Combining our areas of expertise, we’ve developed a company that offers a 100% Chlorine-Free solution to your equine therapy pools and spas. Over the years we’ve studied the harsh effects chlorine has on humans and have determined that it has the same, if not even greater effects on our equine athletes due to the increased chlorine combined with organic matter in an equine therapy pool or spa. 

 

When developing equine athletes, I think we would come to a unanimous agreement, putting all other factors aside, that fatigue is one of our biggest struggles. Second to fatigue, is injuries from a myriad of factors, one of the most influential, being training. If an equine athlete does not have the produced stamina, airways or cardiovascular system required for top sport, they are unable to meet our standards, win that race or “go the extra mile.” 

 

Implementing therapy pools and spas into your training regimen not only takes the strain off of that athlete’s body, but it greatly improves their oxygen intake and cardiovascular output for optimum performance. All of this sounds great, until you look at what is added to an equine pool and spa to decrease the bacteria and organic matter that lives in these environments. 

 

Chlorine not only is an out-dated and ineffective method for disinfecting swimming environments, but it brings many health risks into the equation. Most consumers don’t understand the harsh effects chlorine has on bathers because it is the most widely used and cheapest option to “disinfect” swimming environments. When studying how chlorine breaks down, or is used, in a swimming environment, it attaches to organic matter such as, skin particles, sweat, urine, feces, dirt and bacteria in attempt to “disinfect.” 

 

As it attaches to these objects it breaks down into trihalomethane (THM), halogenated hydrocarbons (HAA), chloroform, chloramines, nitrogen trichloride and aldehydes and turns into toxic carcinogens. If you shuddered at some of those words above, you’re feeling the right reaction. Not only is your body absorbing these toxins while swimming, but you and your equine athlete are also breathing them in as they accumulate heavily from the water’s surface up to about 24” above. 

 

Have you ever walked into an indoor swimming facility and noticed the heavy chlorine smell? It’s not because you’re smelling the chlorine in the pool; this smell is actually the presence of chloramines. Some common effects of chloramines are:

 

• Airway and lung damage 

• Compromised immune system 

• Toxic chemical absorption

• Brittle hair

• Dry, irritated skin and eyes

 

The most staggering one to us as trainers of equine athletes are the airway and lung damage. After the Sydney, Australia Olympic Games, it was reported that more than one-quarter of the US Swim Team suffered from varying degrees of asthma. It takes less than 30 seconds for chlorine to be absorbed into the blood stream of a human, so what does this mean for our equine athletes? It means that not only are they absorbing harsh chemicals that are effecting their body as a whole, but one of their most valuable assets as an athlete is being compromised; their lungs. 

 

This is why we have integrated a 100% Chlorine-Free solution to our equine therapy pools and spas. This technology not only rids the pools of many toxic chemicals, but it cleanses the environment of pathogens such as bacteria and virus’ that live in pools and spas using cutting-edge ozone technology. If that isn’t the best part, we combine the ozone technology with a highly dissolved oxygen system that creates an environment with 95%+ pure oxygen added into the pool and spa; simulating the effects of a hyperbaric chamber without the risk. 

 

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