Wound healing in horses: Equine light therapy

Many horses take part in high-motion strenuous activities, making them prone to leg injury. There are many treatment options available. Among these treatments is equine light therapy, an alternative form of therapy. It comes in handy when a horse is not tolerant of hands-on treatment or if the situation doesn’t call for it. Continue reading to see how it can benefit.

What is equine light therapy?

Equine light therapy is also known as phototherapy or red-light infrared therapy. It is a non-invasive form of treatment that uses science based technology to help with healing wounds or injuries in horses. It works by placing light pads on the affected area, using a combination of visible super luminous light and invisible infra-red light. This treatment effectively targets numerous conditions so the horse heals faster, maximizing performance. 

How it works

Light therapy helps the body heal itself. The energy from the light increases the energy within the cells of the body, which speeds up the healing process. Light therapy is known to increase the production of collagen, which is an essential protein for tissue repair. This makes for happy and healthy horses who haven’t had to go through stressful and invasive recovery treatments. 

Effects of the treatment include stimulating the production of endorphins, the body’s natural painkillers, and increasing the body’s ability to replace damaged cells.

Types of injuries

Light therapy helps to treat concerns such as arthritis pain, bruising, burns, deep muscle problems, inflammation and tight or sore muscles. It works to treat problems affecting the legs and body, and is also effective in canines. The treatment is especially effective for competitive horses and canines who face ankle and hock problems, ligament soreness, splints, aching backs and shoulder pain, to name a few. 

For horses specifically, it helps ease problems with their hooves like abscesses, bone spurs, ringbone and laminitis. It also helps stimulate acupuncture points.

Many horses do a lot of physically demanding activity which can leave their muscles overworked and in need of some extra care.  With equine light therapy, they will receive the best treatment to help them heal faster and grow stronger. Contact me to learn more about the services I provide for animals and humans alike.