PEMF for Horses: Benefits, Precautions, Devices

PEMF therapy has a wide range of applications, and brings numerous health benefits to those who use it.

It can cure or alleviate many physical health conditions, but its power does not stop there.

PEMF also affects our mind, and our psychological state.

And these health benefits are not only reserved for people.

Because PEMF therapy targets cells, and works on their basic level, it is also useful for plants, pets, and horses.

Racing horses especially are very prone to injuries because of the strenuous physical activity that their body undergoes before and during every race.

Because of that, many horse keepers use different PEMF devices to treat these injuries and maintain and restore the health of their beloved animals.

Before you can reap the benefits for yourself and your horses, there are several tips that you should consider when applying pulsed electromagnetic fields.

If you are aware of these facts, you will have a much higher chance of experiencing all of the advantages of using PEMF therapy for treating your health conditions.

 

PEMF Therapy Facts

PEMF therapy comes in different forms. It can be of different frequencies, different intensities, and a different duration.

While all of these forms are beneficial, not all of them are equally beneficial for everyone, or for all health conditions.

Here are several rules of thumb for what we know so far about best PEMF therapy practices:

• Low frequencies are ideal. While some PEMF devices can put out very high frequencies of electromagnetic pulses, these are not necessary for our cells. What is more, high frequencies can be harmful. All living beings are part of nature, so we should act in accordance with this fact. We know that the earth resonates at very low frequencies, between 0-30 Hz, so these are typically the most beneficial frequencies to help our cells regenerate and grow.
• Circadian rhythm is important. As mentioned, we are part of nature, and nature has its own circadian rhythm. The Earth’s frequencies are higher in the morning and lower at night. Therefore, we should use low frequencies before sleep and high frequencies when we wake up for best results. This will allow us to have better quality sleep, and wake up more easily in the morning.
• Our cells are very sensitive to electromagnetic fields. When it comes to PEMF, more is definitely not better. Our cells are very good at picking up electromagnetic fields, and they are responsive to even the lowest amounts. Therefore, frequencies and intensities that are too high will not do good to our cells in most cases, but quite the opposite.
• The perfect frequency, intensity, or device does not exist. All living beings are different, and their health conditions and needs differ, as well. Therefore, we cannot say that there is a one-size-fits-all solution when it comes to PEMF. Some people and animals respond better to low frequency, and others to high. Therefore, we should be careful when choosing the ideal machine for ourselves and our needs.

 

PEMF Therapy Benefits

If you pay attention to the information that we mentioned above and follow these tips, you are guaranteed to feel the benefits of PEMF even after a very short period of using it.

No matter whether you use PEMF for your own health benefits, or for your pets or horses, if you do it the right way, an improvement in health condition will come.

Take a look at some of the most common health benefits of PEMF that we know of so far.

 

Improved Overall Health

Everybody is exposed to daily doses of stress, and both physical and psychological micro-injuries that accumulate over time and lead to serious consequences.

Because we experience these harmful influences daily, we should learn how to cope with them regularly, as well.

By incorporating PEMF therapy into our daily lives and applying it on a regular basis, we will be able better to fight the negative effects of these harmful external factors.

If we allow our cells to be born into a healthy environment, we make sure that they will be healthy and function properly for a long time, as well.

 

Improved Blood Flow

This is one of the most important effects of PEMF on our body, because it leads to a chain reaction of other positive health effects.

PEMF therapy affects both our red blood cells and our blood vessels’ walls in order to improve our blood flow.

It restores the charge of our red blood cells, and stops them from sticking together so that they can travel through the blood vessels more freely.

On the other hand, it also causes vasodilatation, which increases the amount of blood that reaches different organs and parts of our body.

This allows them to heal themselves with the help of fresh blood. (1)

 

PEMF Relieves Depression

Unfortunately, using antidepressants to treat depression is a shot in the dark.

Not only that, but for a significant percentage of people they do not work, and may in fact worsen their depression.

As statistics show, antidepressants do not work for 30% of patients.

On the other hand, PEMF has no side effects, and can be freely used by all patients as a new source of hope for those who do not respond to primary medication.

PEMF therapy should not be used as a primary treatment and a substitute for antidepressants, but more as a powerful ally.

Studies show that this combination of antidepressants and PEMF treatment has the most benefits for patients with depression. (2, 3)

 

Relieves Pain

Pain relief is another very important health benefit that is backed by many studies.

When first used to treat pain, PEMF therapy can cause slight discomfort, and sometimes even an increase in pain.

This is because PEMFs work to heal the affected nerves and improve their function, so that they become more responsive.

However, these discomforts usually disappear very soon.

Therefore, PEMF is a strong alternative to the traditional painkillers that have a huge number of side effects, are sometimes ineffective, and often form habits that are hard to break.

A study completed in 1993 proved that even a short exposure to PEMFs results in a clear reduction in pain. (4)

 

Relieves Symptoms of Arthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis is a very common disease among humans, causing joint pain and swelling, and having a strong impact on the overall quality of life of those who suffer from this disease.

Modern medicine does not provide good methods of coping with this disease, so patients are often left hopeless, and have to turn to alternative treatments unsupported by science.

Luckily, a 1998 study completed in India showed that PEMF can be a powerful tool to alleviate symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis, and to provide a new source of treatment to these patients. (5)

 

Improves Range of Motion

Everyone who has ever suffered from stiff and ‘cold’ muscles knows how hard that is, and how hard it is to continue with basic daily activities.

These symptoms are even worse for those suffering from cervical osteoarthritis.

These patients often lose a lot of their mobility, and sometimes even become bedridden.

Luckily, a study published in Clinical Rheumatology shows that PEMF therapy has a positive effect on this condition, and is able to improve these patients’ range of motion.

The results show that muscle spasms and muscle pains were alleviated, as well. (6)

 

PEMF for Horses

Everybody who has ever gone on a long walk or run has felt the pain that ensues afterward.

Your muscles ache, your joints might become stiff, and you just feel beat up.

This all becomes a lot worse the day after, if you are prone to arthritis.

And when you take your horse on a long session, you should understand that it feels even worse, afterward.

Not only does the horse have to work hard and perform complicated movements, but it also has to carry a rider on its back.

All this continuous hard work carries a high risk of joint pain, sprains, muscle strains, and other injuries that can add up and affect the horse’s performance and overall health.

That is why it is not at all uncommon nowadays to see PEMF systems at horse shows treating the horses between sessions.

Most commonly, these PEMF devices are used to treat stifles, the back, legs, feet, and hocks, as these are the places where horses become injured most easily.

 

Why is PEMF Therapy So Beneficial for Horses?

PEMF therapy is not a new way of treatment in the equine community, but its health benefits have been recognized for a long time.

The first time that it was used was in the seventies when horse owners applied it to heal bone fractures in horses.

Later, in 1979, the FDA approved its use for the treatment of nonunion fractures.

Even though we often consider them as pets and love them as such, horses usually face bigger challenges than cats and dogs do.

That is why PEMF therapy has become so important for horses. By using PEMF we promote relaxation of muscles before a training session or competition.

It should be clarified that PEMF therapy works in such a way that it does not heal a health condition itself, but it helps the body strengthen its own healing capacity.

Horses already have a greater ability to self-heal than humans do.

That is why PEMF is an even better ally for them, compared to us.

 

What are the Health Effects of PEMF on Horses?

The range of injuries that our horses experience is unfortunately very wide, because we do not keep them in their natural environment.

If they were living in the wild, they would only rarely put as much strain on themselves as we do, but when we train them for races or shows they have to work much harder much more often.

Because of this, using PEMF on horses has a wide range of benefits.

• Improved rehabilitation after injury
• Enhanced confidence before a performance
• Reduced recovery time after surgery
• Improved muscle recovery after practice
• Reduced anxiety while traveling
• Better overall health
• Better tensile strength

Moreover, there are many common injuries from which racehorses and show horses suffer that can be treated with PEMF. These are the most common ones:

• Sore muscles
• Bone bruise
• Inflamed joints
• Suspensory ligament injuries
• Deep digital flexor tendon damage
• Desmitis
• Laminitis

 

Is PEMF Treatment Painful or Stressful for a Horse?

Many primary types of treatment of horse injuries involve some kind of stress for the horse, be it medication shots, chiro therapy, painful massages, surgery, or other invasive forms of treatment.

And for many of these treatments, the horse needs to travel to an institution, which causes it even more stress, and can possibly worsen its condition.

However, the beauty of PEMF treatment is that it is completely non-invasive and non-stressful, and no sedation is necessary.

All that needs to be done is that a PEMF blanket, mat, pad, or other device needs to be placed on the horse, and the treatment can begin.

 

Common PEMF Therapy Devices for Horses

PEMF treatment has been used to treat horses for quite a long time, so there have been many improvements in the ways it is administered.

Nowadays, we have many devices on the market that are specifically designed to fit every need of a horse.

The most common are:

• PEMF blanket for back
• PEMF wrap for neck
• PEMF band for shoulders
• PEMF wraps for legs
• PEMF rings
• PEMF loops

All of these PEMF devices come with straps that are used to secure the device on the horse for better application of PEMF therapy.

Typically, these devices have much stronger frequencies and intensities than the PEMF devices used by humans.

This is because horses’ cells are much stronger than ours, and can hold a much stronger charge than ours can.

However, these high frequencies and intensities are not harmful to us, because their strength drops substantially as we move further away from the device.

Therefore, you can freely administer the PEMF therapy yourself, helping your horse to stay in top-notch health and achieve good results consistently.