TENS for horses?

[dungrulla]

Hey all!

So I bought myself a portable TENS unit and find it is immensely helpful for pain relief as well as helping to restore muscle function in muscles that aren’t pulling their weight.

It’s a small unit with 9 modes (all adjustable in intensity) that was sold as ‘not a TENS machine’ even though it definitely is a TENS machine.

Is this safe to use on my horse, and has anyone had experience using one on horses? I was thinking of hooking it up to his topline/glutes on the days those are sore but I obviously won’t do this if it’s not safe! After all the machine was bought for me, not him.

Thoughts?

[Ghazzu]

The late Tom Ivers used to advocate their use for rehabbing bowed tendons.
Electroacupuncture is commonly used in horses, as well.

If you decide to try it, be careful to raise the intensity very slowly, so you don’t startle the horse.

[IPEsq]

Yes my equine massage therapist many years ago used a physical therapy grade e-stim unit. Had electrode pass that were larger for horses. The recommended settings for horses in terms of strength of the zaps is way less than you would use on yourself. Such as, if I was having a really bad time, I could crank the thing up to level 9 on my traps and hardly get a twitch. For the horses, we stayed at level 3 and under.

[csaper58]

The units I’m familiar with use a gel to facilitate electrical conductivity. Does your unit use a gel? Can that work with the hair coat?

Remember to have horse untied when you begin, the sensation can be startling to the horse the first few times.

I for one would love to know if it is a success for your horse. TIA.

[Calamber]

If you have a FB account I can connect you with a woman who has been working in this field for about 20 years. She can help you.

[IPEsq]

[QUOTE=csaper58;8344854]
The units I’m familiar with use a gel to facilitate electrical conductivity. Does your unit use a gel? Can that work with the hair coat?

Remember to have horse untied when you begin, the sensation can be startling to the horse the first few times.

I for one would love to know if it is a success for your horse. TIA.[/QUOTE]

Yes the large electrode pads plus ultrasound gel does work with horse hair

[Flash44]

I used it on horses decades ago, they LOVE having their backs done!!!

[faybe]

Second turning the intensity up veryyy slowly. I do a lot of electroacupuncture and my patients’ reactions are very variable. Some are also fine at a certain level until they decide they’re done, so never leave your horse unattended with the unit on.

If you don’t have a unit that uses gel conduction (or potentially even if you do) you will probably have trouble getting enough contact for the unit to be effective, because of all the hair.

[dungrulla]

[QUOTE=Calamber;8344870]
If you have a FB account I can connect you with a woman who has been working in this field for about 20 years. She can help you.[/QUOTE]

I do, I’ll PM you.

[SuckerForHorses]

dungrulla, which TENS unit did you get for yourself? I’ve been browsing after the e-stim at the chiropractor has been helping my neck, but don’t want to have to go several times a week just to get e-stim done!

[dungrulla]

I got the hidow pro. It’s no miracle worker and it’s most definitely still a TENS unit (even though they advertise otherwise) as all ‘e-stim’ units are. Works pretty good for a few hours at a time though.

[Ghazzu]

@faybe;8345043

Second turning the intensity up veryyy slowly. I do a lot of electroacupuncture and my patients’ reactions are very variable. Some are also fine at a certain level until they decide they’re done, so never leave your horse unattended with the unit on.

I occasionally use my EAP unit with a pair of sponge electrodes on my neck, and the intensity that i comfortable for me would send my equine patients through the roof.

[Texarkana]

Not to hijack, but how is TENS different than PEMF? From my rudimentary understanding, TENS delivers small shocks while PEMF just “pulses,” but the line seems blurry to me.

[PNWjumper]

I have this unit (not a TENS because it works on a different wavelength, I think, I call it a microcurrent unit):

https://therapyproducts.net/proddetail.php?prod=BV-Pro-kit

It’s expensive, but it has made huge positive differences for both my horses and myself. I bought it after watching one of my body workers use it on a couple of my horses with very obvious positive results. I most often use it on my horses at shows after big classes. I also use it at home if trying to work on a particular area (e.g. one horse gets tight through his SI area/pelvis and this gets him stretching, licking, and chewing). I can also pinpoint where a horse is tight before my vet/chiro comes out because it’s so apparent with this unit where the muscles are spasming (not that my vet needs the direction, but it’s interesting to me!).

I also use it on my back at shows. My TB in particular used to really fling his body over fences and it tended to lead to a sore back and neck for me. I started using my bestvet and stopped having to live on tylenol/ibuprofen at shows.

A couple of other points - I don’t think you need to use gel on an animal with fur. With my unit I get my guy wet and that’s enough. I also have an attachment that looks like a little hairbrush with prongs that works well on fur. When I use it on myself I use those sticky gel pads you can buy (rather than having to use gel).

But as others have mentioned, the difference between intensity of a horse versus a human is massive, and not in the way I expected. With my bestvet there are 4 or 5 setting levels with 10 levels between each of those - so 1-50 clicks, give or take. I use it on 2 clicks for my horses (and even then have to turn it down to 1 sometimes), which doesn’t even register on the first setting level. When I’m using it on a horse I can’t even feel the pulses. When I use it on myself I’m usually up at the 45-50 click level.

[dungrulla]

I HAD heard that horses are way more sensitive to electrocurrent than people, mostly in regards to an article concerning using e-collars on horses (which to me seems like a terrible idea but…).

I sort of wonder if the Hidow will have too much output…

[Calamber]

In terms of the difference between PEMF and TENS, the PEMF is “pulsed electromagnetic frequency” and the TENS are electric frequencies. It is the difference in the type of wave frequencies, a little more complex than that but TENS is primarily used to deaden actively firing nerve endings which causes muscle spasms, usually a part of the muscle spasms issue. PEMF has now also been approved for use in certain types of cancer treatments and treats a wider array of bone, joint, and muscle injuries. Here is some useful info on TENS use in humans. http://www.supportelectrotherapy.com/clinical-q--a/tens-frequency-pulse-width-amplitude-oh-my

[cleozowner]

If you find an appropriately trained vet/acupuncturist, they should be able to help you out with electroacupuncture. I am a dog/cat vet and therefore have only trained in small animal acupuncture, but I would love to get the training to work on my horse someday.

[faybe]

[QUOTE=cleozowner;8346421]
If you find an appropriately trained vet/acupuncturist, they should be able to help you out with electroacupuncture. I am a dog/cat vet and therefore have only trained in small animal acupuncture, but I would love to get the training to work on my horse someday.[/QUOTE]

cleozowner where in PA are you? I’m in SE PA, Chester/Bucks Co.- I’m an equine vet and do EAP, but have had a few clients ask if I know anyone that does small animal…

[alteringwego]

I have a tens unit that I use on myself at home. What type of pads and gel do I need to buy to be able to use it on my horse?

[Jeannette_formerly_ponygyrl]

I used mine on a pony rehabbing a check ligament some years ago. Same electrodes and gel, then I put a pole wrap over top and clipped the unit to it once I had the level right. Hand grazing during the sessions helped his acceptance of the feeling.