# Best magnetic boots?



## lyndsayberesford (12 September 2012)

My 6 yr old is on his 8th week of box rest following on from a fractured cannon bone, and have been advised that he needs another 4 weeks box rest yet.

He still has a lump just above the fetlock joint, there is no heat there with it.

Do you think Magnetic boots will help reduce the swelling? And if so, which are the best tried and tested boots and value for money also?


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## Nightmare before Christmas (12 September 2012)

I am going to get shot down by millions of members here but....


They dont work  Sorry 

Stable boots/bandages will have the same effect as people see with magnets. They boots will keep the area warm and supported.

Hope your horse gets better soon


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## lyndsayberesford (12 September 2012)

So will keeping the actual leg warm improve the swelling?


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## Nightmare before Christmas (12 September 2012)

lyndsayberesford said:



			So will keeping the actual leg warm improve the swelling?
		
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From experience the best way to deal with swelling is to cold hose/ice wrap then bandage. 

Thats what I do and when they can I ice, walk in hand and bandage while on box rest. Magnetic boots have no effect on blood circulation or producing heat. So if you have vets bills and such I wouldnt recommend forking out on them!


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## Achinghips (12 September 2012)

Limited and conflicting evidence magnets work, certainly not worth the money for a "just in case", imo. Cold hosing is best for swelling, imo ..... and of course a pampering groom and full haynet to take their mind off it


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## Ilovefoals (12 September 2012)

I used Bioflow magnetic boots on my mare with spavin and I swear they helped her stiffness.  I don't know if they'd help with swelling tho. Agree probably cold hosing and bandaging might work better. Maybe see if you can find a cheap 2nd hand pair on ebay instead of forking out for new ones if you really want to try them?


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## rhino (12 September 2012)

Agree with the letter published in the BMJ 




			Taken from Professor Finegold's article in the British Medical Journal


Extraordinary claims demand extraordinary evidence. If there is any healing effect of magnets, it is apparently small since published research, both theoretical and experimental, is weighted heavily against any therapeutic benefit. Patients should be advised that magnet therapy has no proved benefits. If they insist on using a magnetic device they could be advised to buy the cheapestthis will at least alleviate the pain in their wallet.
		
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Can find original source if anyone wants, this was c&p from a previous post


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## Slightlyconfused (12 September 2012)

I have the bio flow bushing boots for my mare with djd and they help her when she is going through a stiff phase, it means I don't have to give her danilon. 

I'm going to get her some hock wraps for winter from harpers(?) that are thermatex with magnets in.

Each to your own on the magnets.


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## farrierswife (12 September 2012)

I have used magnetic wraps on my hunter when he was on box rest after tendon damage and I found they did help prevent him getting stiff, and now he is 25 years old he has got the start of arthritis in a hind fetlock have bought him some hind boots and have seen an improvement from him wearing them. However I agree with above posts about whether they would reduce the swelling or not.

If you wanted to get some boots take a look at this website http://puremagnets.co.uk/Equine-Magnets/


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## Auslander (12 September 2012)

I embarked on an experiment recently - I have stiff, sore ankle joints, and achilles tendonitis, so in a very similar situation to my horse. I therefore bought a magnetic ankle wrap (neoprene) for myself in order to make an educated decision about how effective they were, and whether it was worth buying some hock boots for the nag.

I wore it without the magnets in it for a week, and my ankle joints were slightly less achy, but the tendonitis was worse. 

I then wore them with the magnets for a week. Ankle joints still less sore than with nothing, but no better than with just the wrap. Tendonitis considerably worse.

I then put an ice pack on every morning for 20 minutes, and didn't wear the wrap at all. Ankle joints were very achy, but tendonitis much improved.

My amateur interpretation is that warmth helps achy joints, but adding magnets doesn't make any difference. Therefore, I would consider using some form of hock boot/wrap to keep Alfs spaviny hocks warm - but wouldn't go for the added expense of magnetic ones

Tendon/ligament pain is worsened by magnets - whether in the long run, that would result in healing, I don't know, because the pain was so bad that I couldn't continue to wear them. Certainly wouldn't put magnets anywhere near Alfs inflamed suspensories

Cold is the best pain reliever for tendon/ligament damage/inflammation - so I have bought an ice boot for Alf to wear for 20 minutes a day when his suspensories are sore/inflamed

Make of this what you will - I am simply reporting the results of my devilish experiment!!


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## NativePonyLover (12 September 2012)

I swear by magnetic therapy - it really did help my old arthritic horse. To the extent he was able to come off much of the veterinary prescribed medication. But, I am unaware it is unproven - but in my own experience, the results spoke for themselves.

I used Equibrium products, but also used the NEW magnetic brushing boots.


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## honeychop (27 September 2012)

Does anyone know if magnets wear out? Loose their polarity? I just bought some second hand veredus magnet leg wraps on ebay and they don't seem to be magnetic at all. I'm not getting any sort of resistance when i put them near each other :-( or am i not supposed too? I had some wraps ages ago and I remember they had resistance but they have since broken hence getting the newer ones.
Also - wraps or boots? 
My 21 year old boy who has arthritis in his back hocks wears thermatex leg wraps all round in the winter at night when he's in but if i get magnet boots can i put the wraps on top of the boots ????? 
His front legs have just started filling, it used to be just his backs in the cold so want to sort this asap.


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## fburton (28 September 2012)

honeychop said:



			Does anyone know if magnets wear out?
		
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Yes, I'm afraid they do. There are things one can do to prolong their life, like storing them with the poles "connected" with a metal like iron (that's why those little red horseshoe magnets usually come with a steel bar across the two poles, and why fridge magnets have a relatively long life). However, the magnets in the boots don't have such "keepers". Also, magnets will lose strength faster in the warm, or if they are dropped and receive a knock. So if you're not feeling any "cling" from your secondhand ones it's likely they are dud.

However, the leg wraps may still be beneficial in providing support and warmth. Personally, I think this is the key factor and doubt that magnets provide any additional benefit - hard evidence is simply not there (yet), individual testimonies notwithstanding.


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