Stalls turned spa
Toolbox
By Bruce Edwards Herald Staff - Published: November 26, 2007
For athletes of all kinds, leg injuries are a common problem. And for every leg injury there are various treatments for sprains, soreness, tendonitis, torn ligaments and broken bones. But Courtney Sheehy has opened a unique therapy practice — one that caters to athletes of the four-leg variety.
C-Horse Hydrotherapy is one of only a handful of treatment centers in the country that employs a special cold water spa to treat lameness in equine athletes.
For competitive horses, including hunter jumpers, dressage and race horses, leg injuries and their treatment is an ongoing concern for their owners.
It was an injury to one of her horses that prompted the 28-year-old Sheehy, a one-time competitive barrel racer, to look around for non-drug alternative therapies to treat equine leg injuries.
"I wanted to still be involved in the horse community so I thought … help injured equine athletes and help them get better and compete again," Sheehy said during an interview in the tack room of her barn and treatment center on Cold River Road.
What she found was a European-designed cold salt water stainless-steel tank that can accommodate any size horse. The horse enters the rear of the spa as it would a horse trailer. The front and rear water-tight doors are closed and the tank fills with up to 500 gallons of salt water at 35 degrees. The floor of the spa has aeration holes for treating the front and rear legs.
"What this does, it allows you to treat all four legs at the same time and with salt and aeration," she said. "The salt is going to draw the heat and inflammation out and then the cold water is going to take away the swelling."
The Rutland native says hydrotherapy can treat tendonitis, soreness and stiffness, arthritis, hoof and joint problems, soft tissue damage, sore shins and even cuts and bruises.
And while competitive horses are the focus, she said farm or pasture horses can also suffer from leg injuries.
But a horse doesn't have to develop a problem before getting treatment.
"It can also be used not just as rehabilitation, it can be used as a preventative tool," she said.
The cold water treatment time is 10 minutes. The cost is $45, with boarding extra if needed.
Local veterinarian Lisa Hickman is impressed with Sheehy's therapeutic approach. "I'm pretty amazed at just the reduction in healing time for certain injuries and using it as a preventative," said Hickman, whose services include equine chiropractic and dentistry. "The case studies speak for themselves."
Sheehy's business at 2452 Cold River Road is one of only four centers in the U.S. and Canada that use the system made by Therapeutic Advantage of New Jersey. The other facilities are in Canada, Louisiana and Washington.
C-Horse Hydrotherapy (www.chorse.net) has five stalls, each measuring 12 feet by 12 feet, with three more stalls planned.
And in a state with more horses per capita than any other state, Sheehy expects a healthy demand for her services. There are any number of local horse competitions going on during the spring, summer and fall. Most notably, there is the Dorset Horse Show and the month-long racing season at Saratoga.
Contact Bruce Edwards at bruce.edwards@rutlandherald.com.
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