, she was there for 3 weeks. They're fab there, lovely people, and although I missed her loads even though I got to see her once a week as it was almost 2hrs away, I knew she was getting the best care.

She went there lame with an unknown cause and came home perfectly sound and has been since - she went there just over a year ago now, so although we never found out why she was lame, the swimming worked wonders for her :)

It's fascinating watching them swim, I'll try to find the videos I have of Bella swimming for you guys to watch :)
 
Oberon said:
Thanks for that.

Can you point me towards the research? I'm hopeless at finding stuff online :)
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I'd love to but I don't know where it is myself!! My knowledge comes from discussions with a number of vets, some based at Moulton College Equine centre. They themselves admitted to having been surprised at the results they'd had with laminitics and swimming.

They said it was useful for a horse who might be at risk of liminitis, to help with weight loss etc, but once the lammi is 'active' so to speak, the forces on the pedal bone make things worse.

ETS: Incidentally, I had a quick google to see if I could find the research online. Almost all the results on the first couple of pages in support of swimming for lammi are linked to a pool offering swimming services rather than veterinary research.
 
ruth83 said:
I'd love to but I don't know where it is myself!! My knowledge comes from discussions with a number of vets, some based at Moulton College Equine centre. They themselves admitted to having been surprised at the results they'd had with laminitics and swimming.

They said it was useful for a horse who might be at risk of liminitis, to help with weight loss etc, but once the lammi is 'active' so to speak, the forces on the pedal bone make things worse.

ETS: Incidentally, I had a quick google to see if I could find the research online. Almost all the results on the first couple of pages in support of swimming for lammi are linked to a pool offering swimming services rather than veterinary research.
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Fair enough - thanks for looking:)

And you are right - prevention much more important!
 
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