Slowly the states are taking away our right to find alternative ways of helping our horses. Laws are being passed that limit alternative health care to the vets. In many areas of the country, there is a shortage of equine vets as it is. Now the laws are limiting anything from chiropractic to massage to magnetic therapy to the vets. Most of these alternative methods can be used effectively and safely by a properly trained lay person. These laws are limiting the care we can provide our horses. I have a 6 yr old mare that lacerated a tendon before her 2nd bithday. She spent a month at a vet school. According to the vets, she was never to be sound for her intended purpose of dressage. I pursued alternative methods of healing her tendon including mirco-electric current, ultrasound, infrasound, magnetics, homeopathy, aroma therapy oils, and accupuncture. She has since won many blue ribbons and a high point award in dressage at intro and training level. She will be showing at first and second level in the near future. The vets were amazed at the results. Most of the alternative methods I used were administered by myself or another lay person. The accupunture was done by a licensed vet. These rights to help our horses are being taken away state by state. Soon all we will have access to is traditional vet medicine. That does not always work as in the case of my mare. How many of you can see a vet having the time to do an hour massage on a sport horse when they are already over booked because of the lack of equine vets?
OMG, they are insinuating that magnets are dangerous? snort :lol:
Or the owners that might refuse conventional medicine might be dangerous…hmmm…seriously, I’ve known folks like this. Not insinuating the OP is, just that I’ve known folks that let their animals suffer since conventional medicine isn’t up to their idea of snuff.
In most states, you’d be just fine–if it’s your animal you’re treating with whatever methods you choose, so long as they don’t constitute animal cruelty.
However, if you went about the countryside treating someone else’s animals, and charging a fee for it, you might run afoul of the laws.
That makes a lot of sense to me, thanks Ghazzu. 
So an owner is supposed to learn massage, aromatherapy, homeopathy, ultrasound therapy, electro-magnetic, chiropractic, magnets, lasers, and invest in all the equipment/tools etc. to do it?
That is the problem. You are fine if you treat your own animal. If you give someone advice on treating an animal you can be in trouble. I use a chiropractor for my horses that is not a vet or a DC. She has been doing this work for over 30 years. In my opinion, she is much more effective than most of the vet chiropractors out there. She will spend and hour or longer looking at a horse, watching it move and so on. She has developed a whole new way of adjusting a horse. These laws make it a crime for her to work or in some cases for me to hire her to work. She travels to Canada regularly and works with vets there. Many of the vets there highly recommend her even over other chiropractors.
Maybe they’re trying to protect the consumer from fake practitioners who could potentially do more harm than good?
That’s a bit like throwing the baby out with the bathwater isn’t it? And not very fair to the ‘not fake’ practitioners either. That’s very kind of them to undertake this mission on behalf of owners, but who’s going to protect the consumer from the lousy vets?
[QUOTE=redleaflady;3042032]
That is the problem. You are fine if you treat your own animal. If you give someone advice on treating an animal you can be in trouble. I use a chiropractor for my horses that is not a vet or a DC. She has been doing this work for over 30 years. In my opinion, she is much more effective than most of the vet chiropractors out there. She will spend and hour or longer looking at a horse, watching it move and so on. She has developed a whole new way of adjusting a horse. These laws make it a crime for her to work or in some cases for me to hire her to work. She travels to Canada regularly and works with vets there. Many of the vets there highly recommend her even over other chiropractors.[/QUOTE]
Redleaflady, I use the same lady, and she is so wonderful. In fact mine are due. I don’t know what this world is coming to if you can’t use who you want to as long as you are not endangering your animals!
The “not fake” practitioners may have to organize themselves, begin a process of regulation, accreditation, and credentialing just like every other professional who “cares for” someone or something. These same processes are designed to protect the consumer from lousy vets, hairdressers, acupuncturists and anything else. Is the system perfect? No, but it beats no system at all, wherein anyone with a half-baked idea and a good sales pitch can set themselves up as a “practitioner”. The brilliant and the competent can no more be above the rules than are the crackpots and the crooks.
[QUOTE=Lookout;3042126]
That’s a bit like throwing the baby out with the bathwater isn’t it? And not very fair to the ‘not fake’ practitioners either. That’s very kind of them to undertake this mission on behalf of owners, but who’s going to protect the consumer from the lousy vets?[/QUOTE]
Well said
No, but it beats no system at all, wherein anyone with a half-baked idea and a good sales pitch can set themselves up as a “practitioner”.
Please! Half-ass “trainers” and shoddy farriers do far more harm than alternative practitioners and they are completely unregulated.
I’m fairly conservative when it comes ot vet care myself, but I can’t imagine a massage therapist or someone with an ultrasound or a light wand causing much in the way of problems.
[QUOTE=deltawave;3042105]
Maybe they’re trying to protect the consumer from fake practitioners who could potentially do more harm than good?[/QUOTE]
I agree. The OP doesn’t say exactly how they are going to make it more “difficult” for us.
If it means my chiro/acupuncturist has to go get certified, so be it, get that license and I have to pay a touch more. Oh wait, she already has it because I wouldn’t dare let someone crack my horses that doesn’t have a license. I’m sure you wouldn’t want an inlicensed doctor or nurse taking care of you… OR some person who says, yeah yeah, I am a chiro! Then paralyzes your horse by cracking your horses neck incorrectly. Yep, it could happen even with a licensed person, but at least the licensed are going to get in trouble if they kill too many, and are forced a certain education if they are going to practice. JMO.
In Florida you can not ‘work’ on a horse unless your a Vet. That includes horseshoers. No one I know has been in trouble with the law for shoeing a horse.
I consider it a “problem” when people are duped, fleeced, and relieved of their hard-earned money by con artists. Maybe no harm is done to the animal, how do we know? If something has an “effect” it may have a “side effect”. Without SOME form of regulation or at least bare minimum accreditation of competence, how does the average horse owner (there are, of course, NONE of those here, LOL) know who’s credible and who’s not?
Ultrasound can cause intense pain and soft tissue injury if improperly used. Herbs? Let’s not argue that they can have potentially VERY potent effects, OK? Chiropractic manipulation with no training? SCARY. Heck, even massage is contraindicated in certain medical conditions. Not saying these modalities don’t have a role, but why would anyone be averse to a system of knowing the practitioner they call on is reputable and well trained? 
Just because the current system is lousy doesn’t mean the corollary is that NO system is a good thing.
[QUOTE=wildREDhorse;3042187]
I agree. The OP doesn’t say exactly how they are going to make it more “difficult” for us.
If it means my chiro/acupuncturist has to go get certified, so be it, get that license and I have to pay a touch more. Oh wait, she already has it because I wouldn’t dare let someone crack my horses that doesn’t have a license. I’m sure you wouldn’t want an inlicensed doctor or nurse taking care of you… OR some person who says, yeah yeah, I am a chiro! Then paralyzes your horse by cracking your horses neck incorrectly. Yep, it could happen even with a licensed person, but at least the licensed are going to get in trouble if they kill too many, and are forced a certain education if they are going to practice. JMO.[/QUOTE]
It may be that your chiro/acupuncturist has to be a vet, not just “certified”, which quite honestly, I thought chiros already had to be licensed in most states, in some way. So do you think your person would go back to vet school just to keep practicing??? Personally, I think they have to work WITH a vet, not BE a vet. Which vet would have the time to do all of these things? Yes, perhaps some regulations as there ARE some fools out there who get taken in by quacks, but I’d like to know what these exact laws are.
[QUOTE=deltawave;3042195]
Ultrasound can cause intense pain and soft tissue injury if improperly used. Herbs? Let’s not argue that they can have potentially VERY potent effects, OK? Chiropractic manipulation with no training? SCARY. Heck, even massage is contraindicated in certain medical conditions.
Just because the current system is lousy doesn’t mean the corollary is that NO system is a good thing.[/QUOTE]
Yes, yes and yes. IME. I had ultrasound done on my finger after I stupidly (and I’ll leave out details) cut my tendon in my finger in half. The stupid OT assistant make me want to punch her, and I have a high pain tolerance. To put it in perspective, when my finger was cut in half bleeding everywhere, I strongly insisted I ONLY needed a bandaid.
deltawave is right on key with her statements.
Heck, even massage is contraindicated in certain medical conditions.
Fever, shock and cancer. That’s it, and all CESMT’s know that.
Read on.
This one is the real kicker…if you can get thru it all.
http://medtech.syrene.net/forum/archive/index.php?t-2391.html
now, Indiana is under attack:
http://www.in.gov/apps/lsa/session/billwatch/billinfo?year=2008&session=1&request=getBill&docno=316
Please! Half-ass “trainers” and shoddy farriers do far more harm than alternative practitioners and they are completely unregulated.
Yep…they’re next!!
If it means my chiro/acupuncturist has to go get certified, so be it, get that license and I have to pay a touch more. Oh wait, she already has it because I wouldn’t dare let someone crack my horses that doesn’t have a license.
Me neither…but there are schools that are certifying people to do this. The schools are good schools!! 2 year with 6months of apprenticship. Do you think they should be told they can no longer practice?? Don’t you think it’s your right to use alternative therapies to help your horse if you so desire? Do you believe that your vet will learn these to help you?? I’m lucky, I have a vet that does! Yet, it will hurt those who are using massage therapy, which works great with chiro! I know of NO VET that does massage therapy.
Without SOME form of regulation or at least bare minimum accreditation of competence, how does the average horse owner (there are, of course, NONE of those here, LOL) know who’s credible and who’s not?
That is not the point at issue here. It is legislation saying that only a VET can perform such treatments. That is like saying only an MD can pull blood, or give you a massage. Trained therapists and techs to work on people all the time, why not horses?
And in answer to your point- there are plenty of respected accreditation programs in place for equine therapists as well as state laws governing such. Anyone with half a brain is not going to hire an unlicensed or fly-by-night chiro or massage therapist. The less-than-half-brainers out there, and god knows there’s plenty of them, are likely to already be doing far more harm to their horses with home-school farriery or wire war bridles or something. Massage is benign in comparison.
Plus, the only vet I know who’s a also chiro is godawful. He damn near did cripple my mare.
FWIW, this is already the law in Ohio and has been for some time. I believe it is the same in other states as well. However, I still know many, many people who practice either dentistry, massage or chiro that are not licensed veterinarians. My point being that there is little to no enforcement of the law. I think it may only become a problem if someone has a complaint.
