Here we look at; Can Your Horse Benefit From Equine Hydrotherapy and Types of Equine Hydrotherapy. This is part of our series on Horse Chiropractors.
Can Your Horse Benefit From Equine Hydrotherapy?
Equine hydrotherapy can be an excellent tool for strengthening your horse’s body and facilitating recovery from injury. There are several types of equine hydrotherapy including pool swimming, water treadmill, spa therapy and cold hosing.
Types of Equine Hydrotherapy
Pool Swimming
Swimming is an excellent tool that nearly eliminates concussive forces through the horse’s legs but has the benefits of a fast cardio workout. It can be used to increase fitness and stamina, improve muscle tone and is an excellent tool when a fit horse is recovering from an injury. Historically used for increasing racehorse fitness whilst avoiding straining their legs, but is used for a variety of horses such as eventers. I would say that a horse has to be relatively fit to swim safely and effectively.
Water Treadmill
The water treadmill is an excellent tool for using in both fit horses and horses recovering from an injury. As it is low intensity and can be accurately managed it can be used for all sorts of horses. It encourages a greater stride length and height, and aids the horse in moving from behind, strengthening the back, end quarters, and sacroiliac joint.
Spa Therapy
This is the posh version of cold hosing. The horse is stood in a pool of cold water which is beneficial for reducing inflammation and aiding in tendon health. It is particularly useful for horses that are worked hard, especially if the surface is firm. Some pools have jacuzzi like jets which also massage the horse’s lower legs.
Cold Hosing
The most old fashioned form of hydrotherapy, it has been used by nearly every owner at some point to reduce inflammation and heat in their horses legs. Particularly useful for tendon injuries, knocks and bruises.
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