A while ago, I went through a rough patch. My body hurt, and my mind was worried. Mom and I were having trouble too. She was tense around me, lacked confidence, and was jumpy. I fed off of her energy and was anxious, spooky, and nippy.
The nipping bothered Mom a lot. She got mad at me when I bit her, which made matters worse. Meanwhile, I could tell she was worried about me. She arranged for a parade of people to visit me. Some people worked on my body, some on my mind, and some on my energy.
One day Mom brought me into the barn, and a short time later, a woman arrived carrying a bunch of stuff. She placed a big dark box on the barn floor near me. I immediately reached my nose out to sniff it. I inspected it, but it didn't smell like anything I recognized and didn't react to my prodding.
Mom and therapist made noises as the stranger took an odd-looking thing out of a bag. She was by my side and raised the object as though she was going to put it on me. Wary of what she was doing, I swung my head around to get a better look as I moved sideways towards Mom and away from the lady. The object looked like something Mom calls a hose, except it was light-colored.
The woman extended her arms and the tubing toward my nose. Curiosity got the best of me, and I touched it with my muzzle. Satisfied that the odd object wasn't dangerous, I tentatively allowed her to put it over my back and shoulders.
The loops of tubing didn't hurt. Instead, I started to relax. I lowered my head, the tension drained from my face, and my eyes softened. I even licked my lips. Mom and the therapist seemed happy with my response.
She proceeded to drape the tubing on me or hold it against different areas of my body. She left it in place for a little while and then moved it to another part of my body.
Meanwhile, she explained to Mom what PEMF therapy was and how it worked. PEMF stands for Pulsed Electromagnetic Fields. There is a unique electrical current that goes through the tubes. It's believed that the current stimulates cell functioning, increases oxygen, and reduces inflammation which helps to relieve pain.
I didn't like the tubing on my neck or pole. I held tension in these areas, and the pulsating that came from the tube bothered me. I moved away or tried to nip the therapist if she placed it on my neck for too long.
The tense parts of my body twitched when the tubing was on them. The woman told Mom that this meant an imbalance in the area or that it was sore. It signaled that I needed more work on these body parts.
I loved how it felt on my haunches. I got very relaxed and sometimes yawned in response to the treatment. Horses yawn or lick and chew to release tension in their bodies. The PEMF treatment helped my right shoulder to feel better too.
Some weeks before the treatment started, I injured it while playing with my friend Mayday. Mayday and I love to rough house. It was a pesky injury. It felt better for a while then it would hurt again. When it was painful, I was lame, and my head bobbed up and down when I moved. After PEMF therapy, I could move more freely and relaxed. Eventually, my shoulder healed.
I was lucky that Mom interpreted behaviors others might consider as bad as signs I was in pain and was willing to try different therapies to help me. Mom told people in the barn that PEMF could help with many equine health issues, such as tendon and ligament injuries, sore backs, sore stifles, chronic hock soreness, sore shoulders, ulcers, stone bruises on our feet, and more.
October 28, 2022
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