Keeping your horse in action or getting him sound and back into battle: twin goals of just about everyone who works with competition horses or who spends a chunk of time playing with their pleasure horses. Consequently, an entire industry of physical therapy devices has emerged, promising to help heal your horse’s sore muscles, mend hard- or soft-tissue injuries, or soothe acute or chronic lameness conditions.

The best person to help you prevent and treat injuries in your athletic horse is your veterinarian. He or she might recommend a variety of approaches best suited to your horse, situation, and particular injury or discipline.

Below we will describe several of the modalities used by veterinarians or other professionals working under the guidance of a veterinarian, and we’ll help you understand what they are "supposed" to do. Remember, just because a manufacturer advertises its product is capable of doing a particular thing, that doesn’t mean there is scientific proof of that claim. Always seek the advice of your veterinarian