Originally published October 18 2005
Experts advise horse owners about selecting an alternative veterinary medicine practitioner
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
Alternative veterinary medicine is becoming a widespread practice, but separating the qualified from the pretenders can prove a difficult task, without the help of experts and your local veterinarian.
We hope you'll use the information to make informed decisions about what treatments your horse receives--decisions that prove to be both medically and economically sound.
Some are experienced, trustworthy professionals; others have little or no training.
An alternative therapy practitioner also should be a licensed veterinarian or work under a veterinarian's supervision.
The various national professional associations (see Associations for Alternative Veterinary Medicine on page 44) offer comprehensive veterinary training courses in acupuncture, chiropractic, homeopathy, and even Chinese herbal medicine.
DVMs who complete courses successfully are listed on the associations' membership rosters, says well-known holistic practitioner Joyce Harman, DVM, MRCVS, of Washington, Va.
Three areas of alternative therapy--equine massage therapy, herbal medicine, and nutraceuticals--don't have corresponding veterinary certification programs.
Comprehensive, non-veterinary courses are available for massage therapists, and many of the best herbalists and nutraceuticals experts are employed by the manufacturing companies, she adds.
"About 500 hours of training is ideal for a massage therapist, with at least some of that time spent in equine-specific courses," she says.
But even veterinarians who enroll in the professional level courses might receive only 120 to 150 hours of training on top of their four or more years in veterinary school, says Kevin Haussler, DVM, DC, PhD, of Cornell University.
Haussler, a human chiropractor with extensive training in the field, would be unable to adjust horses if he weren't also a licensed veterinarian.
"My rule of thumb for hands-on medicine, such as acupuncture and chiropractic, is that you should see a response after about four treatments," says Harman.
Harman and Haussler both have horror stories of ignorant "equine chiropractors" who "adjust" horses by tethering them to tractors, bashing their vertebrae with two-by-fours, or "cranking" their necks.
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