Red and near-infrared light therapy has become increasingly visible within equine rehabilitation, performance and general horse care.

The principle behind photobiomodulation is particularly interesting. Specific wavelengths of light are delivered to tissue with the intention of producing biological responses at cellular level.

Research into PBM has investigated potential effects relating to cellular energy production, inflammatory processes, circulation, tissue repair, pain and muscular function.

For those of us already working with soft tissue, rehabilitation and performance horses, it isn't difficult to see why this has generated so much interest.

It is non-invasive, relatively straightforward to incorporate into a horse's management programme when appropriate, and increasingly available through equipment designed specifically with horses in mind.

This is where I think things become particularly interesting for equine massage therapists.

Massage is very much a hands-on modality. We palpate, assess tissue quality, observe responses and use our techniques according to what we find.

Red and near-infrared light gives us another area of knowledge to explore alongside those skills.

Rather than thinking of technology as replacing our hands, I much prefer to think about how different modalities may complement good hands-on therapy and appropriate rehabilitation.

For example, if we are working with a horse experiencing muscular fatigue following exercise, areas of increased muscular tension or a horse progressing through a veterinary-led rehabilitation programme, understanding the physiological principles behind different modalities allows us to have a much more informed conversation about where they might fit.

That doesn't mean every horse needs every modality.It means we have another potentially useful tool available to us.

One of the reasons I wanted to explore this subject properly through Wolds Equine is that red light isn't simply about making a horse feel warm or shining a coloured lamp at an area.

Photobiomodulation involves particular wavelengths and doses of light interacting with biological tissue.

Equine research has already produced some interesting findings. One study examining photobiomodulation over the longissimus and gluteal muscles reported statistically significant changes in measurements of muscle firing following treatment.

More recent veterinary literature continues to describe PBM as an important area of therapeutic interest, while also emphasising something that I think is particularly important for therapists to understand: the equipment and treatment parameters matter.

Wavelength, power, dose, treatment duration, frequency and the depth of the target tissue can all influence the amount of useful light reaching the intended area.

And actually, I see that as a positive.

It means this is a modality worth learning about properly, rather than simply purchasing a red light and assuming all equipment is equivalent.

This is something we will explore much further.

When you start looking at red light equipment, you will see terms such as:
Red light.
Near-infrared light.
Wavelength.
Nanometres.
Power density.
Dose.
LED.
Laser.
Photobiomodulation.

It can initially look rather complicated!

But once we start breaking these terms down, it becomes much easier to understand why a purpose-designed therapeutic device may be very different from something that simply produces visible red light.

This is also why I think education needs to develop alongside the growing availability of these products.

If therapists and horse owners are going to invest in therapeutic equipment, we should understand what we are buying, what the manufacturer tells us it has been designed to deliver, how it should be used and what we can reasonably expect from it.

Red and near-infrared light therapy is now being explored and used across a broad range of areas within equine care, particularly in relation to muscular recovery, soft tissues, comfort and rehabilitation.

For the equine therapist, I think the exciting part is considering how these modalities may sit alongside the things we already understand.

Massage.
Correct exercise.
Progressive rehabilitation.
Veterinary treatment.
Farriery.
Appropriate nutrition and management.

And now, potentially, modalities such as photobiomodulation.

None of these things needs to exist in isolation.

The best rehabilitation programmes are generally those where we understand why we are doing something and how the different pieces of the programme fit together.

There is one thing I don't think will ever change at Wolds Equine Rehabilitation & Training.

I want our students to develop excellent hands.

A machine cannot tell you everything you learn through careful palpation. It doesn't replace observing the horse, understanding anatomy or recognising when something needs veterinary investigation.

But I also want our students and graduates to keep developing.

If useful technology is becoming available within our industry, I want us to understand it rather than ignore it.

That means learning the terminology, understanding the proposed physiological effects, looking at the research and, importantly, learning how quality therapeutic equipment is intended to be used safely and appropriately.

Over the next couple of blogs, we are going to take a much closer look at red and near-infrared light therapy.

We'll break down what those different wavelengths actually mean, why some light penetrates further than others, what happens when light reaches tissue and why the specifications of a therapeutic device are important.

We will also be looking at other modalities that can potentially sit alongside massage and rehabilitation.

This ties beautifully into the direction of our upcoming Wolds Equine CPD, because I want our CPD to keep evolving with the industry.

There are some really exciting developments happening within equine therapy and rehabilitation, and there is now some fantastic technology becoming much more accessible to everyday therapists and horse owners.

So rather than simply seeing a red light being used on a horse and wondering “What does that actually do?”, over the next few weeks we're going to start answering that question.

And I think it's going to be a really interesting subject.