Articles
Understanding Chronic Pain and the Role of Acupuncture
Pain: a Definition and Introduction: The International Association for the Study of Pain has defined pain as “an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage, or described in terms of such damage.”1 Pain has a physical...
Feet or Hooves: the Fascial Connection
Movement is the foundation of life and without it, we and all other vertebrates would perish. We move our feet to get us to where our hands (or a horse’s hooves) need to be, in order to eat or do other tasks essential to our survival and well-being. If we agree that...
How does Acupuncture Work?
The title of this paper is a very legitimate question and one frequently asked when I am treating a horse with acupuncture. In some senses, it is a very difficult one to answer. There are lengthy books written to explain the mechanisms of acupuncture. Some...
Acupuncture and Chiropractic – A Synergistic Combination
Why Acupuncture and Chiropractic? – What can this combination do for your horse? – Is there synergistic (combined) action between these two health care systems? – Is it really a case of one plus one equals three? Neither of these modalities are an “instead of,” nor...
Low Heel / High Heel Syndrome
Introduction The commonly observed condition where the heel of one front foot is higher than the other has ramifications that extend well beyond the effects on the foot itself. This condition is also observed in the hind feet, though less frequently. However, because...
Equine Ulcers – You Really Need To Know More!
Ulcers in the digestive track are more than just the latest “disease du jour.” Thus far, for a problem that has been recognized for about 20 years, we are still seeing and understanding only the tip of a metaphorical iceberg. More than two thirds of the iceberg is...
Equine Ulcers – How Can We Deal With Them?
In Part 1 of we discussed the incredible preponderance of horses that have ulcers in their digestive tract. We also discussed the largely unrecognized but extensive performance limiting body/muscular-skeletal problems and “behavioral” problems that go hand in hand...
Equine Stretching & Massage
Equine Stretching - Important Thoughts and Considerations Remember that the inborn survival mechanism for horses is the fright and flightresponse. Horses may be alarmed by external sources while you are working onthem. This might include noises, sudden movements by...
Principles of Horse Handling
Horse Handling Verses Horse Restraint: We tend to think of the term “restraint” as a means of physical application of force or chemicals to control the horse. In contrast, we should recognize and think of good handling as psychological restraint. Without question,...
Equine Dentistry Comparison
My very first impression of Dr. Kerry Ridgway’s approach to chiropractics was the thorough understanding he had of the relationship between dental balance and the rest of the horse. He always starts an exam with a thorough exam of the teeth, head and hyoid muscles and...
