News and views about the proposed Lakewood Olympic Equestrian Center.

When I first heard the name “Equi-Spa” I envisioned an upscale barn where pampered ponies were getting their manes and tails conditioned and their hooves painted with glitter polish. I was wrong. While the facility is a charming and impeccably maintained turn of the century farm where horses are given first class treatment, the benefits are far greater than simple cosmetic fixes.

Equi-Spa of Bristol is an equine rehab and care facility focusing on the non-invasive treatment of acute and chronic injuries and diseases, for short and long-term needs. They offer cold salt hydrotherapy spa’s for laminitis, bruised soles, abscesses, bowed tendons, hot nails, strained/torn ligaments, arthritis, thrush, and more. Their professional lay-up care includes daily bandage changes, hoof soaking in medicated liquids, monitoring of vital signs, IM injections, oral medications, massage therapy, acupressure and phototonic light therapy, and other post-injury and post-surgical support.

Horses with lameness issues or injuries can come as drop-in outpatients, and receive treatment, or they can check in for a period of time during which they will benefit from daily treatments as well as a comprehensive nutrition and exercise program that is specifically tailored to each horse.

The Inspiration
Several years ago, farm owner Mary Jane Stach was searching for a way to help her Paint performance horse deal with hock problems. The Northwestern University graduate had a background in human dentistry so she was familiar with the traditional western medical practices, but she was also aware of alternative treatments such as holistic, homeopathic and Chinese medicine. These alternative, non-invasive approaches had proven successful with humans but they were not widely accepted for equines. She recognized this hole in equine medicine and sought to bridge the gap.

Her research led her to equine hydrotherapy. She learned about the hydrotherapy spa and visited facilities in Weatherford, Texas, and Toronto, Canada, to follow through on the research. Bar H in Texas uses their spa for their hardworking cutting horses and Erica, at Woodbine Race Track in Toronto uses the spa for pre and post preventative care for race horses to gain a competitive edge. Dr. Hunt originally made the saltwater hydrotherapy spa units available to race tracks and dressage and hunter jumper barns in Australia where the unit was first developed.

What is it?
Cold Salt Hydrotherapy is the use of a hypertonic salt solution chilled to 35 degrees Fahrenheit for the treatment and prevention of inflammation, swelling, and pain of the lower equine leg. Added aeration has a massaging effect that encourages detoxification of tissue and increases the dissolved oxygen content of the solution which acts like like a hyperbaric chamber for humans.

The spa solution is maintained at 35 degrees F to minimize heat and inflammation and provide analgesic pain management, decrease swelling, as well as inhibit enzyme degeneration of tendons post injury. The concentrated salt water solution acts as a poultice as well as having a natural healing effect on wounds. The water aeration has a massaging effect on the legs and increases the dissolved oxygen content of the spa solution which encourages rapid wound healing and hoof growth.

History confirms that cold-water therapy has been used for hundreds of years. The Greeks and Romans were known to bring their horses to the sea shores for relaxation and pain relief, and the American Indians utilized rivers and mud for the same purposes. Salt hydrotherapy spas are widely accepted in Texas in the heart of performance horse futurity country, as well as widespread use in England for sporting horses. Equi-Spa of Bristol owns the only unit of its kind in the Midwest, making it easily available to the heavy concentration of sport horses in Northern Illinois and Southern Wisconsin, as well as the racing community at Arlington Park.

Applications
The treatments and therapies practiced at Equi-Spa are not breed or discipline specific, but the benefits can apply to any horse. Clients range from rescue cases and backyard horses to six-figure race horses and eventers. The cold salt hydrotherapy spa has been proven to reduce healing time by 30% - 50% for many injuries; an important factor for competitive animals.

Treatments can also be preventative as well as therapeutic. There are many clients who use the spa treatments as a maintenance program to avoid long term injuries and maintain hoof and joint health. Horses are brought in for a spa treatment before a big race or competition as a “tune-up” and then afterwards as a preventative follow-up. Referring to the time it would take to haul in for a treatment, Stach explains, “We are about 50 minutes from Arlington. Nothing when you consider it could mean the difference between winning and losing a race...or placing first in an event, dressage or jumping competition.”

Testing the waters
At first glance, the unit resembles a small restaurant walk-in freezer–something you would not expect a horse to be at all receptive to. However, closer inspection reveals something similar to a racetrack starting gate or a trailer compartment without a cover. There are doors at both ends and a rubber traction mat on the floor. Stach explained that some horses are more willing to accept this than others, but they apply the natural horsemanship techniques of approach and retreat to familiarize the animals with the unit. Once inside and calm, they will close and seal the doors on either end and begin to fill with water. Horses are also fitted with a collection diaper (or a nappy as it’s referred to in the UK), to prevent feces from polluting the recirculating water. Sometimes a horse is only brought in for a few minutes with a very low water level, and eventually the duration and water depth is increased.

The water is cooled to just above freezing. While a human can’t tolerate immersing an arm or leg in this for any length of time, horses’ muscles and fatty tissue terminates at their knees/hocks. The ligaments and tendons below are much less sensitive to the temperature difference. A typical treatment can last from 10-15 minutes to as long as an hour. The cost for a drop-in treatment is $50.

The big picture
If you opt for the complete board and therapy plan it will run you $1200/month. This will include not only access to the wide variety of therapies available (including hydrotherapy), but also custom feed and hoof care. The spa’s philosophy is a symbiotic approach which combines four facets: 1-Nutrition; 2-Therapy; 3-Movement; 4-Trims.

Movement is obtained through the farm’s unique Grazing Track, a 1200 foot long limestone road that encircles the paddock area. Daily hay feedings are spread out around the entire track. Horses traverse the track multiple times throughout the day, moving from one pile to another, encouraging all the horses on the track to move in a natural grazing progression. The lanes are replenished frequently throughout the day with dispersals of low sugar grass hay.

Barefoot hooves are preferred, and the spa employs the help of an expert natural trimmer, Mike Boso from KarMik Acres of Woodstock, IL. Scuffing along on the firm limestone base on the grazing track helps maintain proper natural foot shape. The surface is also firm and stable for those horses restricted to hand walking.

A Star Patient
One of Equi-Spa’s favorite long term patients is Star, a foundation-bred Polish Arabian, great granddaughter of Bask. Used as a broodmare for several years, Star was inhumanely restricted to a stall without turnout for most of that time. She developed chronic laminitis and became profoundly lame. Her disease was so advanced that the downward rotation of her coffin bone resulted in the bone breaking off inside of her foot. She was rescued and has gone through several surgeries.

Star is extremely good-natured and her will to survive is a testament to the spirit of the horse. Though her condition is still critical, the spa is used to minimize her pain and help reduce her reliance on pain medication. Her beautiful face and kind expression make her a pleasure to work with. You can see the relaxation in her entire body when she enters the hydrotherapy spa and you know it’s helping. She looks like a happy, healthy horse as she munches her daily ration of bananas and carrots.

Lameness is one of the most perplexing problems that most horse owners face. Finding treatments that are successful in healing injuries is of major importance. Better yet, taking preventative measures is key to your horses’ long and useful career. If you’re open-minded to new ideas you might just find the right combination that will make all the difference in the world for you and your horse.