What are the key requirements of horse walker flooring?
Horses need to move a lot. Horse walkers are one tool to manage your horses' training needs (especially sports horses) but with frequent use, this requires the best flooring. This article is based on the thoughts of Dr. Matthias Baumann, equine veterinary surgeon, FEI vet and event rider about Belmondo® flooring.
Slip resistance for all kinds of weather and seasons:
Know what a slippery floor feels like? Did you know we can measure how slippery a surface is in a test environment, here's how:
We're trying to find out how hard it is to pull an object across the surface in wet or dry conditions. The measurement we get is the loss of energy due to friction as it slides across the material.
Obviously, the harder it is to pull the object across the material, the more slip resistant it is and vice versa. How do we know what the ideal floor slip resistance is in the application of a horse walker?
Over the years Belmondo® have worked with subject specialists to design the ideal flooring type that give the right amount of slip. Too grippy and the hoof slides less on impact and is forced to dissipate more energy back up through the leg. A little less grip allows the hoof to naturally grip the floor and impact energy is better managed by the hoof mechanisms.
No excessive abrasion and minimal track deformation around the horse walker
Many horse owners who operate horse walkers will discover that poor flooring materials degrade and deform quickly under heavy use. Often a track in the centre of the walker is the first sign. This means that an understand of the abrasion resistance of the material is important.
Abrasion resistance is the ability of the rubber to resist mechanical action such as the rubbing and scraping of the hooves. This property is hugely influenced by the quality of the rubber and manufacturing techniques. A horse walker floor must be tested for abrasion resistance and the results will show how long the product will last.
Easy to clean horse walker flooring for superior hygienic quality
An easy to clean horse walker flooring will save you hours of labour time and result in a cleaner exercising environment for the horses. Generally, a smooth surface will be easier to poo pick and urine will run off the floor in the direction of fall. An impermeable floor is suitable where the horse walker is covered or uncovered.
However, permeable flooring is suitable for external horse walkers without a roof, this enables rainfall to periodically wash through the floor.
Horse walker rubber that is firm... yet soft and gentle on horses joints
Attempting to balance the factors of toughness for abrasion resistance with softness in order to be gentle on joints seems like a contradiction. Yet there are two methods used to balance these criteria's for the ideal horse walker floor.
Firstly, is the slip resistance factor which is already explained above. This limits the shock loading on the limbs when exercising.
Secondly, the use of extruded patterns on the underside of the floor helps to create an air cushion. This does not affect the strength of the material (which is needed for abrasion resistance) but does the best job at adding back in the balance of softness underfoot.
BELMONDO Horsewalker
Pre cut horse walker flooring specifically designed for this application
