The management and preparation of competition horses for sport is often the most influential factor in dictating potential for success, and at Irish Olympic show jumper Cian O’Connor’s Karlswood base, no stone is left unturned when it comes to caring for the horses.

Equine hydrotherapist Fiona Argue is the spa barn manager at Karlswood. The facilities available to her include a water treadmill, a hydrotherapy spa, a salt and oxygen room, a solarium and a Vitafloor vibrating floor plate. Fiona spends her days working with the Karlswood and Coolmore show jumping horses to keep them in peak condition throughout the year. This also includes travelling to Florida to work with the horses based there in the Karlswood barn.

How it started

Fiona lives in Portadown, Co Armagh, with her husband Stuart and their 10-month-old son, Ezra. Originally from Co Galway, Fiona has been involved in horses for most of her life.

“I am the only one in the family interested in horses. Mum and Dad aren’t horsey at all My father, Joe, is an allergy and nutrition doctor, and my mother, Aoife, is a medical secretary. My older sister Aisling is a senior occupational therapist specialising in brain injury, my younger brother Brian has a masters in Biomedical Engineering, and my younger sister Caoimhe studied Biopharmaceutical Science,” says Fiona.

“They are all hugely academic, and I am not. I am blessed that my family have always celebrated me for my unique strengths, as it wasn’t easy growing up as the family’s black sheep, academically speaking.”

Fiona started riding lessons when she was three. In time, she began helping at the stables, and her love for horses grew. Although her heart was set on working with horses, her parents wanted Fiona to put her education first. She enrolled for the Bachelor of Science course in Equine Management at CAFRE Enniskillen but took a year out before starting college.

Keen to buy her own horse, Fiona spent her gap year working three jobs every day and saving every penny she could. A quick Google search for suitable breeds for event horses resulted in Fiona travelling to Germany to buy a rather spirited, very tall five-year-old Hanoverian gelding called ‘Westi’.

“Westi taught me everything that I know about horsemanship skills. He was rude, and he took advantage of me absolutely,” laughs Fiona. “What I didn’t realise was that Westi would pave the way for the rest of my life. I got to take him to England, where I was a working pupil for international riders Sarah Bullimore and Aoife Clarke, and he gave me my first Eventing Ireland win at the Camphire event.”

“Westi then began to struggle with hind-end lameness. I worked with vets, physios and chiropractors and did all of the recommended rehabilitation, but to no avail. In my final year at college, I came across some information about equine hydrotherapy, and I thought it could help Westi. However, there was nowhere in Ireland offering anything like that.”

Working in racing and eventing gave Fiona a good insight into the type of strains and injuries horses can pick up and, having struggled through assorted rehabilitation programmes with Westi, Fiona realised that both horses and owners could benefit from a specialist rehabilitation centre facility. Along with business partners, Fiona set up the Irish Equine Rehabilitation and Fitness Centre in Lisburn, where she worked as a manager.

“It was busy immediately, and we had so many incredible results. It was really exciting.”

Duck to water

Meanwhile, Westi had improved enough to return to low-level exercise. Fiona decided to try her hand at vaulting, having been an avid gymnast for much of her life. Westi was not the obvious choice as a vaulting horse, but he took to his new job like a duck to water. Fiona became the coach for Summit Equestrian Vaulting Northern Ireland, culminating in a podium finish at the British vaulting championships.

Fiona’s career as an equine hydrotherapist progressed to her becoming the research and training manager for the ECB Equine Spa company. Now, alongside her work at Karlswood, she is a board member of the Institute of Equine Hydrotherapists (IEH), a subgroup of the Institute of Registered Veterinary and Animal Physiotherapy. The IEH was formed to regulate the hydrotherapy industry and to maintain standards of professionalism and clinical proficiency.

Fiona continues to enjoy eventing, and she is looking forward to the season ahead with her current horse, Ivy, bought from Vina Buller. “I’m excited about her. She is probably the kindest horse I have had. She feels as if she is on my team.”

The upcoming return of the Karlswood horses from Florida will signify the start of a hectic summer competition season for Fiona, but she can’t wait. “I am so lucky to love what I do, and with every year that passes, I love it even more!”