Hong Kong horses given access to a very exclusive swimming pool

[HereIsTheNews]

Hong Kong horses given access to a very exclusive swimming pool

PUBLISHED : Thursday, 12 March, 2015, 10:30pm
UPDATED : Friday, 13 March, 2015, 10:08am

Timmy Sung [email protected]

This horse is taken for a swim at a very exclusive facility - a Jockey Club swimming pool at the racecourse in Sha Tin. Photo: David Wong

It is probably the only swimming pool in Hong Kong where you and I cannot take a dip. That is because it is exclusively for the use of Jockey Club horses.

Led by an assistant, the horse Romantic Touch slowly walks down the slope and then rushes into the water. He is allowed to stay there for two minutes. Trainers allow their charges to take to the 2.6-metre-deep oval-shaped pool to build up muscle strength and cardiovascular fitness, and more importantly to relieve stress.

To make sure his steed is in the best possible shape for Sunday’s prestigious Hong Kong Derby, trainer Benno Yung Tin-pang Ö has been allowing Romantic Touch regular swimming sessions.

The gelding was three years old when he arrived from Australia last year. Yung recalled that the horse was “a bit fed up” with racing and he wanted to make training and racing an enjoyable experience.

Steeds are taken to the pool to build up their muscle strength and cardiovascular fitness, and more importantly to relieve stress and relax muscles, in particular ahead of big races like Sunday's Hong Kong Derby. Photo: David Wong

“The horse was less nervous and active after he started swimming. As he needed to adapt to a new environment, if there were sufficient exercises then he would not have the energy to think about something irrelevant, or do things to hurt himself,” Yung said.

He said swimming could also help the horse relieve stress from work and also relax his muscles by reducing the weight on his joints.

Swimming was only a supportive exercise in daily training for horses, Yung added. But not all horses are suitable for the exercise, as some might have skin problems or simply because they do not know how to swim.

Swimming is not suitable for all horses, as some might have skin problems or do not know how to swim, but on general it tends to be a supportive exercise in daily training for horses. Photo: David Wong

The pool at Sha Tin racecourse opened in 1998 and can handle up to 1,000 horses a day. Unlike swimming pools we frequent, the water there looks cloudy.

It is not because the pool is not cleaned regularly, but because horses tend to defecate any time they like. Water quality therefore has to be maintained.

To do the job, pipes connected with filtration plants are installed at the bottom of the pool to remove hair and excrement. At the same time they pump ozone into the pool to disinfect the water. Chlorine cannot be used because it can damage the respiratory system and irritate the skin and hairs of horses.