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In the same way that ordinary treadmills can be used in exercise and conditioning programs for horses, water treadmills are part of the rehabilitation schedule for some horses recovering from joint injuries or surgery.

A water treadmill offers various degrees of work intensity depending on what level of exercise suits the horse’s state of health. Moving through shallow water calls for a different range of motion than when a horse is walking on dry land, and horses exercising in water that is deep enough to provide some body buoyancy will have less impact on leg joints as they move. Thus, horses recovering from an injury may be able to exercise sooner in a water treadmill than they would without the use of this apparatus.

Because there is less impact with the ground, there is also less chance of reinjuring a bone or joint as it heals. Horses exercising in a water treadmill can therefore work on maintaining flexibility and muscle tone while avoiding the strain of load-bearing.

Researchers at the University of Minnesota designed a study to find the differences in action when horses moved in water compared to moving on a dry surface. They attached markers to several points on the front and hind legs of nine healthy horses and videotaped the equines as they walked in water of various depths. The starting depth was less than one centimeter and was considered the base level. The water was successively raised to the level of the horse’s hind fetlock, hock, and stifle joints.

Analysis of the videos showed that the range of motion increased for each joint, possibly caused by the water’s resistance and the horses’ attempts to raise their legs completely out of the water at shallow depths. Moving through any depth of water is more difficult than moving through air, even at a slow pace. Horses that have been inactive because of injury can be started slowly in a water exercise program, gradually rebuilding muscle strength and joint flexibility so that they will be more fit and ready to go back to work when they can bear weight without discomfort.

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