| Buying an Equine Laser: Five Tips for Success | | | | 3. Ease of Use |
| Laser therapy is becoming more widely accepted in | | | | Some laser therapy units are hand-held with |
| the veterinary community for use in treating injured | | | | rechargeable batteries. This makes the product |
| animals e.g. horses and greyhounds. The rapid healing | | | | versatile as one can use it in the office or out in the |
| properties of these lasers ensure that animals recover | | | | field. Others are large, bulky desktop systems that |
| quickly and are back on track, performing at their best. | | | | require a trolley to move from one area to the other. |
| Areas treated by laser therapy include: muscles, | | | | This limits their use to indoors only. |
| tendons, ligaments, laminitis, bruises, swelling etc. | | | | 4. Features |
| 1. Power of the laser | | | | Having a laser that operates in continuous wave mode |
| Check that the laser has enough power to penetrate | | | | and pulsing frequencies is an advantage. Pulsing wave |
| deep into the muscle tissue. Some lasers may only be | | | | frequencies can be used to treat specific conditions. |
| 1mW; others can be as high as 500mW or more. | | | | Some lasers come with a single head, others with a |
| 2. Wavelengths | | | | cluster head containing 3 or more lasers. Cluster heads |
| The wavelength of the laser can be 650nm (visible | | | | allow for greater areas treated at the one time. |
| red) or infrared (invisible) e.g. 785nm 808nm, 830nm | | | | 5. Warranty |
| and 904nm. There is considerable research literature | | | | All quality laser therapy products should come with a 2 |
| written about the benefits of using infrared lasers due | | | | year world-wide Manufacturer's warranty. |
| to their deep treatment properties. | | | | |