The science behind Equine SunSwitch

Attention paid to correct warm up and cool down procedures can help to optimise the performance of your horse or pony and reduce the risk of injury. Infrared heat application can also play a key role in both preventing injury and alleviating the symptoms of injury.

According to Philips “the benefits of this form of heat therapy are based on locally enhanced blood circulation in the skin, caused by vasodilatory response. It has also been shown to speed the healing of non-infected wounds, in many cases providing rapid and effective pain relief. It has also been found to accelerate the healing of eczemas and saddle sores, and help clear sinus congestion.”

Technical equine literature indicates that raising muscle tissue temperature by 1-2°C is sufficient to be relaxing, heating by 2.78°C is sufficient to stimulate an increase in metabolic activity, while 3.0-4.0°C will increase collagen extensibility. The temperature of muscle tissue can be raised successfully through exposure of the horse to short wavelength infrared - the kind of infrared produced by Equine SunSwitch heaters.

The infrared spectrum is divided into three categories; short, medium and long-wave. Short-wave infrared is used among other things, for healthcare and therapy applications, both for treating animals and people, and for breeding and rearing. The element in Equine SunSwitch has been specially developed to emit short wavelength infrared. Some heater elements produce medium or long wavelength infrared. Neither is recommended for equine purposes.

As can be seen from the diagram below, Equine SunSwitch mimics the infrared heat output of the sun, the most natural and wholesome form of warmth, but without any of the sun’s potentially harmful ultraviolet rays. Most of the energy from Equine SunSwitch is produced in the short-wave (IR-A) region. The lower diagram highlights how this kind of infrared energy is readily absorbed into muscle tissue, whereas medium and long wavelength infrared are not.

For reference, the blue line in the top diagram shows the infrared heat output of a standard quartz element. This is entirely different from Equine SunSwitch; most of the energy from the standard element is produced at wavelengths that do not penetrate effectively and thus cannot be used for therapeutic purposes. In comparison, the peak output from the Equine SunSwitch element is absorbed deep into the muscle.

Short-wave infrared is also readily absorbed by inert materials, which is why Equine SunSwitch is great for drying both horses and rugs. But clearly, not all infrared is the same!