I had someone who practices out to look at my horse while she was looking at my friend’s horse. I’m not sure I’m sold so looking for more information. I would like some opinions before I explain more about my misgivings so as to hopefully get more ideas before focusing on that.
You might want to ask on the British forums. They are more popular over there.
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If your question is whether equine osteopathy is a legit therapy and profession, I’d say yes. IMO the equine ostepath should be working under the direction of a veterinarian to offer one component of veterinarian directed treatment.
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DM sent.
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Not all are created equal or have the same education. Some are vets who have taken additional courses to become osteopaths. Some are body workers who have taken a very similar course, but can’t call themselves doctors of osteopathy. (Not saying this makes them not as good, just that they have a different background)
So, it’s basically like anything else, some are better than others.
Here is a before and after of an osteopath’s assessment work on my mare, who was perpetually unhappy under saddle even after a number of vet treatments. Her right hip was discovered to be misaligned, and the gentle manipulations that the osteopath did brought it back into alignment. It has been 3 weeks since the initial visit and the hip is holding in place!
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Thank you for the information!
Did your Osteopath just do alignments or talk about nutrition/organ function as well? Did they work with your vet or separately?
She did alignments and although she requested the horse’s diet info from me, she did not go into any discussion on it. She is separate from my vet. I don’t know of any local (to me) vets who are open to working alongside any kind of bodyworker TBH!
Edited to add: She came out again today for our second visit and focused on acupressure as well as gentle manipulations.
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What exactly distinguishes a regular “bodyworker” from an osteopath in terms of practice?
There are certain schools that teach it. It is different from your regular bodyworker. Some are vets or closer to vets than body workers. It really depends on each individual’s background.
I am neither so I don’t know the specific differences. However they do have different focus. In the UK they are the bridge between a vet and a body worker as far as practice areas go.
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Thanks for the information everyone and thank you for further explanation @BayBondGirl .
I’m still a bit muddled as to how Osteopathy is different than chiropractic and massage work and look forward to @libgrrl 's question being answered
As far as the individuals that looked at my horse - I think the red flags were for them more than the practice of Osteopathy and I can just step away from them in particular and continue my usual horse care route.
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Here is an article I found from the Uk to explain the difference.
I would use a vet trained as an osteopath but not just someone practicing osteopathy. Same for chiro for me. Muscle bodywork it’s harder to do damage. Actual bone adjustments you can do damage. I had the barn osteopath work on my tb and he was completely crippled lame the next day. She refused to call me back and ghosted my barn and trainer. I had to have my vet out and tbh he’s never been the same. She broke apart some scar tissue or fascia that he was using to compensate. It was too much too soon.
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Geez, well I guess luckily these individuals did not do any actual manipulation…of course that was one of the first question marks.
Then there was the dissmissing/insulting my personal dentist because obviously he doesn’t know anything about Osteopathy (somehow this was known even though I didn’t even tell them the dentist name, just made a comment about what he said about my jaw). [note: it was done to my horse professionals, but I kind of expected that from them…the human dentist thing threw me a bit]
The vague discussion of issues
The dismissing me when I said my horse does better on oats and has been off oats before.
The weird issue with feeding garlic to our horses
Then in the follow up email where I asked for more clarification…saying proteins are sugars
Finally…quick google search shows no degrees or certificates.
Kind of sad I spent that money but it is what it is - I don’t mind looking at alternate medicine and more holistic means to address issues but not these particular individuals.
On the other hand…my horse’s chiropractor is a practicing vet (roughly 30 years) known for his expertise in lameness who will also say things like “I don’t really know, that isn’t my area of expertise” if he doesn’t know. He also has a sense of humor and has never insulted or dismissed any other profession or professional.
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Sorry to hear it was suboptimal. I also have a “mystery mare.” I’m not super duper keen on throwing all the things at her without at least “testing” a bit to see if any particular therapy makes a notable difference without proceeding further. I have sadly retired her, so I’m just trying to keep her comfortable without going crazy.
