Prevention of Injuries
Why treadmills are better for horses
The Equine Treadmill Pool is designed to relieve stress while using the horse's normal gait and the same muscles, tendons and ligaments as in use while exercising. The animals are less traumatized because they remain in contact with a solid surface beneath them.
The buoyancy of the water displaces approximately 40% to 45% of the body weight. The contact with the treadmill and thrust of working against the water still affords sufficient concussion to promote bone density and encourage muscle development, while minimizing injury. This cannot be achieved in a conventional swimming pool where movement involves "up-hill" thrusts and an unnatural 'allout' type of flexing, which could be harmful and could cause 'stress' and 'trauma' for the animal.
How Treadmills help horses recover from injuries
The Equine Treadmill Pool may be used for treating injuries such as bowed tendons, pulled suspensory ligaments, bucked shins, saucer fractures, quarter cracks or foot problems. This is also used for the rehabilitation of the animal after any injury or surgery. The lungs and heart of the animal receive maximum conditioning, while increasing the lung capacity thus minimizing the possibility of bleeding while performing. The tendency of the perisoteum of the cannon bones becoming inflamed is greatly reduced.
Properly controlled exercise in the treadmill adds significant tone and conditioning to the back and stifle muscles and would make "tying up" during the early stages of training less apt to occur. There are known cases, where a horse was badly injured but after treatment on a treadmill system, came back to be a winner!