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Raceweek, Volume 12, Number 1. January 2005. Pages 46-48

Treatments with waves & micro currents

The Handful of trainers who have access to beaches to work their horses are quick to acknowledge this as one of their most valuable training assets. It’s not just the clear stretches of even sand for cantering but also the benefit of soothing hard-worked tendons in the therapeutic salt seawater. Until now a privileged but small group of trainers were the only ones to have the opportunity to utilise this stimulating treatment for their horses.

The relatively recent introduction of horse spa equipment means that this natural and drug-free treatment is now available to every kind of horse trainer; whether it’s race horses, show jumpers, polo ponies or even circus horses, no matter where they are.

HOW IT WORKS

An equine spa allows the horse to stand in chilled water while water jets pump the water creating a massage type effect. A variety of salts can be added to the water to increase the salinity and the beauty is that all four legs are treated at once. In the short time these machines have been on the market they have proved valuable in treating leg injuries, including muscle and bone injuries as well as cuts and open wounds…

THERAPY FOR WINNERS

ECB Equine Ltd is a British company that has developed an equine spa built using high-tech, durable, ocean-going fibreglass and stainless steel. Ean and Sarah Branston own and manage ECB and the company began life importing Australian spas for their Centre for Natural Equine Therapy. ECB began manufacturing its own upgraded machines in 2003 and now boasts a list of high profile beneficiaries of the treatment including subsequent group and listed race winners in Britain. The ECB Equine Spa provides medication free therapy that improves recovery times in injuries to tendons, ligaments and bone fractures, and can also prevent complications such as jar-up after strenuous activity.

“It’s basically a freezing saltwater Jacuzzi of seawater and Epsom salts,” says Ean Branston. “We have sold over 45 in the past 18 months and when Irish trainer Jim Bolger bought one he said it was the most important aid he had encountered in over twenty years of training racehorses.”

The spa is designed like a small horse trailer with access at either end of the unit. The fibreglass frame stands 166 cm high, is 230 cm wide and 255 cm long. Internally, the unit is 153 cm from floor to top and is 79cm wide. When a horse enters the unit, the door is closed and fastened tight before ultra cool, saline water is released into the chamber. The water temperature is set between 2ºc and 4ºc and is aerated to provide a massage effect and the water level is variable. The unit’s water tank is insulated and holds almost 2,000 litres in a conveniently enclosed side compartment. The integrated chiller mechanism maintains a constant temperature and the water is continuously filtered.

“We’ve developed the spa to make it viable for use in hot climates such as here in Dubai,” says Branston. “We’ve fitted a larger refrigeration unit and thicker insulation on the tanks.”

The whole unit is compact and user friendly. The floor of the spa used to be black but now it is coloured so horses do not think they are stepping into a hole, and ramps are supplied for units not fitted at ground level. The ECB system takes approximately three minutes to fill whereas previous models took up to 10 minutes, making the whole process more convenient for trainers with several horses waiting to pass through.

Professor Evan Hunt of the Sydney Orange University endorses the ECB equine Spa after his three-year study proved the effectiveness of the hydrotherapy treatment. The company, established in 2000, also runs a successful rehabilitation yard where it treats horses with conditions such as open wounds, suspensory problems and those recovering from surgery.

“The Hughie Morrison-trained Tom Paddington was our first success story,” says Branston. “He was off the track for over two and a half years and spent most of that time in a field. He came to us for treatment and we had him back racing in six months. He won a handicap at Newbury o his first run back. Alcazar is another that benefited. He won a listed race first time back and added a G3 at Ascot.”

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