This week has been pretty hectic, the arrival of the water treadmill, subsequent lessons on how to work this enormous piece of kit, dealing with the issues that came along to confuse matters such as the generator breaking down, hiring a replacement, the problems facing our own broken generator and the apparent "confusion" over the size of the generator we thought we had purchased, and the one we were actually sold. The plot thickens, and in the meantime I have been putting as many horses as I possibly can through the treadmill myself, the intention is to oversee each horses introduction to it, so I know exactly how each horse responds to it, how it works, what can or might go wrong, how best to use it for which type of horse and of course, the all important maintenance of "Trudie" the treadmill, well, we had to call her something and given her tremendous healing powers she is obviously a "female" machine.
So far most of the staff have helped so they too can learn all about it, although to date, only myself and Harry have braved the freezing, salt water and ventured into it. After ten minutes of wading through knee high, water that was only 3 degrees, I was ready for out, Harry loved it and has been in since (on his own), it is a marvellous way of washing the mud off him although a hose pipe is undoubtedly cheaper. However, the sore mud rash he had on his belly has already disappeared completely and I can confirm that the horses on the treadmill work incredibly hard, no wonder it builds up muscle and core strentgh.
We have quickly identified a few horses who need to be in the treadmill twice daily, others who will benefit from one treatment daily while the remainder of the horses will initially be introduced to it over the coming week or so, after that process is complete the plan is for each horse to have two or three sessions a week to start with. It will take two full time staff to man it but the benefts will be tremendous. It is without a doubt a very serious piece of kit and will be a huge asset to the yard. More information on the benefits of the water treadmill along with a video of Trudie in action will follow very soon.
While BT usually come in for some serious ear-bashing whenever the interent is down, this week it has been a bonus, bliss even. Days without the internet allowed me to concentrate on Trudie while Anna has been able to get her accounts done with slightly less intrusion that usual. Normal service has now ressumed.