Question

I own a yearling Warmblood gelding that I hope to use for dressage and low-level eventing. I’d like to begin an exercise program to ready his musculoskeletal system for the years of consistent, mindful work that lie in his future. I have an aquatic treadmill available to me. Is this type of exercise more appropriate than traditional ones, such as longeing, ponying, or working in long-lines? How will aquatic exercise carry over to traditional exercise? Will it sufficiently prepare my horse’s skeleton for harder work? What are your thoughts on the nutrition of yearling sport horses?

Answer

For injured horses, aquatic treadmills have proven to be popular rehabilitative apparatuses because buoyancy removes stress on the musculoskeletal system. In addition to their use in therapy situations, more and more horsemen are using aquatic treadmills to prepare young horses for sales and futurity competitions.

Researchers recently compared the effects of aquatic treadmill, traditional treadmill, and no exercise on bone and joint metabolism in young horses transitioning to an advanced workload.^* In the first phase of the study, the exercised horses were worked on aquatic or traditional treadmills with a synthetic belt; in the second phase, they were worked in a free-stall exerciser with a sand surface. In addition to body measurements (weight, withers height, hip height), markers of bone and cartilage metabolism were measured.

According to the researchers, the study indicated that “early forced exercise supports consistent bone metabolism necessary for uniform growth and bone development, with no negative effects of buoyancy on cartilage metabolism in yearlings transitioned from aquatic exercise to dry-land exercise.”

Quarter Horse yearlings were used in this study. Care should be taken when planning an exercise program for any horse, especially a young one. Consult a veterinarian to determine if your young horse is sufficiently mature to start structured exercise.

Optimal nutrition of the young sport horse will provide the foundation for a sound athlete. The finer points of this topic reach well beyond the scope of this response, but here are some key considerations when managing young horses.

• Choose good-quality forage as the basis of the diet. Depending on the season, the forage portion of the diet may be offered as pasture, hay, or an alternate form (hay cubes, hay pellets). Young horses should have free-choice access to forage, as this optimizes gastrointestinal health and reduces the likelihood of gastric ulcers.
• Regardless of its quality, forage does not supply young horses with all of the nutrients required for sound growth. To provide appropriate levels of protein, vitamins, and minerals, young horses should be fed a concentrate. Choose a product specifically formulated for growing horses. In addition to protein and other nutrients, a traditional concentrate will also provide dietary energy (calories). If a young horse is deriving sufficient energy from its forage and does not need the additional energy found in traditional concentrates, a ration balancer can be fed. A ration balancer contains a concentrated source of protein, vitamins, and minerals without unnecessary calories.
• Maintain young horses in moderate body condition, typically a body condition score of near 5 on the 1-9 scale. If excessive dietary energy is fed, horses may become overweight or experience accelerated growth, which could lead to developmental problems that might derail sale expectations or future performance.
• Allow youngsters plenty of turnout time. Galloping and roughhousing with peers is a natural way for young horses to develop a strong musculoskeletal system. Studies have proven that bone density is greater in horses with access to turnout each day.
• In addition to a well-fortified diet, consider joint supplementation when light work under saddle begins. Prophylactic care of joints could prevent problems as the horse ages. Use high-quality products formulated by well-established companies.
• While musculoskeletal health is often focused on joints, bone density can be improved with Triacton, a product proven to increase bone density in high-performance horses.
• Recruit a reputable equine nutritionist to be on your horse’s healthcare team. You’re destined to run into nutritional questions as you develop and maintain an athletic horse. Begin a relationship now with a nutritionist and continue to call on that individual as your horse’s performance career progresses.

^*Silvers, B.L., J.L. Leatherwood, C.E. Arnold, B.D. Nielsen, C.J. Huseman, B.J. Dominguez, K.G. Glass, R.E. Martinez, M.L. Much, and A.N. Bradbery. 2020. Effects of aquatic conditioning on cartilage and bone metabolism in young horses. Journal of Animal Science 98(8):1-10.