Horse walker
A horse walker is part of an equestrian facility . It is a complementary training tool for horses . The horses run tethered or free in a round or oval track.
Similar to horse treadmills , these systems are used to give horses additional movement. This can be used to warm up the animal before or to dry off after training. In addition, an increase in stamina and muscle building or a change from everyday life can be achieved. The water horse walker is a special form . Horse walkers cannot and should not replace riding and / or pasture exercise.
Horse walkers are mainly used in larger horse boarding houses , on professional riding facilities or in breeding stations.
Dimensions and equipment
The dimensions of round horse walkers are usually 15 meters and larger. The smaller tethering systems are increasingly disappearing from the image of equestrian facilities, as they can only be used for step training.
The larger systems today are free-range walkers. Horses can also be moved at a trot in systems over 18 meters or oval horse walkers. Freewheel walkers are usually equipped with drift bars to lead the horses at a steady, controlled pace. Live grids are not animal welfare. Walls made of wood or brick walls delimit the lane. The lane itself can have a structure similar to that of a paddock and must be cared for that way. However, rubber or concrete composite plasters and wood chips are also used. All systems are usually equipped with a control that enables an automatic change of direction.
Types
Round and oval horse walkers are distinguished according to the shape of their running track. Free-running walker systems are divided into floor, ceiling and slide rail systems.
Floor walker
Floor walkers consist of a central foot and arms with drift grids attached to the top.
Ceiling walker
With ceiling walkers, the drive is located under the ceiling, which has the advantage that the interior can also be used, for example as a lunging hall . Existing lunging halls can also be equipped with a ceiling walker. The weight of the system must be statically taken into account during construction.
Slide rail or ring guide systems
Guide rail systems have a driven ring above the running surface that guides the trolleys with the drift grids. These systems also offer space in the interior that can be used as storage or movement space. These systems can be built round or oval. The decisive advantage of such a system is that it does not require a foundation and things can be rebuilt that would be in the way of other horse walkers (e.g. trees), since no drive tower is necessary. This system can be installed both outdoors and in an existing building.
Oval horse walker
Oval horse walkers are used wherever space is too narrow for a round system or where there is a lot of length. Oval horse walkers enable the horses to walk straight ahead for longer distances. This form of horse walker is often found on training facilities for racehorses. The longer or larger a facility, the more horses can be trained in it.
Individual evidence
- ^ German Equestrian Association: Guidelines for Riding and Driving - Keeping, Feeding, Health and Breeding, Vol. 4, pp. 209f, ISBN 978-3-88542-284-6
- ↑ Key data horse / Ed .: Deutsche Reiterliche Vereinigung e. V., Federal Association for Equestrian Sport and Breeding, Department of Veterinary Medicine in cooperation with the Ministry for the Environment and Nature Conservation, Agriculture and Consumer Protection of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia , issue 1, p. 48, ISBN 3-88542-467-3
- ↑ Guidelines for the assessment of horse keeping under animal welfare aspects of the BMVEL, 1992, online ( Memento of the original of July 2, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ a b Gerlinde Hoffmann, FN: Orientierungshilfe Reitanlagen- und Stallbau, 2009, p. 157f, ISBN 978-3-88542-740-7
