Osteopathy in horses only recently made its entrance into the veterinary world – just like for other animals, by the way. It is a holistic healing method developed at the end of the 19th century. Holistic simply means “as a whole”. Every part of our body is directly or indirectly connected to another part. For example, a liver problem can cause skin issues or a sprained ankle can lead to lower back pain, and so on.
The horse osteopath relies entirely on the anatomy, physiology, and neurology of the horse’s body and is by no means synonymous with a mystical, hocus-pocus therapist.
Indications for osteopathy in horses:
Possible indications:
- Orthopedic and back problems:
Irregular gait, frequent stumbling, reduced use of the back, decreased muscling, difficulty with lead changes, difficulty engaging the hindquarters. - Internal problems:
Suboptimal digestion, recurrent colic or diarrhea. - Reproductive problems:
Failure of mares to come into heat, failure to conceive, “problem mares.” - Behavioral problems:
A horse is not born unmanageable! The real cause of unruly horses is rarely due to a bad character. - Riding problems:
Difficulty on one side, holding the bit, going flat over jumps. - Prevention:
We impose a lifestyle on our horses that is completely unnatural. A horse in the wild moves and eats almost all day. We often confine our sport horses for 23 hours a day and give them two large servings of highly concentrated feed.
Treatment by a horse osteopath can be preventive in this regard. The body is enabled to function as well as possible despite the restrictions and unnatural living conditions we impose. Blockages can thus be treated before the rider becomes aware of them and before they cause clinical problems.
As a general rule, in acute cases, a veterinarian should be consulted first.
A horse osteopath will often refuse to treat severe colic or a suddenly lame horse.
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