Help or Hooey: Magnawave

[HuntinQuarters]

Background: I have a gelding that has been exhibiting body soreness for the last 6-8 months. My vet, chiro, and saddle fitter all checked him out, and with no obvious lameness (just back muscle soreness) we couldn’t find the source of the issue. We treated symptoms, but couldn’t find the root cause for many months. We have finally discovered that the issue comes from mild arthritic changes in the stifles. The horse is being treated for that under the full guidance of an experienced equine vet.

Here’s the question. Several boarders in my barn have suggested using Magnawave therapy to help the horse recover from his muscle soreness more quickly now that the root cause has been treated. What do you all have to say about the effectiveness of Magnawave? Is it beneficial or a snake oil money pit?

[bellboots]

My experience with Magnawave has been positive. I have used it my horse at longer shows and it seems to help with overall body soreness, especially when turnout is not an option. In my personal experience, I have used it when I’ve had body soreness and headaches, and both have improved rather quickly. Like most any treatment, I think it varies from one creature to another.

[IPEsq]

It did not do anything for my horse’s sore back. He was getting it at least a couple times a week during rehab (for an unrelated issue), because it was included in the rehab board package. I had them use it on his back versus the injured area, because his back was the biggest issue as we tried to get him back into shape. It didn’t really do anything much for him, and I wound up using cold laser and acupuncture more instead.