A hot walker is a person or a machine who walks race horses right after they finish a race to help them cool down. Race horses, like humans, need to gradually cool down after their workouts. Stopping running or other strenuous exercise abruptly can cause poor blood circulation, which can put the body into shock. After intense exercise, it usually only takes five minutes to get the heart, breath, and blood flowing normally again. To keep the horses interested rather than bored, both human and mechanical hot walkers should vary the speed and direction in which they walk for their cool down.
For those who want to be a hot walker, formal education and training is rarely offered or required. Instead, aspiring hot walkers should report to the main gate at racetracks, which is a fairly common way to get this type of work. Horse owners may require someone who is capable of hot walking. For hot walkers, being at ease around horses is a must-have quality. People who provide hot walking services should always act with the horse’s safety and well-being in mind.
A hot walker is someone who lives near a horse race track. He or she is usually passionate about horses and has worked with them on farms or other properties with stables. For aspiring hot walkers, the ability to direct and care for horses while maintaining their safety at all times is critical. Stable hands who want to work as hot walkers in horse stables may have to do a few volunteer hot walks before getting paid work references.
The design of automated hot walking machines varies. Their basic structure is made up of a central base section with rotating spokes that give them a carousel-like appearance. The spokes can be angled upward or downward. Each spoke has a rope attached to one horse’s halter, allowing it to walk in a circle at a comfortable length.
Many automated hot walkers can be set to change directions so that horses do not become bored walking in circles. Some of these hot walking machines have speed settings that allow the horse’s cool down walk to be varied. Hot walking machines come in a variety of styles, from basic to deluxe. In the event of rain, models with a roof are designed to keep horses dry. An automated hot walker’s capacity ranges from two to eight horses, and in some cases, even more.