Equine
Examination and treatment
Veterinary Consent
The diagnosis and treatment of all animals is controlled by veterinary surgeons (Members of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons).
Before booking an appointment, you should first consult your own vet to discuss the treatment of your animal. Some vets are happy to do this by phone, whilst others may prefer to see the animal first.
What will the examination include?
- The initial consult will take approximately 1 hour and will include a detailed history, age, use and previous medical history. This is important as chronic pain may be the result of an injury that occurred and appeared to heal months or even years ago.
- Examination and palpation of the horse at rest in the stable. Any areas that are sensitive or painful are noted.
- Checking the range of motion of the joints along the spine and limbs
- Assessment of foot balance
- Trotting up
If needed
- Assessment of the horse on the lunge and ridden
- Checking the fit of the bridle and saddle
The Treatment
After this thorough examination, a treatment plan will be devised. This usually includes Fascial Manipulation followed by Acupuncture to treat your animals’ individual problems.
We treat every horse individual and therefore each treatment will be individual too. Sometimes the problems are more complex and there are more factors that contribute to it. It is important to us to work very closely together with your own vet and if needed refer to saddle fitters or specialised farriers.
Following the examination and treatment, a full report will be sent to your own vet. If any problems that require further investigation or conventional veterinary treatment come to light during the examination, these will be dealt with by your vet.
Rehabilitation and Prevention
According to traditional Chinese Medicine every human or animal is interconnected with nature and affected by its forces. The body is seen as an organic whole in which the organs, tissues, and other parts have distinct functions but are all interdependent. In this view, health and disease relate to balance or imbalance of the functions. TCM treatments aim to cure problems by restoring the balance of energies.
We all understand the need of a treatment in an acute injury or long ongoing chronic pain. But many problems start small and owner have the feeling their animal is different than normal or slightly off. Rather than waiting for a small problem to become big we encourage owners to have their animals checked regularly to make sure they are comfortable or high-profile athletes to be able to compete to their maximum ability.
Emergencies
All vets in the UK have a duty of care to ensure that their patients have access to 24-hour emergency treatment. As we treat horse over a wide area, we cannot provide this for all our patients. It is therefore essential that your own vet knows that your horse is being examined and treated. In every case, communication between all those involved in treating your horse is very important.
Insurance
Most insurance companies cover alternative treatments such as acupuncture etc, once you have been referred to us by your vet.
