When Christine Cary pulls up to a barn, dogs, horses, and humans often fight and jockey for first place status on her list. Her clients (if horses could talk) call her the relief lady, because she does just that. Cary uses Cold Laser Therapy to help horses, animals and humans overcome many painful, debilitating and frustrating conditions and injuries.

Cary raised Quarter Horses for 25 years and has experienced numerous injuries, conditions and symptoms with many of her horses. In the process, she was always searching for something to help her horses be more comfortable and ease their discomfort or pain. Nine years ago, she partnered with a friend who was a vet tech and started using Cold Laser Therapy. Cary’s innate ability to read a horse, her intuition, and her many years of experience with horses gave her a perfect platform to help fellow horse owners achieve their performance goals, overcome injuries and painful conditions and improve their horse’s over all health.

HEALING HORSES

Sam Hamilton is a client of Carys and was very skeptical in the beginning. She had a mare that had problems with urination. None of the veterinarians she saw knew what to do with her horse, let alone how to help her. She had exhausted all other efforts.

“Christine started working on her and it was the first time I saw any improvement.” Hamilton said. “I was still so skeptical, but she continued to improve. Horses can’t lie.”

She went on to say that she noticed how her horse reacted. The mare would show signs of release by yawning and her eyelids would flutter during and after her treatments.

“The craziest thing was, this mare would get so happy when she would see Christine. You could see this horse react. It was hilarious. She was like, the relief lady is here.”

Crystal Smith’s horse, Gunner, fractured his knee when he was kicked by another horse. Gunner’s whole leg swelled up, and later he started having other soundness issues due to over compensation. After Cary worked on Gunner with the cold laser, she could see the swelling go down immediately. A veterinarian advised Smith that she would never be able to compete with Gunner again. Cary worked regularly on Gunner for months after the injury. Smith and Gunner went on to win Reserve World Champion Lady’s IV in Amarillo, Texas, in the Mounted Shooting World Championship.

Mikki Hand, MD, had just bought Lou, her first horse, a beautiful Andalusian cross mare. The next day Lou got annoyed with a new horse in the pen next to her and got hung up in a gate. The mare completely degloved her right foreleg down to the bone. Everyone at the barn held their breath, wondering if Lou would ever be sound again. The barn owner suggested Cary, and Cold Laser Therapy right away. Hand was skeptical at first, but she realized horses have no placebo response.

“I watched Lou’s reaction to the Cold Laser Therapy and the wound as she held the cold laser over it. The wound edges would pinken up and start to bleed spontaneously. So that meant circulation and the blood was moving,” Hand said. “She has made an amazing recovery. It was at the end of September and I started riding her again around Christmas. It took two to three months of healing for a devastating injury. She’s sound.”

GAINING IN POPULARITY

Cold laser has been around since the 70s but has recently been gaining popularity among horse owners because of its effectiveness. It is safe, painless, and noninvasive. Bush Gardens in Tampa Bay, Fla., uses cold therapy on their animals, and professional athletes have used it for years to speed healing with injuries.

The cold laser is held over the affected area. When the laser is directed towards the tissue the photons produced by the laser are absorbed by the tissue cell causing an increased production of cellular energy. In other words, the light communicates to the cells and stimulates them to heal themselves.

Cold Laser Therapy is excellent to treat these common equine conditions (but not limited to):

• Poorly healing wounds and post-operative incisions

• Arthritis

• Ringbone, navicular pain

• Back soreness and sacroiliac (SI) pain

• Muscle pain, tension and spasms

• Nerve injuries such as Sweeny and radial neuropathy

• Tendon and ligament injuries

• Decrease inflammation

Cold laser achieves these results by:

• Altered electrical activity in cells

• Increases circulation to affected tissue

• Increased lymphatic drainage

• Increased supply of oxygen and other nutrients to diseased tissue

• Increased microcirculation for healing

Cary said that she uses cold laser on horses for pre performance. She said three to four days before an event or competition she has a protocol that works on their joints, back and Myofascial tissue to achieve optimal performance. Cary has also used cold laser to resolve colic by stimulating acupuncture points to help get the gut moving and relieve pain.

Some veterinarians have agreed that proactive Cold Laser Therapy can help prevent injury. Cold Laser Therapy after injury makes scar tissue stronger, lessening chances of reinjury.

Hamilton, Smith, and Hand have all said that they were skeptical in the beginning. They said that veterinarians had exhausted their expertise on their horses and that they didn’t have a lot of options left for their horses. They were all amazed with the healing process and could visually observe the results of the Cold Laser Therapy. They got to enjoy, protect and prolong the quality of life for their horses through Cold Laser Therapy. For horse owners and equine enthusiasts that’s huge. Quality veterinarian care for horses is essential and Cold Laser Therapy is becoming an effective modality for equines as well.

“There’s no better feeling in the world to pull up to a barn and have the horses excited to see me. That’s my favorite part,” Cary said.

For more information on Cold Laser Therapy, contact Cary at (970) 396-7788 or email her at integratedmobility@outlook.com. ❖

— Hall is a freelance writer from Platteville, Colo., when she’s not writing she is riding her horse in the mountains. She can be reached by email at jodylhallno1@yahoo.com.