Horse care
PEMF Therapy
This cutting-edge therapeutic has been gaining popularity all over the horse world. Find out what it’s all about.
BY AUDREY PAVIA
My Spanish Mustang gelding, Rio, is pretty stoic; it takes a lot for him to complain. When I realized the saddle he’d been wearing for years no longer fit him properly, it was because he finally let me know. After going down the trail for an hour or so, he’d start twisting his head to the left, almost as if he was looking up at a passing airplane.
Evidence has been found to support PEMF treatment for fractures, pain, wounds and other issues in horses.
ARND
BRONKHORST/WWW.ARND.NL I bought him a new saddle, but he continued the head twisting. That’s when I decided to try PEMF.
PEMF—pulsed electromagnetic field—is a non-invasive therapy that is catching on in both the human and animal worlds. In horses, PEMF is being used to treat hoof and joint issues, tendon and ligament injuries, sore backs, inflammation, gastric ulcers, laminitis, stone bruises and other issues.
HOW IT WORKS
PEMF has been researched since the 1940s, and thousands of studies, clinical trials and research articles have been published on the subject. Some of the studies have shown that PEMF promotes cellular exercise (a strike of energy into the cell causing expansion and contraction of the cell), increases oxygenation, and reduces inflammation.