Page 94 - Speedhorse September 2017

the challenge is in choosing a training program that is sufficiently intense to produce a beneficial response in bone, but does not overload the bone and other supporting structures.
Round pen exercises will help make the horse fitter, and putting a saddle on a young horse in the round pen is a good way to gradually put weight on his back to help build strength and keep him from injuring himself when a rider gets on his back.
Vibration Plates
18-month-old immature horse that has gone through this program, his back is stronger and adapted, and he has the ability to carry a rider without injuring himself.”
As a result, these fitter horses can be tougher when the breaking and race training processes begin because they don’t tire or wear down as easily. The trainer may need to keep them in a round pen longer than others that have not gone through these gradual steps.
“The riders may not like it when they first get on that young horse because these colts are tougher to break, but in the end, they are much better for it,” Casner says. “Our end product is
a much stronger, fitter horse that is mentally stronger, physically stronger and easier to work with, and they’ve had a lot of saddles on them by the time they hit the racetrack.”
Short breezes, or incremental fast sprints of about 1/16 of a mile, can be used in an effort to try and stimulate the bone without overloading it. “A lot of trainers use this in their program,” Casner says. “The question is, at what point to start. The horse has to go through the adapta- tion. Trainers who are really good at this know when to start applying it incrementally. If the horse has enough time and is not rushed, this can be used as part of the training process.”
Speed, along with fitness for endurance, is essential for a racehorse. “That’s the toughest thing to really determine at an early age,” says Casner. “Horses that are bred to be sprinters tend to be more precocious from a cardio-respiratory standpoint. Their hearts are smaller and stronger and they get fit quicker. This doesn’t mean their bones get strong any faster, however. If we think we have a horse that has some speed along with fitness for endurance, that’s all the better.”
The closer we can mimic nature and under- stand what is involved with the body remodeling and adapting to exercise to achieve fitness, the better we can help the horse.
A method to help promote bone strength and density in horses utilizes whole body vibration, with all four feet of the horse standing on a frequency-controlled vibration platform. This type of therapy is fairly new to horses, but has been in use for human medicine for more than 40 years. Vibration therapy can help young horses remodel bone much more rapidly and effectively, and stay ahead of the damage they incur when training. “If they have stronger bone to begin with, and keep strengthening it during training,
we can help avoid the common injuries,” says Casner. “All we do is put the horse on the vibration plates for 20 minutes per day. The horses seem to love it and it’s very easy to train them to stand on it. As soon as you withdraw the stresses and strains, it’s not long before the body gets weaker again. I think this is one of the reasons that the vibration plates work so well to help keep the horse strong.”
92 SPEEDHORSE, September 2017
equine health