Just Keep Swimming… and Steaming!
Respiratory health is uniquely supported at Swedish show jumper’s California equine spa.
You can take Hanna Mauritzson out of Sweden, but you can’t take her home country’s ingrained devotion to horse health out of the show jumper – even now that she lives an ocean and continent away in Southern California.
“I am really grateful that I came from Sweden and learned in the Swedish Equestrian Federation’s system because they really care about the horses: about the horse in general and how to train and care for them so that they feel their best. I love to get into all those details.”
Hanna Mauritzson and Unique Star. Photo courtesy of Haygain.
The horsemanship-heavy upbringing underpins Hanna’s ongoing study and embrace of all things proven to help horses – those she owns and develops through Swede Equine and client horses at her Equatic Spa Rehabilitation and Conditioning business in San Diego County.
A swimming pool and in-ground water treadmill elevate Equatic’s offerings in a sporthorse-dense region that is slim on rehab and conditioning options. The aquatic opportunities complement services including a Theraplate full-body vibration stall, shockwave and pulsed electromagnetic field treatments and an intense concentration on respiratory health. All are administered by skilled, knowledgeable staff.
Haygain High Temperature Steamed Hay has been part of Swede Equine and Equatic Spa’s respiratory health regimen for two years. Inhalable dust is common even in hay of excellent nutrient quantity. It’s considered the biggest cause of conditions on the Equine Asthma Spectrum that affect over 80% of active sport horses.
Hannah Mauritzson and Shay Stenchever. Photo courtesy of Haygain.
Haygain’s ability to reduce up to 99% of the inhalable particles from hay helps healthy horses stay that way and helps treat or manage those with respiratory challenges. Flexineb Portable Equine Nebulizer and low dust bedding are also critical to Equatic’s quest to help horses breathe easy, at home and during peak performance. Lung and airways that are free of irritants and related inflammation maximize the system’s capacity for inhaling oxygen that fuels all cellular function. It helps them exhale carbon dioxide, too.
Swim To Soar
Swimming and work on the water treadmill are unique enhancements to Equatic’s approach to boosting respiratory health. Both are low or no impact on the joints, so horses can retain or gain fitness without wear and tear.
“Swimming is a different sort of exercise,” explains groom Shay Stenchever. “Like galloping on the track, horses are bringing a lot of air into their lungs, but without the impact. They are exercising the muscles and lungs, therefore it’s super important their respiratory health is at peak condition. That’s where Haygain comes in. Haygain Steamed Hay is important to making sure the horses get the most out of their swimming or use of the Aquatread.”
Fellow Haygain fan Nicky Galligan saw Equatic’s respiratory focus help take his Grand Prix partner Javas Miss Jordan to new heights. She was already soaring to top 10 placings in the biggest classes when Jordan added swimming to her conditioning routine late in 2020. By then, Nicky had Jordan’s subtle respiratory issues under control with Haygain and Flexineb treatments. Swimming maximized those improvements.
“It’s really interesting to watch her breathe as she swam and recovered from the work-outs,” Nicky explained. “It’s the depth of her breath as she came out: how she’s expanding and contracting her ribcage, taking huge breaths. It’s not so much the frequency of the breaths, it’s the depth. Before Haygain and the Flexineb treatments, her breathing was too quick and too shallow.”
At the canter, the horse’s inhalation and exhalation align with the stride. Nicky and his Guardian Stables partner Paige Jardine estimate Jordan’s stride has gotten 8 to 10 inches bigger since implementing a stringent routine around her respiratory function. “We used to walk the course and talk about adding strides,” Paige noted. “Now she does the same strides as the 17-hand horse 90 percent of the time.”
Early in 2021, Nicky and Jordan hit a new peak in winning the $250,000 CSI4* Grand Prix at the Desert International Horse Park.
Gratifying Work
Winning performances from Equatic’s clients are icing on the cake of Hanna’s rewarding work. “Nicky brought Jordan to us last year saying that she just needed that little extra bit,” Hanna recalls. “It’s so fun for us to see them succeed. We love working with different teams and becoming part of their teams.” Like Nicky, several of Equatic’s clients are extremely particular about their horse’s care. “I get that! We know that if a hair is wrong on these horses, we need to communicate that to the owners. We have staff that really pays attention to the horses for exactly that reason.”
Hanna’s interest in conditioning and rehabilitation grew from experiences with her own horses. Her veteran Grand Prix mount, Parkmore Lux, introduced her to the benefits of swimming.
After an injury several years ago, Lux’ vet suggested swimming for reasons that made sense to Hanna. “When the horse gets to a certain point in their rehab, swimming is an amazing tool because it helps them build up their muscles and strength without full concussion and the risk of re-injury.” Healing and post-healing phases are prone to injury because the affected body part, and the surrounding structures, are weak from lack of use. Returning to even light exercise can pose serious risks unless rehab includes time and techniques to build up the muscles and structures affected by the injury, along with those that may have been compensating for the injury.
Building knowledge about the rehabilitation process is part of Equatic Spa’s mission. “Many horse owners really trust their veterinarians’ advice and ours,” Hanna notes. “Yet some just don’t think about the recovery process in full. It’s like, ‘Hey, they’ve had three months off, they’re healed. Let’s go back to work.’” Gently advising otherwise is part of the learning curve for an equine sport medicine world slowly catching up to advances and understanding in human sports medicine.
Hanna was so immediately onboard with swimming for Lux that she hauled him 9 hours north to Premier Equine. Having full range of motion while building muscular and cardio fitness during swimming helped Lux return to the 5* form he still enjoys. That secured Hanna’s belief in swimming’s benefits and illustrated a void in her Southern California area. Hence, the aquatic additions to Equatic Spa and their steady use ever since.
Along with conditioning and rehab, several owners send their horses to Equatic for vacation: to keep fit in new, fun ways. Grass paddocks and a Eurociser free walker contribute to varied routines for all horses. Those returning to under saddle work can enjoy a gallop track along with arena work.
Swedish Star Rising
An international jumping rider, Hanna regularly competes against horses her program has helped. Parkmore Lux is 17 and now campaigned selectively. Her stallion Unique Star excelled all the way up to 1.60m World Cup ranks last year and is poised for top levels this season. A range of young horses are coming along, some in California and some in Sweden, where it’s less expensive to raise them.
Hanna and Parkmore Lux. Photo courtesy of Haygain.
Hanna is on the Swedish team’s radar and is happy that the West Coast and the United States are having more FEI shows where it’s possible to earn ranking points. Representing her home country on the international stage is a goal in her riding.
Continuing to help horses at any level of the sport excel and feel good doing so are goals that Hanna, Shay and the entire Equatics Spa team are achieving every day.
Haygain is a global horse health company, with products focused on respiratory, digestive and overall health. Its core products are High Temperature Hay Steamers, the Forager Slow Feeder and ComfortStall Sealed Orthopedic Flooring. For more information on Haygain, visit www.Haygain.us.
