Horse Walkers - good or bad?

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Wilbur_Force

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Hi folks

Thoughts on horse walkers please - ours is a 5 horse walker, covered, rubber floor etc - good or bad? Useful or waste of dosh? Many thanks
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useful when you have no turn out so the horse can get a chance to have a leg stretch etc , I know alot of people swear by them for before and after riding - and also for injured horses which need to only be walked in hand for instance.
However, personally I hate the things... I would not leave mine on it unattended... and therefore I need to be there anyway.... so then I can either walk him in hand myself , or lunge him if I do not want to ride..... too much like a hamster wheel for my liking.
We discussed this the other day at our yard as we have one... and it was interesting to note that the horses with the biggest behaviour problems were the ones which spent most time in the horse walker
that is only my personal opinion though.. as said, alot of people swear by them and to be fair, if used properly ... ie not instead of the normal exercise then I am sure they are useful.
 
purchased one quite recently.
the amoutn of time it took to put in was ludircrous!!

but
very usefull for riderless pony who loves it!! refuses to come off and will trot straight by the entrance when your holding out polos!! bless him!

but
today put one of our lovley ladies on
hit her in the bottom
jumped forward and kicked the thing!
so
i like them
but
horses need to get used to them
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I've worked on yards that have them and for some horses and in some circumstances they can be useful. However I have seen some nasty accidents with them. My own horse spooked, slipped, fell and got stuck under one of the arms as a youngster. He ended up with some very nasty cuts and bruises and needless to say he won't go near one now.
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I have no ambitions to own one myself!
 
Definitely useful. I personally use mine for warm up/cool down or just to stretch their legs for half an hour if been in all day.

What I can't stand is liveries that think they can 'work' their horse on it and so leave them on there for hours on end
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no, it will just cripple them (same goes for lunging too, far too many lunge and lunge, think 3 times a week.........it's so bad for them). Saying that I know Carl Hesters horses go on 2 x 45 mins a day
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I have a surface on my walker, which everyone loves, as it allows the horses legs rotate properly. I know rubber is the worst as shoes stick to it and don't allow movement in the foot. And this is catching on e.g. Gemma Green has a surface on her walker.
 
i think it is a bit of both. they are fab and very useful if used sparingly...and not daily. they are obviously very boring for the horse.

i LOVE ours, as when im at school (6thform) i can only ride 4, sometimes 5 times a week...so they go on the walker once a week and have the other day off...the walker really keeps them ticking over and keeps them in peak fitness when i cant ride them.

they only go on it for 30-40minutes, changing reins half way...but it is VERY useful for if you are like me and have 3 horses that need riding, but dont have the time to ride all 3, so you can exercise al 3 a once
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(rather than riding and leading as mine are a bit ''whayyy'' for that! lol).

BUT i can see why people dont like them, as if you have a young/unpredictable horse that isnt used to them they could panick etc (however mine are laid back in ours and completley used to it, so no problems there). also i can see that if you use them every day, they obviously would get boring and tiresome for the horses, and going on a tight circle too much pouts unnecessary strain on a horses legs...but if used once or twice a week for shorter periods of time i think they are VERY useful
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xxx
 
Thanks folks - ours arrives in a few weeks. I gotta say, the jury is out at the moment. I have heard lots of good and bad stories, so we'll have to see. I manage to ride/work the pony 5 days a week, so he would only have 1 session per week. Hopefully that would be OK and not too much stress on his joints. Definitely some food for thought though! Glad its not my money that's bought it!
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[ QUOTE ]
Definitely useful. I personally use mine for warm up/cool down or just to stretch their legs for half an hour if been in all day.

What I can't stand is liveries that think they can 'work' their horse on it and so leave them on there for hours on end
smirk.gif
no, it will just cripple them (same goes for lunging too, far too many lunge and lunge, think 3 times a week.........it's so bad for them). Saying that I know Carl Hesters horses go on 2 x 45 mins a day
shocked.gif


I have a surface on my walker, which everyone loves, as it allows the horses legs rotate properly. I know rubber is the worst as shoes stick to it and don't allow movement in the foot. And this is catching on e.g. Gemma Green has a surface on her walker.

[/ QUOTE ]

We have rubber bricks on the floor and absolutely no issue with feet 'sticking' or any other associated problems.

For every story about one particular surface, there's always another contradictory story about a different surface (Newton's Third Law of Motion, HHO-style
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). For instance, Spotted Cat telling me about the bacterial problems in the walker surface at her old yard always pops into my mind when discussing surfaces.
 
Invaluable as an adjuct to, but horrid as a replacement for, proper exercise.

If you have a few to school and are short of time it's great to have one on being warmed up and one on being cooled off whilst you ride a third one. Also for short sessions for boxed horses, rather than riding twice a day. At a racing yard I worked at the first lot went on and were jogged for 30 mins at 6.45am so when you got on them you could go straight out and canter.

BUT beware - going too fast, too tight diameters, unsuitable surfaces, using as a replacement for ridden work and the inevitable one horse on the yard who has worked out how to make them stop
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I loved having mine for the last couple of winters when I didnt have much turn out for them all so used it in the morning and night time as a quick leg stretch as mucking out, they were not on for more than 15 mins and changed reins each time, it kept them much happier in their minds as they got out their stables 3 times a day and loved the routine but I hate to see them used as a regular replacement for exercise. Had rubber on ours and had no problems with it - think there are equal arguments for and against, just like with one stud or two, andI have not had one that hasnt settled to it.
 
Very useful and can help considerably with some of the "walk work" thats needed, but definitely not a replacement for proper work as well!!

Ours is in very regular use, and alot of the horses that have been out of work for a while get put on it hand in hand with their ridden walk work... we also use it when we are mucking out/sorting feeds out etc, as either a warm up for our horses, or just for them to do something whilst we are doing "chores".
 
useful if you have a lot of horses to ride on one yard but imo for warming up, cooling down i would rather ride the horse-
i would never warm a horse up solely on a 15m circle.

also good at big yards for getting horses out of the way so you can muck out.
 
We have one on our yard and they're very useful. However I have heard bad things about them where horses who consistenly use them, are constantly twisting there feet and putting pressure on all the ligaments and tendons in their legs? Would this be right?
 
Yes, that's what I've heard too. Especially the ones that slap them up the backside to make them turn around, some of the spaces are very tight. i have known one horse have to rear and spin to physically turn round, when really it should be stopped and them put on the other way round!
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very useful for early walking work after a rest, or when rehabbing after tendons etc. i had roughened concrete on mine, tried a surface on top but it got so pooey and disgusting so fast that i kept taking it all out. as long as the horses are walking round happily and reasonably slowly (not being rushed) i think they're good.
i found that mares would walk round on it for ages very happily, and it was the geldings who got bored and imaginative about how to stop it, turn round it in then walk backwards while taunting the one behind them, etc etc...
i left mine behind and haven't felt tempted to replace it, tbh. it made me lazy when the weather was vile!
 
We had rubber on our horse walker & used to chuck a thin layer of sand over the surface. This allowed a little bit of natural movement of the foot to counteract the twisting problem that others have mentioned. Worked an absolute treat.
 
Mine go on the walker probably 5 days a week for about an hour whilst the yard is being mucked out and nets being filled etc. Also if i am having a lesson i will put them on the walker so they are warm ready so i can get on and trot.
 
I think they are really useful. The livery yard my horse is at has one. We have a big indoor barn with the walker in the middle and stables either end. So its indoors, has a sand surface and usually we don't put the electric panels on. There is always someone on the yard when a horse is on the walker but we have never had a major problem. You occasionally get one on their own try and turn around or lean on the paddles and stop the thing though. But it is so useful when the weather is rubbish - horses can go on it for a bit of exercise whilst being mucked out, as warm up before riding, as cool down after riding, etc. I find it really handy.
 
My horse quickly learned how to stop it and how to turn round, so short of standing there with a stick or tying a large lump of gorse to the back bar it's no use for him.
 
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