Seawalker

The Seawalker® has been developed in consultation with, and with vital input from, a number of leading vets, equine physiotherapists, physiologists and equine podiatrists with the intention of creating an ideal exercising environment both for horses recuperating from injury as well as horses in training. The result is a horse walker containing filtered and chilled natural seawater.

The Seawalker® simulates all the benefits of exercising your horses in the sea by bringing the sea to your yard and has the added advantages of being rider less and in a controlled environment. Horses can be exercised at varying speeds from a slow walk to a brisk trot.

The key Seawalker® features are:

Natural seawater (supplied in sea salt crystal form), rich in minerals and trace elements, to ensure a restorative, invigorating training or warm-up/cool down session and also for therapeutic purposes.
Water chilled to 2-4 degrees to reduce inflammation of sore joints and tendons and to promote good circulation through the legs. Chiller, pumping and filtration system provided.
Patented, lightweight Belebro design to make the Seawalker® a unique, safe and appealing installation.

The key Seawalker® benefits are:

Improves stamina, general fitness and muscle tone
Reduces inflammation of sore shins, joints and tendons
Beneficial for all bruising, limb and joint problems
Enhances healing of superficial cuts and grazes
Promotes good blood circulation through the legs
Works the abdominal musculature to support the back and stabilize the main frame

Case Studies

Chief Exec (Zafonic ex. Shot At Love), 8 year old gelding.

Currently rated 74

Owned by Stuart & Kate Dobb

Being an older horse with plenty of miles on the clock, Chief’s legs need looking after carefully. He goes on the Seawalker® every day after work and this helps to keep his legs in good condition and keeps him feeling well. Jeremy notices that his legs feel significantly better when he uses the Seawalker® every day. Chief is a real character and a firm favorite at the yard. He won and came second under leading South Australian Jockey, Clare Lindop, last year and there are more races to be won with him.

Ivory Silk (Diktat ex. Ivory’s Joy), 5 year old mare

Currently rated 87

Owned by The Resurrection Partners

Ivory is a talented mare who always runs consistently well. She is a tough campaigner and using the Seawalker® daily helps to keep her sound. Ivory has won three times and has a remarkable 64% in-the-money strike rate.

Rehabilitation Yard, The Netherlands, Health4Horses.

Launched Seawalker® in November 2008.

Endurance and Racing Yards, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Installations had contributed greatly to multiple winners. By using various depths difference muscles are activated, helping to improve fitness and prevent injury.

What the specialists say

Mary Bromiley, world renowned vetenary physio therapist. Author of: “Equine Injury, therapy and Rehabilitation. 3rd Edition. The Seawalker® brings the Sea to the yard. Rather than walk on rubber or mats, as on a normal horse walker, the horses walk in a trough filled with a filtered, chilled, saline solution. Depth and speed can be adjusted in order to create varied recruitments of muscle. For example, fetlock deep does not radically change normal limb action, but a depth of 50cms does. The limb movement adopted at this depth increasing activation of the back and abdominal musculature. Thus, if the point of the exercise is to strengthen the back then increase water depth.

Nick Thompson, BSc.(Hons), BVM&S, VetMFHom, MRCVS.
“The Seawalker® facilitates cooling of tendons after exercise. Reduced concussion walking in the cold saline is a useful addition to the tools available in the management of the equine athlete during training.

Amanda Sutton, Equine Physiotherapist, Olympics team.
“The Seawalker® clearly provides a benefit from immersing the horses’ legs in chilled salt water which is particularly helpful after fast work. In addition to the therapeutic benefits the movement through the water, particularly of the hind legs, is helpful in building and strengthening horses without putting them under too much pressure.”

Desert Quest in training in de Seawalker

Belly muscle training

Press Cuttings

Horse International Magazine. Winter edition 2010. Hydrotherapy Feature

Depending on the type of track around which the horses walk, the water can be filled to various depths to increase or decrease the resistance and cooling properties. In Dubai the water is chest deep as the Seawalker® is used as a training aid to condition endurance horses where keeping the horses cool while doing appropriate work is almost as important as the therapeutic effect on the legs. Mary Bromiley, one of the worlds pioneers in equine physiotherapy and rehabilitation has been much impressed with the Seawalker® and has included it in the latest edition of her book, ‘Equine Injury, Therapy and Rehabilitation’. “Yes Eamon is a racing man and we use it for that purpose, but obviously it has the same benefits for other disciplines as has been discovered by the users in Holland and Dubai” said Marie-Louise Chittenden. ”

Irish Blood Horse. November 2007

…the most beneficial form of water ercise is wading horses in seawater. This is because it is an excellent conditioner and one of the best forms of water exercise. Horse ‘walkers’ have been recently designed which simulate seawater; filled with saline water from about 12 inches deep, they are proving to be very efficient in building up correct muscle tone.
The horse utilizes the best muscle groups for racing through the stepping action created when the horse wades through the water. This repetitive picking up of the legs exercises the abdominal muscles, which hold the main muscle groups together.”

Wiltshire Life. June 2005. 3 page feature.

“Eamonn has also created a ‘Seawalker’. His own idea. After two years of research involving visits to Australia, Germany, Holland and Ireland to consult experts in hydrotherapy, horse walkers and equine medicine, he designed the large circular trough which enables horses to enjoy the therapeutic benefits of working in cold salt water on site. Horses can move at varying speeds from a slow walk to a brisk trot through saline water cooled to the right temperature, without stress. It has already proved its value in healing and preventing injury. Although relatively simple, it is unique.”
Racing Post, February 18th, 2005.

“…a Seawalker, a conventional horse walker with a pool of chilled water mixed with raw sea salt. Horses splash round in it for up to an hour every day. He believes it has been a useful tool in promoting the growth of the foot cavities and also in assisting circulation.

The Horses Hoof, Issue 18, Winter 2005.

“Scientific studies already show that immersing horses legs in salt water at low temperatures is effective in both healing and preventing injury and it produces exceptionally fast and good quality hoof growth. We are also seeing a reduction in mud fever and other minor infections. The horses using it before coming into training are remarkably fit before they start ridden work.

Guardian, February 17th, 2005.
“There is another aid for healthy feet at The Beeches stables – The “Seawalker”. The use of chilled salt water is not a new concept. The 50ft circular Seawalker enables his horses to walk and trot in these conditions. “The vets say movement is good for injury prevention and it speeds up foot growth,” added the trainer.

Thoroughbred Owner & Breeder, August 2005.

“The Seawalker is used extensively and the horses plainly love it. A beneficial variation on the conventional horse walker, it is filled with cold, salty water which according to Wilmott, has “magical healing capabilities “. Horses will spend 30 minutes going round the hydro-circuit, more when a run is imminent.”

For more details check www.belebro.com