KESMARC

KESMARC (Kentucky Equine Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation Center ) is an equine therapy hospital. I went there for a tour of their facilities. Two of the interns there gave the tour they said that what Kesmarc does is help horses heal and get back to full health. It is not exactly a vet hospital. Some horses come in with injurys or just come in to build muscle. Most of the horses are off the track horses that the owners want to sell.

Kesmarc has many treatments that help the horses. We got to see all of these on the tour.
First they have the swimming pool. It looks like a big circular pool with an concrete island in the center. It is 16 feet deep so the horse has to swim.When horses just get started in the pool there are two people handling the horse, one on the island and one running on the outside. The horse takes breaks every now and then. When it does, the handlers lead the horse on a ramp where the horse can stand. The pool strengthens muscles all over without putting stress on the bones. It also makes them look good.

Then we got to see the Aqua Tred. This is just an treadmill for horses that is under water. The horses usually use this before the pool to get used to the water. Here the horses can stand. There is a ramp going down to the actual treadmill part and the water is chest high for the horses. This also strengthens the muscles. It also gives the advantage of a higher view of the horse so they can see lameness more easily.

http://www.kesmarc.com