Helen Sharp (HS): You train your horses on the beach a lot, how does it help the horses?

Simon Duggan (SD): We like to use the beach as a change up in our daily/weekly training routine for numerous reasons. The surface is generally good along the edge of the water where the waves are constantly ‘naturally grading’ the sand, therefore there are no voids or sudden changes in surface. We race our horses on an oval track so we like to use the beach for straight line ‘fast work’ as running around corners can be sore on horses. The sand and salt in the air help both the horses’ feet and respiratory system – I compare that to naturally nebulising a horse with saline (which is salt water). The option to go into the water straight after training helps with recovery on their legs with the movement of the sea water waves – it’s a spa for the horse.