We have been testing out our new treadmill with a bunch of our horses, slowly introducing them to the concept. Fitness is important for any sport, and for horses who ultimately aren’t designed to do the job we ask them to do, fitness is paramount. We stress turn out for all of our horses and most of them go out all night in large fields. Nonetheless some of them despite the area still don’t move as much as they should. The walker is a great way to ensure that they move- I recommend all of our higher level horses be on the walker for a minimum of 5 days, regardless of turnout and riding. This increases circulation, stretches out soft tissue and keeps them quiet and relaxed.
The treadmill goes a step further. They obviously are moving but we have them working on an incline which is building or adding to a top line of strength and muscle. Great for horses inclined to pull themselves around instead of push ( which is most of them) We recommend all of our higher level horses add this conditioning aid to their horse’s program 2- 3 times per week. Note that you can do this yourself, riding them on the hills up and down for a half hour in addition to your regular riding, but fitting this in to your schedule gets tough…
This also is especially a useful tool for rehabbing horses with soft tissue injuries. They are conditioning on a consistent even footing on a straight line with minimal twisting but still loading the soft tissue; ligaments and tendons.
We will be charging $25 per 20-30 minute session or the discounted option of $150 per month for the recommended 2-3 times per week. A much reduced rate to entice our sport horse riders to take part.
Please let us know if you would like us to start treadmill conditioning your horse.