[QUOTE=PNWjumper;8190048]
I hate threads like these because I can’t convince you by telling you what I’ve seen and experienced, though I often get sucked into trying ;). I agree with those above who say that it depends on the person, and I’ve seen far more quacks than I have good chiropractors. But when you find a good one it can be absolutely life changing for many horses. Same story goes for people chiropractors. After decades of trying completely useless human chiropractors, I found a guy who absolutely changed my life and “fixed” me to the point that I haven’t had to see him in over a year and have no plans of going back (which is his plan - it’s NOT the old standby of seeing someone twice a week for the rest of their lives!).
For over a decade I picked up horses that were “unredeemable” in one way or another (attitude, lameness, etc.). 9 out of 10 times my vet/chiro was able to get to the root of the issue via chiro/acupuncture - several of the ones I picked up were lame and had had thousands of dollars (into the 10s of thousands) spent on them for every diagnostic possible via a traditional vet. Every one of the “questionable lameness” ones were fixed within a handful of chiro/acupuncture sessions (or in the worst cases, maybe 6-10 sessions within the course of a year). One horse that I picked up was in great shape and never benefitted from bodywork. Every one of my others have had drastic changes at the hands of my bodyworkers.
My Grand Prix horses wouldn’t have ever made it that far without chiropractic work. Though to be fair, the real difference was the combination of vet/chiro/acupuncture AND proper conditioning and strength training. But I can 100% guarantee that my mare who jumped far outside of her scope zone (we did the 1.40m and she should have been limited to maybe 1.15m) and my OTTB who is now doing FEI GPs after coming off of the track a trainwreck (his pelvis was tilted forward and sheared to one side in a dramatically visible manner), would never have been able to use their bodies as efficiently as needed without a serious focus on bodywork for the long term.
All I can say for people who “don’t believe in it” is that they haven’t seen a good person work on a horse…OR they are unable to see the difference in body usage before and after. I’ve seen big changes in how my horses use their backs, how they track up behind, in the evenness in front and shoulder/neck utilization. Sometimes the change is crazy and sometimes it’s much more subtle. But I can almost always feel the change when I get back in the tack. And on rare occasion, I don’t. But I trust my bodyworkers and they have been key in transforming my horses into efficient athletes from perhaps not the best starting material physically speaking.
So does it work on every horse? No. Some horses are naturally so well put together that they’re just not prone to issues. But I’ve had one of those out of maybe 30 horses over the years. Is it something anyone can do? Just like riding, no. I’ve seen far more bad bodyworkers (human chiro and horse chiro) than good ones. The one I have now is one of the best I’ve ever worked with and has been one of the major driving forces behind getting my horses to the top of the sport. Does it have to be chiro? No. I think a good bodyworker is a good bodyworker whether it’s massage, chiro, acupuncture, mesotherapy, or just plain old “body work.” Further, I don’t trust anyone who claims that only one method works. And I feel really lucky to have access to my gal who combines her eastern medicine with western medicine and has incorporated things like shockwave therapy on the SI area to help her chiro sessions “hold” better (HUGE difference for one of my mares, not as big of a difference for one of my geldings).
I’ve also seen dramatic differences like a mare of mine who came in from the pasture after the 4th of July three-legged lame on her RF. We were thinking that in the running around during the fireworks she shredded something in her leg or wrecked her shoulder. My vet came out prepared to investigate as an acute injury and ended up spending about an hour working on her shoulder and neck. The mare walked off sound. I’ve had many of those moments where I wish I had the foresight to video the before and after.
So do I “believe” in chiropractic? I find it such an odd question about whether I “believe” in it…I’ve seen major differences at the hands of chiropractic work. I don’t have to “believe” in it to see those differences. To me it’s an important tool that I use on all of my horses. But finding a good person to do it is a whole 'nother story…[/QUOTE]
Thank you for saving me a few hours to have typed this ^ up myself. 
To add - Where I live it is illegal for a person to work if they are not a licensed veterinarian or a licensed chiropractor under the direct supervision of a veterinarian. I only use licensed veterinarians that have an equine chiropractic license.
For over 20 years I have used chiropractors for my horses very successfully…
