One of the most popular pleasures of having a horse is to ride, whether for leisure or competition. Riding provides horses with exercise. As we know from exercising ourselves, a hearty workout can leave you tired and in need of recovery to continue with daily activities. Warm-ups help us to mitigate muscle strain and avoid injury. The same concept applies to PEMF. But which is better? PEMF before or after exercise?
PEMF Before A Ride
When pulsing before a ride, keep in mind that PEMF is cellular exercise. Animals, just like humans, can detox after a PEMF session, resulting in some sleepiness. Learning how to spot animal detoxification and what to do can be helpful. If you are going to pulse before riding and have not consistently applied PEMF with the animal previously, pulse at a low intensity for their first session. Take notes regarding the horse’s response. As with any PEMF session, keep your goals in mind—both for PEMF and the ride.
Since PEMF promotes general relaxation,[4,5] horses may become more relaxed and sleepy during a session. This effect does not instantly disappear when the machine turns off, so there may be a period of sluggishness post-session. While there are no physical limitations to Pulsing prior to a ride, it is important to make sure the horse is in the right mental state for a training session. Every animal is different, but in general, horses “come down” from their session in 1-3 hours.
For those who reside in colder climates, it is a challenge to properly warmup and cool down your horses after each ride. Using PEMF before the ride can increase circulation and help to loosen the muscles[7,8] without putting strain on the respiratory system.
PEMF After A Ride
PEMF may also assist with muscle fatigue and discomfort after exercise [3] and support general relaxation. [4,5] Horses in training experience long-term and short-term effects of exercise similar to humans. Workouts result in a natural inflammatory response, lactic acid build up, and fatigue. When you pulse after hard work, PEMF stimulates the cells that have been depleted of energy and filled with waste products, allowing them to operate at their normal capacity. This allows the body to recuperate naturally. [1] A session post ride may help those muscles to relax and recover.
You can customize PEMF sessions to cater to the horse’s needs. Always start with a whole body session and then turn your attention to focus areas that need additional support. Keep in mind the discipline of the horse affects the areas that naturally take on added stress. Whether you use PEMF before or after a ride, PEMF can support your horse’s riding and training endeavors.
[1,4,5,7,8] To locate the citations referenced here, please visit info.pulsepemf.com/research.
