Ask The Vet: Alternative Therapies - June 07

Question: I have a horse that is healing from a puncture wound in the right hind hoof that went to the coffin bone. When he was returning to work and turn out, the diagnosis of his new lameness issue was that he had pulled a suspensory in his stifle. He was then on stall rest for three more months, and finally switched over to complete turnout. He continues to show signs of improvement, but after a year of only being checked once in a while to see if he's able to be ridden, he's still not able to do more than a couple weeks before something starts creeping back in. Can accupuncture or any other alternative medicines help him? (I would rather do something non-invasive and I have mixed feelings about shockwave therapy and believe it's too late now anyway).

I know the chiropractor said he can't help, but I am wondering if it's healed enough now that it's creating a case of tendonitis and if acupuncture can improve things.

Question: I have a 5-year-old APHA gelding that punctured his cornea 3 1/2 weeks ago. The local vet thought it was superficial, so the treatment was not as agressive as it could have been. Hence, he developed a serious infection before we got him to the University Teaching Hospital. We had our two week follow-up visit this week. The surface of the eye is healed, but there appears to be some infection within the globe. There is atrophy of the globe also ocurring and is cloudy. He is on five different eye drops through a lavage tube, an oral antiboitic and pain med. The posibility of him having vision is very small as per the vet.

My question: Are there any supplements, acupuncture treatments or other alternative therapies that might benefit him in the healing of his eye?

Question: I have a 12-year-old Quarter horse gelding who was recently diagnosed with mild COPD (vet noticed heave line and heard some congestion in his lungs, but I rarely if ever hear him cough and he is on 24hr turnout on pasture with a run in shelter). This gelding also has skin sensitivities that seem to flare up in the summer (some loss of hair on face and underbelly) and he also sweats much more profusely (even at rest) than my other horse on extremely hot days. My veterinarian says COPD horses often also have allergies/sensitivities due to a compromised immune system and they will sweat more due to having to work harder to breathe. His case is mild enough that the vet simply wants us to keep an eye on it year to year and indicated if he has flare-ups since there were some medical options. Can you suggest any alternative therapies that have been researched and shown to have positive effects either for COPD or general allergies/sensitivities? I go to a chiropractor myself and appreciate the holistic benefit of proper alignment and an optimal functioning nervous system.

Question: What is acupuncture, why is it done and what does it do?

Question: Could an adjustment cause my horse to go lame? on Friday, May 11th, a local vet/chiropractor came to the barn to work on several of the other horses. I had asked him to take a look at my 9-year-old Quarter horse. I had been noticing that as we trot or canter 20 meter circles, it would feel like his back left side would drop out behind at least once or twice a lesson. After the exam, he determined it to be stifle issues on the left in which he treated with aqua puncture (Echinacea not vitamin B). I was told not to ride for a week. He also gave the farrier instructions on trimming the back feet in a "natural" manner to ensure that the break over was easy. The farrier came out Wednesday and trimmed the hooves and placed shoes on the front but not the back. All seemed well, as I had not ridden since the previous Friday.

The following Friday, the vet came out for a check-up. I did not see the procedure the barn manager did; he was adjusted behind the jumping saddle about a hands width. When I got to the barn, the vet was finished but told me my horse was much improved and I could start walk/trot on the trails this week, but with no canter and no tight circles. The vet would return in a month to check on progress.

The next day I went to take him on the trail and he could hardly walk. It was as if he could not feel the ground with his back feet. As he would step with the back foot, he would raise it twice as high as normal and extend it way out underneath his belly, then set it down gently and drag it back to a more normal landing spot, shift his weight and repeat in the same manner with his other hind foot.

The same veterinarian that was working on him did not work on Saturdays and had not returned my calls. I contacted a second local chiropractor/vet to come out that morning. She said there was a lot of heat at the L4 and L5 with swelling, she then used tens on the lowest setting and it nearly dropped him. We gave Bute for three days and applied hot and cold for five. After the second check-up, a week later, he had much improved and we are now applying surpass once a day and doing massage on the left lumbar. I can tell he is still over-extending in the rear when he walks, but are still unable to ride. Did the first chiropractor cause my horse to go lame?

Question: Can a stifle problem be helped by chiropratics or acupuncture? This is soft tissue damage in the stifle or possibly in the joint itself.

Question: I recently rescued a filly from the stock yards, a beautiful black and white paint, and under two years old. She has one hip or pubis bone that is about 11/2 inches higher than the other. I was thinking about a chiropractor, to see if the bone can be manipulated back into place. She walks well, unless she is going downhill, which she walks a little unsure in the hind end. Do you have any suggestions?

Question: A local instructor has told me that my horse has a "dropped hip." Can you explain what this is, what impact it may have on my horse's well-being and way-of-going and whether chiropractic adjustments can be helpful?

Question: My mare tore her deep digital flexor tendon and has been lame for three years. Although no longer able to be ridden, she is happily retired and, for most of the time, only slightly lame. However, from time to time, this becomes more marked. The normal course of action is box rest and bute. Is there anything else I could do for her to ease her discomfort? Would acupuncture help? She has poor conformation and has a broken back hoof pastern axis. She is in shoes raised at the heel by a gel pad.

Question: Where can I find a list of qualified equine chiropractors for Alberta, Canada? How do I know if they have proper qualifications?

Question: I currently own a 6-year-old Thoroughbred who has had it rough for his little time he's been on this earth. About 2 1/2 years ago, he and two other horses that his current owner had all went through colic surgery within two weeks. From what I understand it was the lady constantly changing feed and feeding at different times. He hasn't had even a hint of problems since. Since his surgery, he's had what looks like muscle atrophy in his right hip and has just recently been claimed "lightly rideable" by my current vet. I have been working with him in the round pen, however , I haven't wanted to push him too hard. I'm wondering if doing some type of either acupuncture or massage therapy might help with his right hip or if I just need to keep working him in order to build-up that side. Any advice you could give would be greatly appreciated.

Question: I have a 12-year-old Belgium Warmblood mare that I imported from Holland in November. She had a mild bout with colic in December that was resolved with NSAIDS and mineral oil. This happened again in January, but also was very mild and resolved quickly. The mare went on to compete at the top level of showjumping through March of this year. On the 22nd of April, she experienced severe pain and had to undergo surgery for a colon torsion. She is being hand walked twice a day and we have been feeding her orchard hay (3 meals) and Equine Senior with corn oil (2 times a day).

Everything was going well until early June when she began to exhibit the same symptoms of the torsion. She was given Banamine, Buscopan and Xylezine and taken to the hospital. The mare appeared VERY bloated and would barely stand prior to being medicated. Her ultrasound showed a lot of gas buildup. She is comfortable now but I am wondering if you have any ideas on how I can prevent this from happening again? Can this feed program cause extreme gas? Would allergy testing be in order? Do you know of any herbal or "alternative" supplements that could help reduce the gas?

Question: I have a 3-year-old Thoroughbred filly that is in training for dressage. While she is not lame, she has excessive popping in her hindquarters (croup area not stifle). Sometimes it is not present at all, and other times I can hear it at every stride. She has flexed sound. Is it something to be concerned about and would chiropractics be something that could help?

Question: I am a small animal veterinarian, with horses of my own. I have two horses, half-siblings, a gelding that is 9-years-old and a mare that is 7-years-old. I sent both horses to a trainer in April for a tune-up, as they have been off work for two years, due to family obligations on my part. These horses have both been to two other trainers for starting and for further work several times over their first five to seven years, respectively. I sent them to a new trainer this past April. Problems arose right away. I have never had major problems at any of the previous trainers. My gelding is a sweet, quiet, very willing horse, while my mare can be a little stubborn. Right away the trainer let me know she was having trouble tying both horses to a wall in the arena. They both fought it pretty strongly. I have never had problems tying these horses. She did not ride them until about two weeks into their stay there, but they continued to fight being tied to the wall, and when she rode them she had problems with them fighting her. My gelding has never fought anything in his life. Both his previous trainers wanted to keep him for themselves or for show. My husband who does not ride, rides this horse. Again, he is kind, willing and very sweet. I called his previous trainers who reported none of this behavior from him or my mare. We, at first, attributed this to them being off for two years. However, two months later, things are not getting better, and she tells me my gelding is very off, switching leads on the fore and hind constantly while cantering, still fighting the wall, pawing and rearing and backing up when she gets on. She is convinced he is trying to get her off of him and know what he is doing. My mare is doing alright, but is very stiff and will go along fine then stop, and she has to really kick her to go on. The trainer now wants to use spurs. The trainer had a chiropracter look at both my horses, and he is telling me that they both have latent herpes virus neurologic symptoms, which is attributing to thier behavior. He has found "old vesicles" in their mouths, which, according to him, means they had herpesvirus sometime in their past and has told me to call some equine veterinarian in Portland, Oregon, (I am in Illinois, and my horses are being trained in Southeastern Wisconsin) to discuss treatment with colloidal silver and lysine. He is a human chiropracter by training that has supposedly done equine for several years, and in fact, does it exclusively now. As a veterinarian, I am a little skeptical of his diagnosis. I consulted on the Veterinary Information Network with a board-certified equine internal medicine specialist who said she has not seen "vesicles" of any kind, old or new in herpes virus infected horses' mouths and recommends an equine veterinarian look at my horses. The trainer has contacted her veterinarian to set up an exam for both of my horses. I was told that this "phenomenon" is quite common and being treated all over the U.S., but cannot find ANYTHING on it in my search. My problem, up until now, is that my horses are two hours away and I have been at the mercy of the trainer as far as chiropracters and veterinarians. I will be going up tomorrow to see them, and will likely bring them home this week, as this has been an extremely disappointing venture for me and my horses. I am planning on taking them to a well-respected clinic in the Chicago suburbs to have them examined next week. After all this, as for my question, is this "syndrome" something that is truly being diagnosed and treated, or am I being sold down the river? Let me also explain that the trainer is well-respected and I talked to several horse owners who raved about her training, so she comes on good recommendations.

Question: I recently moved my 23-year-old Arabian gelding to my property, which has slightly more hills than his previous pasture. Prior to this move, he has been ridden lightly on moderately hilly and rocky trails, with no soundness problems. He has developed an intermittent "clunk" in his left hip. He does not favor it and he does not appear lame. He has not been ridden since his move to the new property, so his soundness has not really been tested. He has been on regular dose Cosequin for many years for pastern arthritis (confirmed by radiographs). Is this a condition for which chiropractic or acupuncture would be appropriate, or should I have him evaluated by my regular vet prior to any "alternative" treatments?

Question: I have a 23-year-old Arabian who has Cushing's (pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction - PPID) and has been on pergolide (1 mg daily) for approximately 8 years. I am very attentive to his diet and health maintenance and thus far, his only symptoms have been a long coat that does not shed. I recently heard that pergolide was going off the market (for humans) and may be in short supply for horse owners. I heard about "chaste tree berry" as an alternative treatment for PPID. Is there any information you can impart regarding this herbal remedy?

Question: About four months ago, I noticed my two-year-old mule had a "humped" back. It came on rather suddenly, so I don’t believe it is a naturally occurring conformational development. He had been cast in his stall a week or so before, and was also turned out and playing roughly with his much larger brother of the same age. Lots of rearing and "riding" were taking place.

I had an equine chiropractor evaluate my mule, who massaged his loin and used a "tens unit" on the area. This was followed by confinement and ten days of muscle relaxers. Absolutely no changes were seen. He has never exhibited pain, but now seems a bit crabbed in movement at a walk, more like he is tucking his pelvis and his tail is relaxed. Just what specialist do I call out at this point? Many of the equine back specialists in this area seem to be human therapists that have added equine to their list of clients. I feel they don’t really understand the equine physiology nor the demands upon it.

Question: I have a mare that has something eating away at her white line. She was treated with Betadine and sugar with minimal success. Currently, I have been treating with oral collodial silver and a salve to apply to her hooves.

The salve has anti-fungal properties and her sole has sloughed since application began. Do you think that feeding silver is beneficial? I am curious how the body utilizes this element or if it is even worth feeding. Both the silver and salve were provided from a human alternative therapist whom my veterinarian recommended.

Question: How do you view the alternative therapy industry with regards to massage therapy for horses? Do you think it is has a place within horse rehabilitation for muscular problems?