Modern horse owners want to do everything possible to bring their horses back to the peak of health, be they valuable competition horses or beloved backyard pets. For many years, the medical professional looked with scorn upon holistic or alternative healthcare practitioners but nowadays they can often be seen working as a team for the benefit of the horse. Many of the holistic therapies available for humans are now available and beneficial for equines and Complementary and Alternative Veterinary Medicine is a growing field. For example, there are a wide range of behaviors and conditions in horses that may be helped by Equine Chiropractic adjustment. These range from discomfort while being saddled, and irregularities of gait, such as dragging of toes to the refusal to jump.
Chiropractic care looks to the relationship of the spine and the nervous system.
Misalignments in the spine can restrict the flow of nerve impulses, or messages, along the nerves pathways, leading to symptoms showing up in other parts of the body affected by this restriction of nerve impulses. This is what chiropractic adjustments seek to remedy by the realigning of the spine, allowing the nervous system to work properly again. The ancient arts of acupuncture and acupressure have been found to as be beneficial to horses as they are to humans. Acupressure releases the flow of natural endorphins, thereby acting as a natural pain reliever. In addition, the increased blood flow stimulated by the acupressure brings nutrients to the area being treated and also quickly moves waste materials away.