A local professional horse woman in my area is looking to grow her Magna Wave PEMF business, and offered a Valentine's Day special for new clients at my barn. I've been pretty fascinated by this particular variation of equestrian body work therapy for a long time, so was eager to get on the list.
starting today's post with a pic of a shetland in the snow. bc obvi haha
Unfortunately, I was a little too slow to sign up at that time, and all her spots filled. I showed up anyway tho to observe one of the treatment sessions. Listening to her describe how the therapy works while simultaneously watching the horse react sealed the deal for me: I definitely wanted to get Charlie in on this!
i legitimately never get tired of these ponies
Originally the plan was to have Charlie's appointment the weekend after he got his hocks done. Ya know, part of that whole "pre season retreat" shebang. The appointment had to be rescheduled tho, and then as you know Charlie stepped on a nail anyway.
So my big beautiful plan of making Charlie feel like $8 million dollars as he came back into work was for naught. Oh well.
meanwhile charlie got to spend some quality time in the aisle letting his feet dry
But I was still eager to get on the list for the rescheduled appointment anyway. And I'm glad I did!
Obvi I'm pretty far from being an expert on this particular therapeutic technology, so if you're interested in more specific details you should check out the website (or ask other folks in your network who have tried it).
a special hat for charlie!
From what I understand, this type of treatment is sorta like massage or acupuncture or stretching or chiro or other physical manipulation type approaches, in that you get the most benefits from doing it regularly. In other words, unless you're treating a specific injury or ailment, it's generally not something to be considered "one and done."
he was low key obsessed with the practitioner's kiddos lol <3
The website tells me that the pulsating magnetic field (or PEMF, with the pulses making the clicking sound on the video) is said to produce one main result: stimulating cell metabolism. This leads to three main effects: increased blood circulation, increased blood oxygen content, and calcium influx in the cells.
These effects are said to be as useful in treating specific injuries as they are in promoting general health and wellness in the horse's muscles and joints.
the whole set up, even with all the tubing, is pretty mobile!
The hyperoxygenation and increased circulation of the blood supposedly lasts for a couple hours. Actually, Charlie got his IV shot of Gent right when we began the treatment and we joked that maybe that was an optimal way to get those antibiotics pumping through his system lol.
apparently the different configurations of the magnetic tubes creates different shapes or directions to the pulses
The practitioner said that it's totally safe to ride the horse immediately after treatment - you could go right on out and run cross country if you were so inclined. In her experience, however, treated horses are generally feeling their absolute best about 3-4 days after the session. So most of her clients plan accordingly when using this treatment as part of their competition prep.
like when she crossed the loops over themselves underneath charlie's neck. like a big magnetic hug haha
She also likes to start introducing various stretches and flexions to her client horses over a period of sessions. I guess as you stimulate certain joints (like, for instance, the SI) during treatment, it becomes easier to remind the horses that they can be flexible in those areas?
So in this way, she really likes using it as a holistic approach for the horses. She also claims that regular and repeated use can help reduce the need for more invasive medical interventions, like injections.
over a period of multiple sessions, this practitioner likes to integrate stretches and flexions into the treatment
So lots of big magical claims about this technology. Depending on who you ask, it's an absolute miracle worker. Personally I'm inclined to buy in to some of the hype (obvi haha, since I bought a session). Partly bc a lot of professional riders that I respect have integrated this treatment into their horse care regimens.
Mostly tho? I bought in bc the first horse I observed very clearly fucking loved every single second of the treatment. Like, the machine is on an automatic timer for safety reasons, and when it clicked off he practically stomped his hoof and nearly grabbed the tube with his teeth to be like, "Moar Please!" lol...
there was even this "zoom" attachment that's apparently perfect for hooves
And to be perfectly honest with y'all, I'm 100% the type of owner who will buy a thing for my horse if it makes *me* feel better. So even if all this does for Charlie is give him a 45 minute spa session, the effects of which are completely gone after a couple days..... Well. Idk. I like it when he's happy haha.
If that ends up being the case tho I'm probably not likely to repeat it as regularly as is recommended tho. Bc money haha.
But if I see improvements in Charlie's overall muscle health, flexibility, and suppleness? Ideally this therapy could be integrated into Charlie's overall wellness plan for the year as a means of hopefully proactively keeping him feeling his best.
All in good time tho, haha, considering homeboy is still lame from the latest nail episode, womp. You'll see in the video tho, we could actually target that hoof with the treatment using a special attachment. Plus apparently this thing is pretty good at zapping abscesses. So fingers crossed there!
Obvi I'll let you know my thoughts more long term, so more to come later. Have any of you tried Magna Wave? I know a lot of you are believers in regular body work like massage and chiro too. Are there other therapies you're dying to try? Or are you kinda skeptical of them, or maybe think they're a mixed bag?
Yessss :) HM has had three PEMF sessions so far (ours isn't the Magna Wave though). She looooves it. The first time she did it, I could barely ride her the next day - her mind was totally blown because her body felt so different to her. The second time, I lunged her and she was absolutely wild - feeling good - so no riding. The third time, I was prepared and didn't even TRY to ride. So of course she lunged perfectly and quietly ;). But I think she's settled into it more now, and figuring out how to function afterwards when her body feels so different/better.
haha that's awesome! i'm super curious about how charlie's going to feel, tho unfortunately he's still on stall rest right now so i'm not going to get my answer this time around. but yea the practitioner had a lot to say about how different horses react afterward, and said that most clients use the first day after as a light day for hacking or whatever
This is on my list for May this year. A boarder in my barn does MagnaWave, and I really want to get May on the schedule. Once we figure out how much benefit she got from the hock injections this weekend, we'll move on to trying other things to see how they make her feel.
that's exciting - hopefully she feels like a million bucks after getting her hocks done anyway. the practitioner made it sound like the pemf treatment can extend the time between injections etc, but obvi i have exactly zero insights into how true that is at this point
I was pretty skeptical of it before hearing similar feedback from people I know aren't dumb, so I tried it for Henry at Holly Hill since the lady was on site for the show. Not sure if I felt any difference, but he did obviously enjoy the session. I'd like to integrate it on a regular, longer term basis, but have yet to discover the location of a money tree that makes all of these fun things possible. I have been meaning to get the lady out again soon, though, so this was a good reminder. I really want one of the PEMF blankets!
oh nice!! in my mind i'd like to make it part of our regular wellness routine but will have to wait a bit longer (until the horse is sound) to decide on that.
re: the money tree, it's funny you mention that bc i actually wrote a post a few weeks ago about cultivating my own little money tree for all my hopes and dreams this year. basically i sat down and took a long hard and honest look at my income vs my expenses (ALL my expenses), and then looked at all the things i wanted to do this year and calculated exactly how much that would cost too. once i knew these numbers, it was just a process of reconciling my spending habits with the reality of my income + the cost of all these things, until everything balanced out. charlie's wellness is a big factor in my goals for the year, so making that money available for this stuff is really reassuring!
My Magna lady recommended weekly treatments to really get the full benefits of it, which would be like... $280 a month. So that's never happening. I'm not sure if once a month would really do anything or not besides make me feel better.
yea that's reasonable. i'm wondering if there's a middle ground that might work for my purposes tho. instead of thinking "once a week" (too expensive) or "once a month" (not optimizing benefits), i'm considering adding it to my routine event prep. for example, doing a session 4 days before a show.
it's all kinda conjecture at this point bc my horse is lame lol, but i guess that's what i'm looking to evaluate.
I want to try this so much, especially since spicy likes to take all his tension and store it in his shoulders/withers, thus making his body ROCK HARD. Seriously, when hes nervous, you cant even push your finger into his muscles.
The chiro really helped with the softness along his topline but I still think he'd benefit from magna wave even more than chiro at this point!
oh you totally should!! also fwiw my vet who did charlie's PPE had recommended massage for him over chiro bc she saw his case as being predominantly muscular vs alignment. my impression is that the PEMF probably falls closer to this category too (tho obvi it's all related, and i could be 100% wrong). so even if you can't find a PEMF practitioner maybe massage would help Spicy too?
I love it for my horses when the $$ is there. For my older TB it is actually more effective than Previcox for his aches and pains. If I had the $$ it would be a no brainer to do monthly or even bi monthly.
oh that's awesome to hear about the comparison to Previcox. again this practitioner was adamant that the treatment could supplement or even replace more pharmaceutical or invasive medical treatments. i'm not a professional and i honestly have very few issues with prescriptions or drugs or injections etc (better living thru chemistry!) but all of these things have inherent risks and supposedly there's a limit to how effective things like injections remain after long term sustained use. so i'm eager to learn more about alternative treatments!
This is where I really wish I boarded. Things are so much easier to try/schedule/afford when you can jump in with an entire barn group. Having them at home kinda makes all these cool things really hard to try. I've done massage and love it. Chiro I don't buy in to (but don't judge those who do) but anything on invasive such as PEMF and Laser therapys etc...I'm always game to try.
yea you're definitely not wrong - there are a lot of opportunities that come hand in hand with simply being in the same physical barn as so many other folks. who knows tho - maybe once you settle into an ideal training situation that works for you, maybe you'll be able to get on the email or notification list for when stuff like this comes to that barn?
yup pretty much!!! knowing that he feels good really helps me, esp in moments that are maybe harder or i feel more nervous. it gives me confidence haha
here's hoping! the nice thing about horses is that they don't experience the same placebo effects that we do, but then again when it comes to evaluating if it's "made a difference" i still have to arrive at that decision through my own perception so.... we'll see haha
I've been so curious about this! As someone who has had the human form of this done, I can totally see how it would feel amazing for the horse. Curious to see how it plays out in the long run if you use it that way.
My friends have a PEMF business so I used to have them do P regularly (2x/month for about a year). Honestly, I never saw a difference in him after sessions, and nothing changed once I discontinued (due to $$$), BUT I also never saw a difference in him after chiro either, so I think P is just sort of a weirdo.
My husband hurt his back at work and my friend did a bunch of PEMF sessions on him daily for a couple weeks and Matt LOVED it. So totally worth it for Husband...but wasted on the horse. C definitely looks like he enjoyed himself!
yea that's kinda how i've felt with charlie and massage, and probably if that's the outcome here i'll also discontinue. tho one thing that i really like about routine massage for charlie is that it's one more professional with eyes and hands on the horse regularly, just one more team member in my first line of defense when anything seems off or goes wrong with charlie.
While I think the magnetic stuff is total bull, I do really think massage and stimulation can go a long way. I know when I had PT on my stubborn right psoa, the therapist "stimulated" the psoa (by pushing on it painfully, holy crap) while I moved it. That did actually cause my body to remember that muscle existed and activate it on its own. I can totally see that working for horses. In fact, I even used to poke Pig in the part of his neck he wasn't using effectively to remind him about it. LOL
lol right?? i was happy to get it up there too bc we suspect charlie has some old scar tissue from hyper extending during surgery intubation. he seemed to like it!
I have zero experience with this other than what I've read on other blogs. The horses do seem to enjoy it, but like you, I'm curious if it does anything beyond that. I was also curious about the Arc Equine, as it's supposed to do something similar with the cells and is a whole lot more affordable. I can't seem to find anyone who's tried it though. Also not sure if it's really whole body... Lots of questions. I tried crowd sourcing but all I got in return was people offering their magna wave servies or telling me to buy the $3000 Bemer blanket. Lol. Nope.
from what i understand about the magna wave, there is recommended pricing from the manufacturer (something like $2/min), but practitioners can do basically whatever they want. the person i used above will cuts a good discount when she's got a list of horses at a single farm. so that could a negotiating tactic.
but yea, to your bigger point, it's kinda hard to research some of this stuff without getting mired in the sticky traps of marketing and sales speak, ugh
lol yea i hear ya. ask two horse people, get three answers. zero of which are actually directly related or within the criteria you asked originally lol......
One of my barnmates is trying to guilt me into getting acupuncture for S so I'm a bit grumpy and not going to try it because I'm a bad person like that. BUT everyone swears by it. I love our regular massage lady who visits. Charlie looks like he loves the magnawave!
wow your barn mate sounds like a real treat haha. like, i'm all about indulging in the occasional gimmick, but i also feel pretty strongly that... *not* buying in is also ok, ya know? like... i'm sure Sophie leads a difficult terrible no good run down life as an unemployed growing baby horse... but probably --- just probably --- she might possibly survive the injustice haha, even (gasp!) without the acupuncture lol
(fwiw i've also done acupuncture on my horses and i DO like it, but they're also just as fine without getting it. c'mon ppl ugh.)
Super interesting! I had never even heard of this! June occasionally gets acupuncture and as someone who loves acupuncture, I feel like it’s a nice addition for the wellness of both of us.
I'll be interested to hear the follow up :) Someone had suggested that I look into craniosacral therapy (CST) for myself, but based on *why* they thought I should I pretty much dismissed it haha. Months later my trainer ended up having a lady out doing CST for several of her horses and after a few sessions I have to say I totally think it can do wonders for some. Not the end-all-be-all of course, but needless to say I'm more open to giving things a chance and if I ever get the opportunity I do want to try CST haha!
Wow there are so many treatments for horses these days! I cannot keep up. This one makes me want to go to the plumbing store, grab from plastic tubes and start raking in the bucks LMAO
Yessss :) HM has had three PEMF sessions so far (ours isn't the Magna Wave though). She looooves it. The first time she did it, I could barely ride her the next day - her mind was totally blown because her body felt so different to her. The second time, I lunged her and she was absolutely wild - feeling good - so no riding. The third time, I was prepared and didn't even TRY to ride. So of course she lunged perfectly and quietly ;). But I think she's settled into it more now, and figuring out how to function afterwards when her body feels so different/better.
ReplyDeletehaha that's awesome! i'm super curious about how charlie's going to feel, tho unfortunately he's still on stall rest right now so i'm not going to get my answer this time around. but yea the practitioner had a lot to say about how different horses react afterward, and said that most clients use the first day after as a light day for hacking or whatever
DeleteThis is on my list for May this year. A boarder in my barn does MagnaWave, and I really want to get May on the schedule. Once we figure out how much benefit she got from the hock injections this weekend, we'll move on to trying other things to see how they make her feel.
ReplyDeletethat's exciting - hopefully she feels like a million bucks after getting her hocks done anyway. the practitioner made it sound like the pemf treatment can extend the time between injections etc, but obvi i have exactly zero insights into how true that is at this point
DeleteI was pretty skeptical of it before hearing similar feedback from people I know aren't dumb, so I tried it for Henry at Holly Hill since the lady was on site for the show. Not sure if I felt any difference, but he did obviously enjoy the session. I'd like to integrate it on a regular, longer term basis, but have yet to discover the location of a money tree that makes all of these fun things possible. I have been meaning to get the lady out again soon, though, so this was a good reminder. I really want one of the PEMF blankets!
ReplyDeleteoh nice!! in my mind i'd like to make it part of our regular wellness routine but will have to wait a bit longer (until the horse is sound) to decide on that.
Deletere: the money tree, it's funny you mention that bc i actually wrote a post a few weeks ago about cultivating my own little money tree for all my hopes and dreams this year. basically i sat down and took a long hard and honest look at my income vs my expenses (ALL my expenses), and then looked at all the things i wanted to do this year and calculated exactly how much that would cost too. once i knew these numbers, it was just a process of reconciling my spending habits with the reality of my income + the cost of all these things, until everything balanced out. charlie's wellness is a big factor in my goals for the year, so making that money available for this stuff is really reassuring!
My Magna lady recommended weekly treatments to really get the full benefits of it, which would be like... $280 a month. So that's never happening. I'm not sure if once a month would really do anything or not besides make me feel better.
Deleteyea that's reasonable. i'm wondering if there's a middle ground that might work for my purposes tho. instead of thinking "once a week" (too expensive) or "once a month" (not optimizing benefits), i'm considering adding it to my routine event prep. for example, doing a session 4 days before a show.
Deleteit's all kinda conjecture at this point bc my horse is lame lol, but i guess that's what i'm looking to evaluate.
I want to try this so much, especially since spicy likes to take all his tension and store it in his shoulders/withers, thus making his body ROCK HARD. Seriously, when hes nervous, you cant even push your finger into his muscles.
ReplyDeleteThe chiro really helped with the softness along his topline but I still think he'd benefit from magna wave even more than chiro at this point!
oh you totally should!! also fwiw my vet who did charlie's PPE had recommended massage for him over chiro bc she saw his case as being predominantly muscular vs alignment. my impression is that the PEMF probably falls closer to this category too (tho obvi it's all related, and i could be 100% wrong). so even if you can't find a PEMF practitioner maybe massage would help Spicy too?
DeleteI love it for my horses when the $$ is there. For my older TB it is actually more effective than Previcox for his aches and pains. If I had the $$ it would be a no brainer to do monthly or even bi monthly.
ReplyDeleteoh that's awesome to hear about the comparison to Previcox. again this practitioner was adamant that the treatment could supplement or even replace more pharmaceutical or invasive medical treatments. i'm not a professional and i honestly have very few issues with prescriptions or drugs or injections etc (better living thru chemistry!) but all of these things have inherent risks and supposedly there's a limit to how effective things like injections remain after long term sustained use. so i'm eager to learn more about alternative treatments!
DeleteThis is where I really wish I boarded. Things are so much easier to try/schedule/afford when you can jump in with an entire barn group. Having them at home kinda makes all these cool things really hard to try. I've done massage and love it. Chiro I don't buy in to (but don't judge those who do) but anything on invasive such as PEMF and Laser therapys etc...I'm always game to try.
ReplyDeleteyea you're definitely not wrong - there are a lot of opportunities that come hand in hand with simply being in the same physical barn as so many other folks. who knows tho - maybe once you settle into an ideal training situation that works for you, maybe you'll be able to get on the email or notification list for when stuff like this comes to that barn?
DeleteI have the same attitude that my horses enjoyed it so much, I will continue to use it based on that alone!
ReplyDeleteyup pretty much!!! knowing that he feels good really helps me, esp in moments that are maybe harder or i feel more nervous. it gives me confidence haha
DeleteThat is very interesting. I can see how it could be helpful.
ReplyDeletehere's hoping! the nice thing about horses is that they don't experience the same placebo effects that we do, but then again when it comes to evaluating if it's "made a difference" i still have to arrive at that decision through my own perception so.... we'll see haha
DeleteI've been so curious about this! As someone who has had the human form of this done, I can totally see how it would feel amazing for the horse. Curious to see how it plays out in the long run if you use it that way.
ReplyDeleteditto! i've known some folks who have used it and feel good about it for themselves, so i'm eager to assess on charlie over time. we'll see!
DeleteI want to try this so bad, but there's no one in my area that does it!
ReplyDeletejust another reason to move back down here ;)
DeleteMy friends have a PEMF business so I used to have them do P regularly (2x/month for about a year). Honestly, I never saw a difference in him after sessions, and nothing changed once I discontinued (due to $$$), BUT I also never saw a difference in him after chiro either, so I think P is just sort of a weirdo.
ReplyDeleteMy husband hurt his back at work and my friend did a bunch of PEMF sessions on him daily for a couple weeks and Matt LOVED it. So totally worth it for Husband...but wasted on the horse. C definitely looks like he enjoyed himself!
yea that's kinda how i've felt with charlie and massage, and probably if that's the outcome here i'll also discontinue. tho one thing that i really like about routine massage for charlie is that it's one more professional with eyes and hands on the horse regularly, just one more team member in my first line of defense when anything seems off or goes wrong with charlie.
DeleteWhile I think the magnetic stuff is total bull, I do really think massage and stimulation can go a long way. I know when I had PT on my stubborn right psoa, the therapist "stimulated" the psoa (by pushing on it painfully, holy crap) while I moved it. That did actually cause my body to remember that muscle existed and activate it on its own. I can totally see that working for horses. In fact, I even used to poke Pig in the part of his neck he wasn't using effectively to remind him about it. LOL
ReplyDeletethe nice thing about being a skeptic is that you never have to buy it!
DeleteI always laugh when I see it go on the head - hilarious hat indeed.
ReplyDeletelol right?? i was happy to get it up there too bc we suspect charlie has some old scar tissue from hyper extending during surgery intubation. he seemed to like it!
DeleteI have zero experience with this other than what I've read on other blogs. The horses do seem to enjoy it, but like you, I'm curious if it does anything beyond that.
ReplyDeleteI was also curious about the Arc Equine, as it's supposed to do something similar with the cells and is a whole lot more affordable. I can't seem to find anyone who's tried it though. Also not sure if it's really whole body... Lots of questions. I tried crowd sourcing but all I got in return was people offering their magna wave servies or telling me to buy the $3000 Bemer blanket. Lol. Nope.
from what i understand about the magna wave, there is recommended pricing from the manufacturer (something like $2/min), but practitioners can do basically whatever they want. the person i used above will cuts a good discount when she's got a list of horses at a single farm. so that could a negotiating tactic.
Deletebut yea, to your bigger point, it's kinda hard to research some of this stuff without getting mired in the sticky traps of marketing and sales speak, ugh
Well yeah, my point was just that they all wanted to sell me something I wasn't asking about. Gotta love horse people.
Deletelol yea i hear ya. ask two horse people, get three answers. zero of which are actually directly related or within the criteria you asked originally lol......
DeleteOne of my barnmates is trying to guilt me into getting acupuncture for S so I'm a bit grumpy and not going to try it because I'm a bad person like that. BUT everyone swears by it. I love our regular massage lady who visits. Charlie looks like he loves the magnawave!
ReplyDeletewow your barn mate sounds like a real treat haha. like, i'm all about indulging in the occasional gimmick, but i also feel pretty strongly that... *not* buying in is also ok, ya know? like... i'm sure Sophie leads a difficult terrible no good run down life as an unemployed growing baby horse... but probably --- just probably --- she might possibly survive the injustice haha, even (gasp!) without the acupuncture lol
Delete(fwiw i've also done acupuncture on my horses and i DO like it, but they're also just as fine without getting it. c'mon ppl ugh.)
Super interesting! I had never even heard of this! June occasionally gets acupuncture and as someone who loves acupuncture, I feel like it’s a nice addition for the wellness of both of us.
ReplyDeleteI'll be interested to hear the follow up :) Someone had suggested that I look into craniosacral therapy (CST) for myself, but based on *why* they thought I should I pretty much dismissed it haha. Months later my trainer ended up having a lady out doing CST for several of her horses and after a few sessions I have to say I totally think it can do wonders for some. Not the end-all-be-all of course, but needless to say I'm more open to giving things a chance and if I ever get the opportunity I do want to try CST haha!
ReplyDeleteWow there are so many treatments for horses these days! I cannot keep up. This one makes me want to go to the plumbing store, grab from plastic tubes and start raking in the bucks LMAO
ReplyDelete