Introducing Equine Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy in Florida

Ferguson and Hammock Equine Hospital is proud to be the first in Central Florida to offer Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy for horses

What is Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy?

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) is a procedure that involves enclosing a patient in an airtight pressure chamber and infusing the chamber with pure oxygen at a pressure greater than one atmosphere.

Hyperbaric Chamber

The treatment is based on the premise that optimum healing can be achieved when more oxygen is made available to a body than it can take in during normal atmospheric conditions.

At normal atmospheric pressure, there is a limit to the amount of oxygen carried by red blood cells, and only a small amount of that oxygen dissolves into plasma. But with pure oxygen and increased pressure from HBOT, greater amounts of oxygen are dissolved in the blood plasma and, therefore,

delivered to diseased or damaged tissues. This often results in the tissues healing more quickly and with fewer adhesions and less scarring.

Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy has been used successfully in human medicine since 1955, when doctors first used it to help reduce the effects of radiation therapy in cancer patients. Over the last five decades, human medicine has expanded the use of HBOT dramatically to successfully aug- ment the treatment and rehabilitation regimen for soft tissue injuries, strokes, carbon monoxide poisoning, lyme disease, burns, circulatory problems, slow-healing wounds, traumatic brain injuries, and much more.

In recent years, veterinarians have applied this technology to equine medicine and have found that many of the same benefits can be achieved for animal patients. Today, equine HBOT is typically used as an adjunct therapy to compliment traditional medical/surgical treatments for both acute and chronic conditions in horses and, curr- ently, it is the fastest growing non-invasive treatment in equine medicine and rehabilitation.

Equine conditions commonly treated with Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy Pneumonia

Hyberbaric Oxygen Therapy has found these and other applications in equine medicine to be effective. Certainly more can be expected to be added to the list as the use of this adjunctive therapy grows and expands in equine medicine.

To find out more about HBOT and whether this therapy might be a good addition to your horse’s current medical treatment, please contact your veterinarian or call Ferguson, Hammock, & BonenClark Equine Hospital 352-622-6199.

How does HBOT work?

The benefits from Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy are derived from the physical conditions related to the hyperbaric environment itself, which are: (1) the mechanical effects of pressure, and (2) the increased oxygenation of tissues.

Horse in Chamber

How is it administered? To receive a hyperbaric oxygen treatment, a horse is loaded into the chamber much like it is loaded onto a horse trailer. Once the horse is inside, the unit is sealed and pure oxygen is infused into the chamber to slowly build to a pressure of approximately two to three times the normal atmospheric pressure.

The length of the treatment varies, but most last anywhere from 45 to 90 minutes.

When the treatment is complete, the chamber is slowly decompressed and then the horse walks out of the chamber.

Why use HBOT?

Hyper Baric Chamber Side View

A speedy return to racing form is your first priority. Horses treated with HBOT have consistantly shown that injuries heal in as little as half the normal time.

To download our HBOT Brochure with Adobe Acrobat Click Here

Ferguson and Hammock Equine Hospital, 6897 N.W. 225-A, Ocala, Florida 34482 (352)-622-6199 Fax (352) 622-5663