More on Dr. Jim Yanchunis: He’s a DVM who also practices alternative medicine. My friend swears by him and I had him out for my horses twice. (FWIW, I’ve done acupuncture a couple of times but that’s it, so I’m not a bodywork connoisseur.) For my horses he did myofascial work, chiropractic work, cold laser, and stretching. The myofasical stuff was interesting because one horse went from flinching dramatically when touched in certain areas at the beginning of the session to not minding at all. I felt pretty guilty that he was so uncomfortable and hopeful that there would be a noticeable improvement in his ridden work.
However, I did not notice any change in my horse’s comfort under saddle or way of going, even though I kept up with the prescribed stretches. (The horse was a late-teen FEI horse who was generally sound and happy in his work, so there wasn’t a major deficiency to correct, just the usual asymmetries and wear and tear.)
Overall I’m a bit of a bodywork skeptic although I see a manual PT monthly and have had good results from (human) acupuncture and chiropractic work in the past, so take this with a grain of salt. At the very least, Dr. Jim is knowledgeable and compassionate, and will do no harm.
