How do I know if my horse needs Chiropractic Care?

Loss or decrease in level of performance.
Problems or difficulty executing desired movements.
Behavioral changes (i.e. refusals, cinchy, bucking), Short striding.
Diagnosed conditions, such as degenerative arthritis. Muscle imbalance, spasms, or atrophy.
Gait problems, such as cross-canter, loss of collection, refusal to pick-up lead.
Common stressful or traumatic situations, including:
birth process, conformation of the horse, training and riding equipment, ability of the rider, direct trauma, that can cause abnormal or restricted movement to occur in the spine.

Benefits and Results of Chiropractic Care for Your Horse

The first signs of subluxations are decreased range of motion in either the neck, withers, thoracic and lumbar spine, or in the pelvic anatomy and/or hips of your horse. Such change may be subtle or overt. These areas represent areas of myofascial inflammation or scarring that eventually affect the anatomy of the joints where these musculoskeletal structures are attached.

THESE BIOMECHANICAL AREAS OF INFLAMMATION ARE PAINFUL TO YOUR HORSE, AND THEY NEED TO BE ADDRESSED WITH MECHANICAL CHIROPRACTIC THERAPY.
The benefit from chiropractic therapy is that it will improve the disposition of your horse both, physically and spiritually. The natural life force that is conducted through the nervous system will flow with less resistance and/or interruption. The level of immune resistance will be enhanced, and your horse will handle easier and be more amenable to training in general.

Veterinary Orthopedic Manipultion

Veterinary Orthopedic Manipultion, or VOM, exists in between veterinary medicine and chiropractic care. It has similarities to some of the chiropractic modalities and functions by restoring function by reducing "subluxations" as is done in chiropractic care. It uses a hand-held device that is used in a popular human chiropractic technique called "Activator Methods" but it is not to be confused with that technique.

Chiropractors use this technique on your animals with permission of your veterinarian.

p>The spine of the horse allows ranges of motion such as lowering and raising the head, arching or dipping the back, and bending from side to side. Discs are present in between each vertebra to absorb the shock and concussion produced by movement. The horse's spine, unlike the dog or human spine, is a fairly rigid structure, with most of the movement being in the neck and in the lumbar area just in front of the connection between the spine and the pelvis (equivalent to our hips).

This treatment will not hurt the horse (or you!). In fact most horses thoroughly enjoy it. It is quite common for the horse to become relaxed as the treatment progresses. The chiropractic adjustment for both of you consists of a short, corrective thrusts to a specific area which releases muscle spasm, restores joint mobility, and alleviates pain. This allows the body to be restored to natural balance and harmony.

So Do People

Horses Like Adjustments

Subluxations cause alterations in sensory input to the brain. Remember the old computer Adage "garbage in garbage out?" The nervous system works a lot the same way. So, the longer subluxations exist, the more negative body problems are created. The Chiropractic adjustment begins the process of removing the garbage that is produced within the nervous system via the subluxation.

Sometimes the rider’s unbalanced posture is contributing factor to the horse's problems. The gait and posture of both you and your horse are anylized, looking for asymmetries such as unequal muscle size or tone between the left and right sides that are not normal. I will also look for abnormal head or neck placement, foot placement, or sign that the posture being altered in response to unbalance or pain. I may then assess the range of motion of the both you and your horse’s spine to see if it is even on both sides, as well as palpating the muscles around the spine to assess any muscle spasm, swelling, in-coordination, or restricted movement,

A back problem is almost always a secondary problem to a primary cause, which is why it is important to have your horse examined both by your veterinarian and your equine chiropractic specialist.