Alternative Therapies

Disclaimer:  These are my opinions and experiences.  I am not a vet.  I have conducted no studies.  These opinions and experiences may/will change over time. 

I know that there are a lot of different opinions on “body work” or “alternative medicine” out there in the horse world.  I definitely don’t think that all of the options are good for all of the horses.  There are a few therapies that I am not personally impressed with, but I think several of these therapies do show some real results.  I have personal experience with chiro, acupuncture, and massage (all for my horses, never had any of these on myself), so those are the three that I will be discussing.  

We had an amazing vet back in Indiana.  She was well-versed in traditional medicine and some of the alternative medicines.  She was practical and would discuss the pros and cons of the options she knew.  We utilized her for chiro twice (when Fred slipped in the trailer and messed up his hip) and acupuncture once. 

I know chiro is quite controversial as to whether it does anything at all.  I have seen horses change for the better and worse after a chiro appointment, so I think that it does do something, but that it’s not always the best option.  It helped Fred get back to normal, but it isn’t a good option for Mort (at least right now).  Mort’s first appointment caused him to become lame.  I believe this stemmed from him (probably) never having one before and his tension.  He is a sensitive fellow and finds chiro very offensive.  You can see him resisting it all and when that’s happening I don’t find chiro a good option at all.  Best case scenario it does nothing, but it can cause more problems as it did in Mort.  I will admit that I called the chiropractor back out and he helped fix the lameness that the original work caused. 

For tense horses who may have a lot of ‘misalignments’ I think chiro can be risky/not helpful.  Too much change at once can cause issues to any horse.  Tension can cause chiro to be ineffective.  I may try it again for Mort if I’m struggling with something, but it probably won’t be my first choice at this time.  

The acupuncture was really interesting to me, though I fully admit I probably haven’t researched it enough to make a real opinion.  Fred was colicing so we called our vet out.  We did traditional treatments, and while we were waiting she suggested we try acupuncture.  You could visibly see most of the tension leave his body once she started sticking him. 

After Fred was better the vet started pulling out the needles, but a few hadn’t ‘let go’.  Weird.  The vet explained (and let me feel) how the needles went in and out.  Essentially you start them in the correct place and they sorta get sucked in to where they need to go.  Then they stay there until they get released.  She left with a few needles still in Fred with instructions for me to test them every once in a while.  When they were ready they would slide right out.  And they did.  It was so cool, even though I don’t know why that happens.  One in the base of his neck was particularly slow to let go, but once it did slip on out it had two large kinks in it.  Apparently he had some issues there that needed to work themselves out.  

I don’t know enough about the methods or theories behind acupuncture.  I don’t know that it did anything that the traditional medicines wouldn’t do.  Fred reacted positively.  It was really cool.  I’d probably try it again, but it’s clearly not something that I use often as I haven’t used it since. 

The go-to therapy that I think works best for Mort is massage.  I’m not sure this one is controversial as I think everyone enjoys a good shoulder rub, and deep tissue massage is a very common therapy for people.  Since Mort is so sensitive it did take him a couple times before he ‘got’ the concept of massage, but he really seems to enjoy them now.  He gives visible releases (yawning, licking and chewing, glazed eyes, etc.).  His most recent massage he even started really leaning into her hands with his hind end to make sure she was getting where he wanted.  To me, there is no doubt that he enjoys it. 

I believe massage is positive in many ways.  It gives my sensitive, active horse a time to chill and relax.  I ask him for hard work and his muscling has changed tremendously and it will continue to change.  The only way this is happening is through some sore, worked muscles.  I will continue to utilize massage therapy for Mort.