Hilltops Hydro Clinic

Hilltops Hydro Clinic is a rehabilitation facility that assists in healing injured horses to allow them to return to health and soundness as soon as possible. We also promote the creation and sustaining of sound and healthy competition horses. As the Hydro Clinic is linked to a veterinary clinic, on-going veterinary supervision and assessment is available to monitor progress. Radiographs and Ultrasounds scans can be performed on site, as required. Exercise programmes are planned for the recovering patients. Various treatments are available to assist with recovery namely:

Hydrotherapy
Acupuncture
Solarium
Chiropractic treatments

Hydrotherapy is a non-invasive, drug free modality to treat sport’s injury lameness by promoting rapid healing. It can also be used pre and post competitions to prevent injury and assist in recovery.

Traditionally working horses were stood in the cold sea, allowing the waves to treat and prevent injuries and wounds. As most of us do not live at the sea, cold hosing of the lower legs is a favourite treatment we all use as an alternative. But with our hydrotherapy machine, you can now go back to nature and treat a wide range of conditions, very effectively with ice cold, oxygenated sea water.

 
Why choose Hilltops Hydro Clinic?
Any injury, wound or inflammation incites a cascade of responses, namely: heat, pain and swelling. Hydrotherapy can effectively and efficiently reduce these effects and thus promote rapid healing in the following ways:

WATER TEMPERATURE – a constant 2 ‘C water numbs the pain, reduces hypoxic injury and decreases blood vessel permeability.
SALT CONTENT – salt water has a ‘drawing’ effect that reduces inflammation and infection, thus promoting healing. It can also guard against future injury.
WATER DEPTH – as the water depth increases so the pressure exerted on the leg increases, this disperses any swelling that has accumulated.
AERATION – increased oxygen levels in the water promote healing. the bubbling water also has a massage-like effect.

 
CONDITIONS THAT CAN BE TREATED WITH HYDROTHERAPY:
 

Tendon injuries
Joint conditions
Bone conditions
Laminitis
Hoof growth abnormalities
Wounds – especially non-healing wounds
Phlegmosis
Sore shins
Improve post- surgery recovery rate

 
Benefits of using hydrotherapy
When used regularly, hydrotherapy can improve your horse’s flexibility. It can also strengthen ligaments, tendons and bones and therefore can prevent future injuries and prolong a competitive career. Post competition horses that receive hydrotherapy recover quickly and post exertion stiffness is reduced.

Horses treated with hydrotherapy often return to full work within a shorter period. Therefore loss of value and condition is limited. Rehabilitation costs, complications and resting time are significantly reduced. The costs of the hydrotherapy treatment are insignificant when compared to the costs of keeping a horse on box rest!

Acupuncture – after a full assessment of the horse’s muscular skeletal system, trigger points are identified and treated with dry needling. Various homeopathic preparations can also be injected at various trigger points to enhance responses to treatment.

Solarium – the infra – red and ultra – violet lights are excellent for treating back muscle pain and spams often related to lower limb lameness’s. Muscle elasticity is also improved and the lights enhance the general well-being of the horse.

Chiropractic treatments are very useful in treating back, neck and nerve conditions and dysfunctions.