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The Horse |
Health Features - Alternative and Complimentary Therapies |
            
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What are they?
Anything that is not part of accepted veterinary medicine is described as alternative. Veterinary medicine like conventional (western) human medicine is based on scientific knowledge of anatomy, physiology and chemical remedies. However, recently there has been a resurgence in interest in traditional herbal, eastern and more obscure therapies either as an alternative to or as a compliment to veterinary therapies. This may be due to the growing desire to refrain from using chemical products (for a variety of reasons), to explore more holistic approaches to health or simply to explore treatments which offer more hope for recovery from recurring or difficult illnesses or conditions.
Virtually Horses is not endorsing any of these therapies but we think that you should be well informed about all your horse's health options (and indeed your own).
You
should seek the assistance of your vet as soon as possible when your horse
is ill, in pain or injured.
An ancient Eastern
therapy where special needles are inserted into the skin at the points
on the body located on meridians or energy channels, with the aim of
correcting the body's energy flow which has become unbalanced and caused
the paticular physical problem being treated. Acupuncture is now
readily accepted by many veterinarians, horse trainers and owners and
some vets will include acupuncture in their own services.
Thomas Ambrose Bowen was born on 18 April 1916 in
Brunswick, Victoria, Australia, a suburb of Melbourne. From the 1950s
until his death on 27 October 1982 he developed his unique soft-tissue
therapeutic technique that is now known as The Bowen Technique. Tom
Bowen was not formally trained in any medical or alternative therapy
discipline. He stated simply that his work was 'a gift from God';
nevertheless, he considered himself to be an osteopath since his
assessment and treatment of each patient reflected the complete
physiological situation presenting in the moment.
Equine Bowen Therapy was developed from the original
human version and is a gentle, non-intrusive hands on therapy which
stimulates the body's inner ability to heal itself to be activated. This
reorganisation of the musculature of the body can bring increased energy
levels and pain relief. As a soft tissue therapy, it 'disturbs' the
fascia or connective tissue, there is no pulling or cracking of joints
and no insertion of needles. The therapist uses fingers or thumbs in a
rolling action over specific muscles, tendons and ligaments,
incorporating resting periods to allow the body to absorb the
information and respond accordingly.
Chiropractic is used
to treat some spinal and nervous system problems, both of which can
result in disease elsewhere in the body. Chiropractors use
short, quick manipulative movements to encourage the spine to realign
and bring about physical harmony. McTimony technique is the branch
of chiropractic which looks at the whole skeletal structure, so other
parts of the body may be manipulated in addition to the back.
EMRT
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Equine Muscle Release Therapy
EMRT has been adapted from the well-known
Bowen Technique used on humans, now being taught and practiced
worldwide. EMRT involves a series of non-invasive connective tissue
manipulations applied to key points on the horse's body. EMRT means
Equine Muscle Release Therapy. EMRT helps correct restrictions and
misalignments of fascia and tissue, restoring symmetry and balance to
the body at a musculo-skeletal level and also as in terms of energy flow
thus freeing congestion, increasing the circulation of nutrients and the
removal of waste products from the horse's body.
Herbal ointments,
tinctures, or medicines are made from any number of plants (not
necessarily herbs). It is important to recognise that just because
a remedy is 'herbal' it does not mean that it is not capable of being
just as toxic as it's manufactured chemical cousins. It is important
when choosing herbal remedies to understand how it works, and any toxic
side affects - in other words the sort of considerations that your vet
would (or should) make when prescribing conventional drugs.
Homeopathy
Homeopathy is not the same as herbal.
Homeopathic remedies are herbal tinctures diluted to a high degree - so
high that in many cases it is not possible for even a single molecule of
the original herbal tincture to still exist. I recommend you visit
Homeowatch if you are
interested in Homeopathy
Is the manipulation of
the soft tissues of the body to bring about relaxation and a reduction
in pain or tension. May be used for strains or sprains or to
relieve muscle tension.
Similar to
chiropractic, osteopathy relieves the tension in the body by encouraging
the spine and pelvis into a correct position. Osteopaths use long
slow movements and may exert pressure on a body part far removed from
the one they are actually treating.
Perhaps the most
well-established and widely available therapy for various injuries,
physiotherapy involves the use of physical methods to restore normal
muscular function. This can include manual manipulation, the use
of heat an light, ultrasound, electrical stimulation and remedial
exercise.
Radionics uses
instruments to detect disturbances in the energy radiations which are
being emitted by the body. These radiations have a pattern and
radionics is used firstly to diagnose the physical problem and also to
treat it by normalising the radiations.
Reiki is a Japanese
system by which healing energy from the pratitioner flows directly into
the diseased or injured part of the body of the patient.
Shiatsu uses the
meridian lines of acupuncture to restore energyflow wth finger pressure
instead of needles.
Tellington Touch
- TTouch
or TTeam
TTouch is used to
treat the whole body using massage techniques and exercises to bring
about relaxation, both mentally and physically. TTouch aims to
raise a horse's awareness, so that he becomes more co-ordinated and
confident.
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| On This Page | |
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Acupuncture Bowen Technique Chiropractic EMRT Herbal Massage Osteopathy Physiotherapy Radionics Reiki Shiatsu T-Touch |
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| Links | |
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Physical Therapies
Equine
Therapy - Rachel Phillips
Massage, electro-stimulation of
muscles and physiotherapy for horses. Rachel works in Auckland and Waikato areas.
Reiki - the history and theory
Tellington Touch
- Linda Tellington Jone's website - learn more about TTouch from the
horse's mouth
The Radionics and Dowsing Institute
- Information on radionics & other alternative therapies
Radionics
- and to provide a balanced look at this therapy, an article from the
Austrialian sceptics society
EMRT
- An explaination of EMRT from an Australian Alternative Therapies
website
Holistictherapiesforall.com Eqiune Bowen Therapist
Equine Magnetic Therapy
- magnetic blankets, boots, products
Modality of Movement- Chiropractic Nutrition & Supplements & Herbal Health Care for Horses
GLCDirect
- Glucosamine + Chondroitin supplement for joint/cartilage
Grand Meadows
- Supplements for improved joint
functionality
Sure Nutrition
- Natural herbal supplements
Naturally Equine
- New Zealand supplier of Homeopathic
remedies and supplements
A Drop in the Bucket
- Herbal food supplements - immune
system, skin problems, respiration
Herbal Treatments Australia
PowerBoost 2000 QI
- Chinese Herbal Biscuits
EquiLite
- Natural supplements for horses , catalogue available
Horse Herbs
- A fairly comprehensive supplier site, including information on their
research
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