In the swim at Yaldhurst

Press, 7 June 1982, Page 16

In the swim at Yaldhurst

Story and pictures by

Shelley Caldwell

Swimming race horses as an alternative or supplement to track work is becoming increasingly popular in Christchurch. The equine swimming pool at Mr Colin McLachlan’s Yaldhurst property, Lachlan Lodge, is in big demand, and the Canterbury branch of the New Zealand Trainers Association plans to build a similar pool at Riccarton Racecourse.

An amateur trainer-driver of standardbreds. Mr McLachlan designed the pool and had it installed about six years ago.

He had a few unsound horses at the time and had heard swimming courses for such horses had been used successfully overseas and in some North Island stables. Mr McLachlan built the pool for the use of his own horses, but soon found other trainers in the district were also keen to have their horses use the pool.

During the summer months, when the tracks were hard and trainers feared shin soreness in their horses, it was not uncommon to see floats queued up outside his property, with horses waiting for a swim, Mr McLachlan said.

A horse new to swimming might offer some initial resistance to entering the pool but usually this was overcome after the first swim and from then on they seemed to enjoy the new form of exercise.

Some horses have swimming as a supplement to their track work, and might only swim two or three rounds each way. Others have swimming as their main form of exercise. One horse that is trained in that way in the McLachlan stable is the four-year-old pacer, Tickle My Fancy.

Mr McLachlan said Tickle My Fancy started swimming with three rounds each way and had a gradual build-up to his present work of 14 rounds each way, which was the maximum he would give any horse. The 28 rounds took about 14 minutes to complete. The horses were given an even amount of rounds each way to prevent muscle build-up on one side only.

The oval pool is three metres deep. 15 metres long and 8.25 metres wide (10ft by 50ft by 27ft), and has a long chute with a ramp leading down into the main part of the pool. It is heated when necessary by an oil-fired furnace, but Mr McLachlan is now experimenting with some success, with an alternative solar heating system.

Many thoroughbreds use the pool and the Yaldhurst trainer, Mr Tom Lalor and his wife, Greta, are frequent visitors to Lachlan Lodge with their race horses. Mr and Mrs Lalor are great advocates of the benefits of swimming for horses and Mrs Lalor’s grandfather, the late Mr James Bryce, sen., is believed to have installed the first equine swimming pool in Canterbury at Oakhampton Lodge, Hornby, during the 19205. Mr Bryce, sen., trained six New Zealand Trotting Cup winners during a spectacularly successful training career and Mrs Lalor believed her grandfather’s success was testimony to the beneficial effect swimming could have on horses.

Because of interest among trainers in swimming their horses, the Canterbury branch of the New Zealand Trainers Association is" finalising plans to build a swimming pool for horses at Riccarton racecourse.

The branch secretary of the association. Mr David McCarthy. said many trainers had to travel some distance to use Mr McLachlan’s pool, and although the facilities at Lachlan Lodge were ideal, many trainers felt it would be a great advantage to have a pool at Riccarton Racecourse, where so many trained their horses.

Mr McLachlan had loaned the association the plans used for his pool which, Mr McCarthy said, would mean a considerable saving on the total cost of the pool which he believed would be between $50,000 and $BO,OOO.

The secretary of the Canterbury Jockey Club, Mr Malcolm Aim, said the club would provide the land for the site, probably near the stabling area or adjacent to the public car park.

Mr McCarthy said that although costing for the project was still to be completed, the construction of

the pool would "definitely go ahead" but he had no idea of a possible completion date at this stage. Ideas for fund raising had already been discussed. Some of the ideas were a cabaret to be held during Grand National time; donations

from trainers who would later receive rebates on swimming fees and the possible supply of cut-rate materials for the project from firms which would, in return, have a race named after them at a C.J.C. meeting.