ENGLISH TEXTS
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LIKE A FISH IN WATER:
HYDROTHERAPY
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13 MINUTES Véronique Verva and Clélia Moncorgé( Karisma Consulting) met with three key figures in the field of racehorse well-being: Barbara Guenet, who has just opened her thalassotherapy center for thoroughbreds and trotters in Utah Beach; Charly Mary, who continues to develop his balneotherapy center for both gallopers and trotters; and Virginie Terryn, who has recently set up her care center dedicated to horses in recovery or at rest. © Karisma Consulting
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By Mélodie Janvier
WATER: THE TROTTERS’ ALLY
When it comes to trotters, whether it’ s balneotherapy, thalassotherapy, or underwater equipment, the use of water’ s benefits has been a widespread practice for several decades.
Thalassotherapy According to journalist
Jacques Pauc, former editor-in-chief of Paris-Turf for over 20 years, the use of water’ s benefits was pioneered by trainers like Pierre-Désiré Allaire. Some accounts mention that as early as the 1960s, he would train his horses on the beach of Saint-Cast-Le-Guildo, in the Côtes-d’ Armor region. This man, closely associated with the Écurie des Charmes, notably“ saved” Gobernador, who was naturally frail, and Kiss Melody, winner of the 2002 UET Grand Prix. Speaking about her, he once said,“ We used to walk her in the water for hours, to teach her how to lift and bend her knees.” At the end of the 1990s and beginning of the 2000s, we remember“ Le Général”( du Pommeau), winner of the 2002 Prix d’ Amérique and trained by the late Jules Lepennetier, who frequently trained on the Mont-Saint- Michel beach. Or“ The Cannibal”, aka Jag de Bellouet, triple winner of the Prix de Cornulier and 2005 Prix d’ Amérique champion, who inherited the fragility of his sire Viking’ s Way and was trained by Christophe Gallier on the beaches of La Manche region. In 2010, when Philippe Allaire entrusted his champion Ready Cash to Thierry Duvaldestin, one of the solutions to manage the fiery son of Indy de Vive and to protect his legs was to have him train in the sea in preparation for the major races he was to compete in. More re- cently, Idao de Tillard, Face Time Bourbon and Davidson du Pont— all Group 1 winners on the last Sunday of January— fine-tuned their prep work on the beach.
Balneotherapy While logistics to reach the seaside can be demanding, it’ s now very common to go to a balneotherapy center. The Haras de Sassy stands out as a pioneer in this area. In 2005, the Lhérété couple created Europe’ s first“ equine swimming pool” in the town of Saint-Christophe-le-Jajolet( Boischampré), in the Orne region. Trotters, gallopers, horses in training, stallions, and recovering equines— all can benefit from this center. Swimming horses is a common practice, mostly at the sea,“ but there wasn’ t a place specifically dedicated to it,” explains Jean-Yves. It took some imagination to design the facility:“ I drew the plans myself.” The complex includes a U-shaped swimming lane, 45 meters long, 2 meters wide, and 3 meters deep, along with a water walker for up to 6 horses submerged in 80 centimeters of water.
Why Balneotherapy? When asked about the benefits of balneotherapy for horses, Jean-Yves Lhérété offers a simple answer:“ The same as for us, it doesn’ t replace modern medicine, but it helps with recovery. Balneotherapy is often recommended post-surgery;
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