You are such an asset to this forum, Em. 
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Separate and apart from this horse or neuro conditions, I am surprised anyone just throws on the Equicore and is off to the races. I love the thing, and I used it effectively to rehab a horse post kissing spines surgery. EVERYONE in my barn then bought one. They’re used religiously by us.
BUT it’s a learning process getting the horse used to the feel. The company that makes the Equicore tells you to work up slowly to actually exercising the horse in it-- first just walking so the horse gets used to the feel of it loose, then working up to walking in full adjustment, etc.
AND… goddamn… it’s HARD WORK. We only use it a couple times a week and see big differences in the horses, but it would make them really sour and sore if we used it 5/6 days a week (especially with no wean up period). They really do WORK HARDER with it on. You could put me blindfolded on my horse and I could tell from 3 steps of walk if he had it on or not, he has to work harder through his whole body when he’s in the Equicore.
It’s TERRIFIC tool. I recommend it wholeheartedly for horses with issues and horses without. But I can’t imagine just throwing it on and then it becomes a daily thing. It’s not just a pretty ear hat or some trendy pair of brushing boots… it has an effect on the horse’s body and it takes some getting used to and ups the ante physically.
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See, it’s these two somewhat contradictory statements that worry some of us.
It’s great that you are following your vet’s instructions and of course we don’t know you or your horse IRL. We can only offer observations and suggestions based on the information that you have provided us. The info you have provided - inconclusive EPM blood work, muscle wasting, inconsistent neuro-like symptoms, yet recommendations to go into “bootcamp” like work just all seems a little inconsistent. And it very well may be that your definition of some of these terms/conditions are not what some others, myself included, think of when those terms are used.
We all really do want the best for both you and your horse.
Please tell me this is your old barn/training situation. A trainer telling you that “it’s this horse or you’re on your own” with a horse that you were obviously not comfortable is a huge red flag. You’re paying a trainer to be your advocate, not bully you into a situation where you got hurt.
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I love my Bemer.
I bought it last summer and have used it on a variety of horses with a lot of success.
I personally use mine before my rides with the most positive results. I think it really jump starts my warm ups. At shows I also see a significant benefit. One of the best things is that the Bemer is kind of idiot proof. It is really hard to misuse the set imo.
I love mine so much I decided to be a distributor. If you have any questions I would be happy to help you!
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Ya, that was the old barn situation. I also am not the best with describing some of what is happening but, I appreciate that you want what’s best and believe me when I say that my vet has an internal medicine specialist and further diagnostics lined up following findings on his two week check up.
While the Equicore people do say to build up the length of time that you work the horse in it gradually, they also tell you to use it daily for up to 3 months to build the horse’s core strength and then drop down to 1-2 days/week for maintenance. I don’t think the OP said how long her Equiband sessions are, but using it daily from the start isn’t actually a red flag as long as they are short sessions.
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That’s what I am doing, short walk and trot only for about 20 min and that’s what he gets for the day with it. It’s not super intensive bootcamp, I used that term because we are focusing on his strength and muscle more so than just my riding him. First we lunged him, just walking in it and then got on and just walked in it for like 15 min on a loose setting and we are gradually building him up in it, still looseish and gradually incorporating more and longer trot. Thanks for clarifying!
hi, could you discuss this more with me over PM?
In your updates you were thinking about switching feeds for more amino acids, if you don’t want to do that, Uckele Tri Amino is a good supp, supplying the 3 baseline amino acids.
I have a very easy keeping Fjord who does a very hard job (comb. driving) and building appropriate muscle while feeding grass hay and a cup of ration balancer is my daily struggle. Elevate E and Tri Amino are my baseline supps.
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thanks for that insight!! The vet and all has been kinda crazy and we dont seem to be getting anywhere.
I’ve been down that road before and it’s painful, but I’m also familiar with sports medicine in horses. Unfortunately it often comes down to trial and error/process of elimination for the vets. That doesn’t mean the vet is not capable, but rather that horses can’t tell us what’s wrong, we don’t have extensive diagnostic machinery like we do in humans, and riders are sometimes very imperfect evaluators of problems, primarily because in these really tough cases you get a lot of compensatory lameness/change in gait. It can take a long time to work your way back through all the problems that arise from the core problem, and then even then the core problem dx can remain challenging.
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ya, and I guess that is the route we took with process of elimination. We did the Marquis for EPM and he finished that yesterday. I may start a new thread on this, I just really would like some insight from others about this that is more recent following treatment and veterinary analysis.
Hopefully I am not derailing OP’s thread too much: can you explain what you see here? I understand it’s in slo-mo but honestly as horses don’t move in slo-mo I’m having a hard time knowing what I’m looking at. Horses in slo-mo videos look irregular no matter what.
On the subject of PEMF, I found it incredibly helpful post-fracture.
My gelding fractured his nasofrontal bone straight across right at the start of the Pandemic. He had a nasty fracture callus from the injury, and oral/topical NSAIDS weren’t making a dent. Since PEMF has shown good results in human studies for non-union fractures, we gave it a go. By the time the barn re-opened to boarders, you could barely tell he’d done a number on himself.
Mid-stage/during treatment:
After (sad about eye wash for the buttercup petal in his eye):
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That’s easy. Watch the steps and count 1-2-1-2. Watch what the foot does.
You should be able to see what happens. If not, send me a PM I am more than happy to go over it.
Em
Sometimes it doesn’t take them being in heavy work/real career to get compensatory problems. Everyday they walk around for almost 24 hours, so that gives them 24 hours a day to adapt their gaits to the discomfort. That in turn leads to 24 hours a day developing incorrect muscling and carriage, which in turn compounds the problem as they go on. So the downside of this is everything inexorably marches toward the same conclusion, just not nearly as quickly as when they are in hard work!
I know this thread went way into other things, but responding to the original part re PEMF, here is my tiny random sample of 1 experience.
My horse tore her hamstring and has been rehabbing. We started with daily laser treatment and accupuncture. Once we had to give the laser back to the vet (its cord broke), he suggested PEMF. he had an older one we could rent by the week and he suggested we do her back, stifle, and hamstring before riding her daily (she sometimes gets a sore back and had a bone chip removed from under her kneecap in June),
The machine looks like its from the dark ages, a big O that you hold up and wand around your horse. Of course I had to experiment on myself and my husband before I tried it on my horse. It was really wierd. Over areas of my (and his) back that weren’t sore you couldn’t feel much, but over sore areas it really could make your muscle contract. It never hurt but if you got too close over a sore spot (even when I put it right on his butt cheek – over his shorts mind you) spasmed so much it was uncomfortable and just creepy feeling.
So i did it on my horse. At the right distance she is very happy and chews and relaxes; you can see mild or no muscle spasm. When I get too close you can see the bigger spasm and she moves away from it. It’s pretty quick to realize the latter and I’ve gotten better over time; plus I am never putting it on her like I did to my husband…
Anyhow, I think it’s helped her. It promotes circulation and oxygenation. Is it a panacea to serious injuries? No. Can it help with muscle soreness and bruising, I definitely think so.
A lady in our barn has the Bemer, which is just a lower level of the PEMF machine the vet has. Again, I think it probably feels good and is akin to a light massage/stretching before and after rides, which can only be good. I plan to have my horse Bemed a few times a week before rides once I give the big PEMF back at the beginning of next week.
ETA: both my husband and I felt like our backs felt noticeably better after the PEMF the next day. He keeps wanting me to bring it back home but it’s case weighs about 60lbs…
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I’ve seen a horse with substantial neck arthritis found on a PPE, that we passed on, even though he was lovely at the time, and that horse’s career with the person who did buy him was vastly shortened by the neck arthritis.
There was also a horse in our barn who got a neck injury in the pasture that turned into arthritis due to the injury that was never able to be ridden again.
With the new neck diagnosis it makes sense that you are sometimes seeing neuro issues. There may be some treatments to help slow the progression, but arthritis is what it is - just ask any human who has it. You can help slow it, you can make yourself more comfortable, but it is not “curable”.
OP - were I you - the neck is where I would focus my attention right now. I don’t have a specific vet suggestion, but see if you can find one via google or word of mouth who is working on neck issues. You may be able to get a virtual consult if you find someone not local to you. So much can be affected from a neck injury or condition that it may be the root of many of your issues.
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I will definitely be looking into the neck more, it seems to be a very influential site as far as the function of the entire body goes and I am curious as I had two very different diagnosis of it and I want to get a concrete answer. Thanks for your insight!!
I’m happy to answer questions, pm or otherwise. Based on your other thread, your vet used pathogens for testing. How reliable they are is debated.
Once you get to a referral hospital they may want to retest for epm.
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