DURING a recent visit to Barry O’Connor’s yard in Blackwood Lane, Malahide, The Irish Field got an insight into how the leading agent and sport horse producer keeps his horses fit, healthy and injury free.
After seeing the benefits of the Aqua Equine Treadmill at Aidan O’Brien's racing yard in Ballydoyle, O’Connor decided to make the investment and have one installed at his yard. His horses spend 20 minutes up to four times a week walking on the treadmill, an exercise they all enjoy, he explains.
Filtered with epsom salts and magnesium, it is similar to walking a horse in the sea and can be used for treating injuries, says O’Connor. The filtered water remains at a constant temperature of four degrees and is gradually introduced from a separately installed tank.
During the visit, we witnessed one of O'Connor's exciting young horses, LVS Wizard (ISH) go through his paces on the machine. “Walking in the water is the best thing for the horse. Most people use them to treat an injury. I get some people who leave their horses here for a couple of months to get them going again and because we have good vets and blacksmiths.”
He continued: “You might think that they will get a fright when it starts moving and try to jump out of it, but they don’t, they love it. I like the treadmill for the young horses – we have four-year-olds on it and I would have no problem putting a three-year-old on it. If there are sound enough to walk, they are sound enough to go on the treadmill and it keeps them fit.”
However, the horses do need to be quite sound to work out on the treadmill. “It is very well designed – you can sit and watch a horse move, you will be able to spot any injuries as they need to be fairly sound to walk on it. The odd time you will spot a horse miss a step if they are not 100%.”
The top dealer believes that the aqua treadmill is fantastic for helping the horse to improve its muscle growth. “What I really like about this is the horse lifts his legs high in front and behind and that action does all the work – it works the muscles up high.”
While O’Connor has had a horse walker at his Malahide base for the last 20 years, he believes the youngsters benefit from walking in straight lines. “I also like the treadmill because the horse walks in straight lines. I have had a walker for 20 years and I do like lunging but constantly turning on a bend is tough on them as youngsters.”
O’Connor also prefers to let his competition string out to grass for a break during the summer months due to the finer weather and increased nutrients in the grass. “All the horses that haven’t qualified for Dublin go out for a month in the summer. I don’t think horses should be out in the winter, there is no value in the grass – the best time to get them out is June or July when there is nutrients in the grass.”