Acupuncture isn’t just for humans horses can get it too! In fact, the benefits of horse acupuncture are great. It is an additional complimentary treatment that many equestrians are starting to incorporate into their horse’s regular care on top of traditional physiotherapy and vet visits.
What Is Acupuncture
Acupuncture is an ancient treatment with 2,000-years of history. It has its origins in Traditional Chinese Medicine. The belief is that the body has thousands of acupuncture points through which connect via pathways. Energy flows through these pathways and promotes a healthy body. When these pathways get blocked, so does the flow of energy, and thus disease can set in.
The practice of acupuncture is to unblock the pathways and improve energy flow. This energy flow is called Qi (Chee).
Required Qualifications To Carry Out Acupuncture On Horses In Australia
Not everyone can apply acupuncture to horses. It is still invasive and, while safe, needs care and knowledge to do it correctly. In Australia, those who use acupuncture must have the correct, recognised certification. This includes veterinarians.
The Australian Veterinary Acupuncture Group provides an official certification via its IVAS Veterinary Acupuncture Course at The Australian College of Veterinary Acupuncture. When vets complete this course, they can state that they are a CVA (Certification in Veterinary Acupuncture). To keep their CVA valid, vets must take regular CPD training courses.
Only licensed veterinarians can administer veterinary acupuncture. They must hold the correct certification to carry out these treatments. It is also essential to use a certified vet, as they will combine their knowledge to diagnose and carry out the correct type of treatment. This avoids improper treatment, which can cause harm to the horse.
If the practitioner is not a licenced veterinarian in Australia, they cannot legally administer acupuncture. When thinking about using this treatment on your horse, do not use someone who is not a vet certified in acupuncture. You put your horse at risk and will likely not get the right or safe treatment.
Benefits Of Acupuncture For Australian Horses
Acupuncture has many benefits for horses. For starters, it is an option for competition horses that need treatment but can’t have certain medications due to rules on prohibited substances. It is safe to use, well-tolerated by horses and has little to no side effects.
The main benefits of acupuncture include:
- Pain reduction.
- Improving circulation.
- Reducing inflammation.
- Helping gut motility.
- Balancing the reproductive system.
- Stimulating the immune system.
- Even reducing fevers.
#1 Respiratory Benefits Of Acupuncture For Horses
Horses with respiratory problems, such as COPD, asthma, and pulmonary haemorrhage induced by exercise, can show improvement with acupuncture. Vets find that it can help better control COPD and heaves when combined with other medical treatments.
#2 Gastrointestinal System Benefits Of Acupuncture For Horses
Of the many benefits of acupuncture for horses, gastrointestinal issues are among the most common reasons to add it to the treatment. When a horse colics, acupuncture can combine with western veterinary medicine to help control pain and improve gut motility.
It can also help with ulcer pain, but it is more common to use it as an indicator of ulcers. The vet will use acupuncture to test the reactivity of specific acupuncture points. If these points show certain levels of reactivity, it can help the vet know what further testing to do, such as scoping.
Another way acupuncture benefits the gastrointestinal system is to use it on horses with a poor appetite. Treatment can help stimulate the horse to eat more.
#3 Neurological Benefits Of Acupuncture For Horses
Nerve damage can cause muscle atrophy in horses. When electrostimulation acupuncture is applied to the affected muscles and nerves, it causes the muscle to contract. This can help stimulate the nerve and muscle to work better.
Facial paralysis also sees excellent results from the use of acupuncture.
#4 Back and Neck Pain In The Horse
Two areas that commonly cause an issue for the horse, especially competition horses, is the thoracolumbar and Lumbosacral regions. When a horse is showing pain, the thoracolumbar region is secondary, meaning it is compensation for pain elsewhere in the body.
Acupuncture of the back can help a vet better determine where the pain is originating and provide relief. Lumbosacral (pelvic area) pain will often result in hock or stifle pain. When acupuncture relieves lumbosacral pain, it will carry over to stopping the pain in the limb.
#5 Musculoskeletal Benefits Of Acupuncture In Horses
Some major musculoskeletal issues have had positive results from the use of acupuncture. This includes laminitis, navicular, and arthritis.
When laminitis is in the acute phase, the application of acupuncture can show rapid improvements in pain and the horse’s stance. It will also help with the spasm and pain of the back that the laminitis stance causes. For chronic laminitis, acupuncture will help with general body pain.
According to studies, horses with chronic foot pain from issues such as navicular benefit greatly from acupuncture treatments. Adding acupuncture to the routine treatment for navicular, including specific shoeing, shows better results than just farrier care.
Arthritis can affect the entire horse. Treating the entire horse will provide overall better results than focusing on just the arthritic joint.
Types Of Acupuncture For Horses
A qualified acupuncture practitioner will use one of several different types of acupuncture on your horse.
Dry Needling
Dry needling is the most traditional and common type of acupuncture. This process involves inserting very thin needles in specific acupuncture points on the horse’s body. The placement will vary depending on what ailment the practitioner is treating.
Needle sizes vary in length from 1.27 centimetres to 15.25 centimetres. The width also varies from 0.25 to 0.75 millimetres. Smaller needles are used on the lower legs, ears, and face, while the longest inserts into areas with large muscles, such as the neck and back. In most cases, these needles are solid stainless steel.
Electrostimulation
After dry needling, electrostimulation acupuncture is frequently the chosen option. This treatment involves using traditional needles in the same way as dry needling. Once the needles are inserted, electrodes are attached, which send an electrical current into the needles around a specific acupuncture point.
This is a popular treatment with vets treating nerve damage, back pain, and over tense muscles. The vet adjusts the strength and pulse of the electrical current.
Moxibustion
Moxibustion is a method that you are likely to have less familiarity with. This method combines the use of heat and traditional needles. The needles are inserted, and heat applied indirectly by placing burning mugwort, a herb, next to the needle. This heats the needle, which transfers into the acupuncture point.
Practitioners like to use this method for treating arthritis, long term muscle pain, healing wounds, and reproductive problems.
Cold Laser
Cold laser is slightly different in that it does not require the use of needles. The cold laser is held over the trigger points or acupuncture points. It is sometimes an alternative option for areas on the horse that might have extra sensitivity or are hard to reach with traditional needles.
Conclusion
It is increasingly common for vets to recommend the use of acupuncture. Vets widely recognise the benefits of acupuncture as a legitimate and effective treatment. However, vets do not view it as the first line of treatment but instead as a complementary therapy for horses. It works well alongside other veterinary treatments. Horses can benefit substantially from it, while it causes them little pain to undergo. A vet can also administer acupuncture anywhere, even if you are on the road competing.
It is a great option to use on a horse when you are trying to reduce the use of chemical intervention, which long term use of can cause problems. Like people, horses tend to enjoy the treatment and feel better after it.