Chiropractors and Your Horse

I confess I was more than a wee bit skeptical about the idea of a chiropractor – whether for my body or the body of my horse. I confess I thought it was a bunch of silly stuff and not worth my time or my money. I freely admit – I was wrong. I’ve worked with many vets over the years but the one I have now I really appreciate and respect. He’s a traditional equine specialist but has taken the time to really learn and practice equine dentistry and chiropractics. It’s amazing!

I had a gorgeous, but not happy hunter. I’ve mentioned him before but he was pushed too hard early in his training before I had him. He could be a peach on the ground and then go completely nuts under saddle not to mention in the show ring. He hurt. He had several issues including a sore back. My vet did acupuncture and chiropractics on him and you could literally see the relief and relaxation during even the first session. An ongoing course of treatment made a big difference in his comfort under saddle during training.

I will say this – you have to be cautious in the specialists that you bring in to work on your horse in this way. Get several references and talk to people about the vet you pick for this before engaging him or her. I like to work with specialists that have the kind of cross training my vet has which means it can be a little more expensive, but it’s worth it. Typically, you don’t ride a horse for a day or two after a session and it’s not a one-time fix. There’s usually a program that you want to start and see how a series of sessions relieves the issues you’re having. Sometimes you’ll find other issues are revealed when the pain or attitude is adjusted – literally. Hope this is helpful to you, Mary – and thanks again for suggesting a great topic!

Thanks Christi for posting this for me. I've been asking around to find the right person to look at Jackson. I've been on the Internet surfing to find Vets in my area that do chiropractic care also. I hope to find the best care I can for him, as I would do the same for myself. I can't live without my chiropractor... I do believe in them for humans and I guess it wouldn't really be much different for animals. I'm so looking forward to seeing if it will help him, it was my farrier that noticed he was starting to wear his hoofs off differently and said something to me... I thought he was moving out to his left differently but hadn't noticed his hoofs and the wear on them. He's started to look pigeon toed in the back alittle also. I hope to get to the bottom of it all soon. Thanks so much for your info and Rae's also. I really hope the topic will help others learn that it exist anyways and can maybe look into it for their horses too. Mary