August 2000

Alternative Therapies 
by Heather Smith Thomas

Many horse owners have become interested in using alternative therapies for horses-treatments other than medications, drugs and surgery. These alternative treatments found outside the realm of traditional veterinary practice, include massage and physical therapy, acupuncture, chiropractic treatment, herbal remedies and homeopathy.

During the past couple of decades there has been a growing interest in, and the use of, non-traditional therapies, resulting in more of people learning how to administer these treatments. In 1992 the American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP) changed its disapproving stance on unconventional therapies, and acknowledged them as valid alternatives when carried out or overseen by a licensed veterinarian (to make sure these therapeutic options are used ethically and not misused).

HERBAL THERAPY AND HOMEOPATHY
Both herbal therapy and homeopathy use natural substances to treat specific ailments. Herbal treatments are used much like traditional medicines, with the treatment aimed at destroying disease agents or easing a specific problem. Homeopathy (a word which literally means "like cures like") treats illnesses with substances, which in larger doses, produce the same symptoms of the illness. The highly diluted substances are given to the horse to encourage the body's self-healing efforts.

CHIROPRACTIC TREATMENTS
In chiropractic therapies, spinal adjustments are performed by a trained professional-to relieve pressure on nerves that are causing problems or ill health for the horse. The theory behind this type of treatment is that the body's ability to maintain good health relies upon the proper functioning of the nervous system, and that vertebrae misalignments cause disease by putting pressure on the spinal cord. Chiropractic treatment is aimed at returning proper balance to the total body.

The same is true of physical therapy, which uses manipulations of the horse's limbs and body to rebalance the whole animal and do away with stiffness, soreness and lameness. Horses in strenuous athletic careers can often be helped to move freer and perform better with judicious use of physical therapy, to keep muscles and joints limber and less susceptible to injury. Equine physical therapists manipulate limbs and work on muscles and joints; equine chiropractors concentrate primarily upon the spine.

The horse's spine includes about 170 joints, each of which only has a slight capability of movement, thus creating a rigid backbone. Back pain can result if a vertebrae is out of line, or is either suffering from inflammation or the pull of muscle tension and spasms.

Horses with chronic back and neck soreness can often be helped by equine chiropractors, who are able to relieve the stiffness and soreness. The chiropractic evaluation and diagnosis includes the horse's history of lameness or stiffness, gait abnormalities, saddling objections and poor attitude about work, and therefore looks for deviations of normal head and neck position, back outline (humps, sways, curves in the spine), and normal gait when moving. When trouble spots are identified, the chiropractor adjusts them with rapid thrusts of the hands along the backbone. But this type of manipulation must be done by someone who knows how to do it; a poor job can do more harm than good, leaving the horse in worse shape than before.

MASSAGE THERAPY
More than 60 percent of the horse's body weight is composed of muscle tissue. When fatigued or stressed beyond their capability, muscles can become tight, less flexible and vulnerable to damage. This can lead to muscle spasms, stiffness, and pain. By locating the area of soreness, a massage therapist can use deep palpations and body manipulation, to break up muscle spasms and restore proper circulation of blood and oxygen to the affected areas. This reduces pain and restores normal motion and mobility. The tension in the muscles is reduced, which greatly improves the horse's comfort and general attitude. Massage can help prevent as well as treat muscle injuries, especially in athletic horses that are being worked hard.

Below-Example of an Acupuncture technique being performed.

ACUPUNCTURE
This ancient Oriental healing art is now being used to treat many equine health problems, ranging from arthritic joints to heaves and colic. It has proven beneficial in alleviating pain and relieving chronic conditions such as arthritis, serious respiratory disorders, allergies and intestinal ailments that have not responded well to standard medications, and is even being used to correct reproductive problems. No one is sure why and how it works, but acupuncture has been used effectively in human medicine by the Chinese for more than 3500 years.

Acupuncture is a healing science, that deals with the individual human or animal as living energy, rather than as a catalogue of various signs of illness. Effective veterinary acupuncture is based on both the natural and scientific aspects of healing.

To the Chinese, everything maintains a balance. The two sides of this balance are Yin and Yang (dark and light, front and back, cool and warm, etc.) and when an animal is healthy, its Yin and Yang aspects are balanced. Part of this balance is the normal circulation of vital energy, which follows basic pathways through the body. The Chinese believe that all illnesses or physical problems are due to a disruption of the Yin/Yang balance and this flow of vital energy, with a resulting pattern of disharmony. By stimulating or unblocking the disharmoney, the normal energy flow can be re-established. The energy flow is connected to all vital organs, muscles, bones, joints, etc. Thus acupuncture treatments, at specific locations along these energy pathways, can influence all areas of the body.

ACUPUNCTURE POINTS
The Chinese developed a systematic method of stimulating various relationships between the external body points and the internal organs, as they relate to normal body functions. Acupuncture treatment consists of stimulting certain points with needle insertion, massage, pressure or heat. Modern veterinary acupuncture also includes other methods of stimulation, such as weak electrical currents, injection, cold laser and ultrasound. The stimulation of certain acupuncture points can produce changes in blood vessels, nerve impulses and hormone levels. Its action can be more specific than many drugs and is often achieved without causing side effects.

Most veterinary acupuncturists use it in combination with traditional medicine, which results in more total benefit to the animal being treated. The two methods work well together, being very different yet complimentary concepts of medicine. For instance, a respiratory infection being treated with antibiotics can benefit from simultaneous acupuncture treatment, as it helps stimulate the immune system, ease the pain and discomfort and improve the function of the lungs, thus helping the horse recover faster.

TRADITIONAL MEDICINE COMPLIMENTS ALTERNATIVE THERAPIES 
Alternative therapies are not magic bullets, nor are they "better" than conventional medicine. No one type of therapy is a cure-all. There is a place for antibiotics, surgical repair and alternative treatments, using the complimentary skills of various practitioners. If one type of treatment had all the answers, there would be no need for the others. Today horse owners can take advantage of specialists who are well trained in both alternative therapies and conventional medicine.

Copyright © 1998-2000 California Thoroughbred Breeders Association