Water makes up nearly 70 percent of the horse's weight, so it isn't surprising that water plays a serious role in treating equine injuries and in conditioning and rehabilitation.
Treating Injuries
Either cold or warm water are often utilized in hydrotherapy, but cold-water therapy is usually prescribed when the goal is to scale back heat and inflammation. Heat should never be applied to an acute injury. When a horse is injured, pain, heat and swelling are found in varying degrees, counting on the severity of the injury. Fluid pools within the injured area, and blood flow and tissue metabolism are altered. "Cold applied for a brief period of your time causes constriction of the vessels," Colahan notes. "After this, you get a rise in blood flow to the chilled area and a rise in venous flow returning blood to the guts and lungs. Cold increases blood flow through the world and aids in healing."
Water Benefits
Using water as therapy has several beneficial effects: it allows you to vary the temperature of the world being treated, and counting on the force of the water, it also can have a mechanical massaging effect. Water also can provide buoyancy and resistance to muscle groups, increasing the worth of exercise.
Underwater treadmills are often used for horses with tendon and ligament problems. they will provide a really useful gradual transition back to exercise for horses recovering from injury, and may also help horses regain range of motion after joint surgery or injury. Horses recovering from breathing problems can enjoy exercise on an underwater treadmill.
Using Water for Rehab
At Kentucky Equine medicine and Rehabilitation Center (KESMARC) in Versailles, Kentucky, owner Kirsten Johnson uses different sorts of hydrotherapy on a daily basis for several of their rehab cases.
"The horse's injury, discipline and disposition each play a task in what sorts of therapy are utilized in rehab," explains Johnson, who has made a career of rehabilitating horses for the past 20 years. She uses hydrotherapy extensively and has for several years. hence, spa for sale.
