Survey of trainers on the use of swimming exercise for Standardbred racehorses in Australia.

The study investigates the use of swimming exercise for Standardbred racehorses in Australia by seeking insights from trainers through an online survey and interviews. The study explores trainers’ beliefs regarding benefits and contraindications of swimming exercise, and how they apply it in their training regimens.

Research Methods

• The research team conducted an online survey and telephone interviews targeting Australian Standardbred trainers.
• The survey included questions related to swimming facility and protocol, perceived benefits, and contraindications of swimming exercise for horses.
• The descriptive data collected was analyzed to draw conclusions.

Results and Findings

• A total of 270 responses were collected from both the online survey and telephone interviews.
• Out of the total, 38.1% of the trainers confirmed using swimming exercise in their training regimens with 79.4% of them using swimming to replace trackwork for horses with limb injuries.
• About 62.7% of trainers believed swimming improved or maintained horse fitness while 40.0% saw it as a means of providing mental stimulation through variety in training.
• Most trainers preferred free swimming to tethered with the frequency and duration varying significantly across different trainers. On average, horses had four swim sessions per week, each lasting about 7 minutes.
• The trainers who excluded swimming exercise from their regimens primarily cited lack of an adequate facility and lack of perceived benefits as their main reasons.

Conclusions

• This study provided insightful data regarding the use of swimming exercise in Standardbred horse training in Australia, revealing a wide range of trainer opinions and protocols.
• The researchers concluded that the role of swimming exercise in horse training warrants further investigation to develop evidence-based recommendations for its application.