Evaluation of water treadmill training, lunging and treadmill training in the rehabilitation of horses with back pain.
Authors: Geiger Tobias, Lindenhahn Liesa, Delarocque Julien, Geburek Florian
Journal: BMC veterinary research
Summary
# Editorial Summary Eighteen warmblood horses with confirmed clinical back pain were randomly assigned to six weeks of water treadmill, dry treadmill, or lunging training under standardised conditions, with clinical assessments and pressure algometry measurements taken at baseline, week 3, and week 6 to evaluate rehabilitation efficacy. All three modalities produced significant improvements in lumbar muscle development (p = 0.001) and reduced palpation sensitivity across the thoracic and lumbar spine by week 6, whilst mechanical nociceptive thresholds increased substantially by week 3 at the critical saddle contact zones (T18–L3), with no statistically significant differences between training types. These findings suggest that riderless training programmes—regardless of whether performed in water or on dry ground—can meaningfully improve pain tolerance and muscle development in horses with back pain, potentially offering practitioners flexible rehabilitation options when mounted work is contraindicated during early recovery phases. The equivalence between water and dry treadmill training is particularly valuable for facilities without aquatic equipment, though the study's small sample size and absence of a mounted rehabilitation control group warrant cautious interpretation of these results and suggest further investigation with larger cohorts and conventional ridden exercise for comparison.
Read the full abstract on PubMed
Practical Takeaways
- •All three riderless training modalities (water treadmill, dry treadmill, lunging) effectively reduced back pain sensitivity and improved muscle development over 6 weeks — choice can be based on facility availability and horse preference
- •Water treadmill offers no advantage over standard dry treadmill or lunging for back pain rehabilitation, potentially simplifying treatment decisions for practitioners without water facilities
- •Pain threshold improvements and muscle development gains suggest riderless training should be part of back pain management protocols, particularly during early rehabilitation phases
Key Findings
- •Visual muscle development scores for lumbar region significantly improved at week 6 compared to baseline (p=0.001)
- •Palpation sensitivity along thoracic and lumbar regions significantly improved at week 6 (p<0.001)
- •Mechanical nociceptive thresholds increased significantly at T18 and L3 by week 3-6 across all three training modalities with no significant differences between groups (p>0.05)
- •Water treadmill training, dry treadmill training, and lunging produced equivalent outcomes for pain threshold improvement in saddle contact areas