Thoughts on "The Traveling Horse Witch?"

She definitely knows who her target market demographic is and works them all accordingly. The previous MLM work that she did before she moved into horse hooey gave her the tools and insight needed to exploit the mindset and desires of those women.

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This ^^. Pure, unadulterated snake oil. It makes me crazy that the FDA doesn’t/can’t/won’t regulate this crap.

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Let’s not forget that hardy perennial, “detox”.

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I think it was mentioned earlier on the thread, but another scam of the hour I see referenced a lot is the Horse First Podcast. In this episode Dr. Declue actually goes into an unhinged rant about how she is the only vet that understands biomechanics and she won’t give away here magical, secret “treatments” https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/lead-change-problems-in-sport-horses/id1435735981?i=1000598724348

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Wow. Even for her, that episode was shocking in its hubris. The rant starts at around 16 minutes (and the first adjective that came to my mind after “arrogant” was also “unhinged”). The comparison to not asking your cardiothoracic surgeon how to replace your heart valve was ridiculous. If your surgeon won’t explain to you their possible approaches/techniques and the general method of treatment, you should find another surgeon. Not to mention you could research it on Dr Google because there is actual published research. I doubt owners are asking her for step by step instructions on how to treat their own horses, any more than I would ask my surgeon how my husband can replace my heart valve in the kitchen. I think they just want to know what modalities her super-top-secret treatment uses. But then it wouldn’t be super-top-secret. :roll_eyes:

And sure enough, the episode ended in a plea to…send money to fund some super-top-secret research, I think? As with much of what she says it was long on words and short on details, but I think that was the gist.

Wow.

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Wow, could she mention how things are easy for her a few more times? That episode could have been condensed into less than 3 minutes if she took out of all the unnecessary bits.

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She is also this closed with other professionals. I know people who have talked to her and she will not tell another professional what her secret treatment is. Aside from a few that she deems worthy via some “test” she administers. Her claimed reasoning is that nobody else can do it. This I find doubtful.

I don’t know if her methods work of not, but I know she is not very forthcoming about what it is she does, even to other professionals. That is a red flag for me.

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Don’t worry, if she follows the TTHW model, soon there will be an online class where anyone can learn to cure all their horses’ biomechanical woes for the low low price of $999 a month.

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I listened to the podcast, and it left me scratching my head.
Lots of repetition of “this is the only way to fix this, but I’m not going to tell anyone how”.
Then why on earth do a podcast about it?

It was like a kid on the payground, saying, “I know something you don’t know, and it’s really cool, but I’m not going to tell you.”

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Spot on assessment.

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@Ghazzu, not sure which episode(s) you listened to, but I would be very curious to hear whether as a vet you found any of the biomechanical explanations or other substantive content accurate/useful. I’ve been trying to decide if there is anything worthwhile under all the attitude. Here are a few of the things I remember from various episodes:

  • The #1 cause of injuries is equipment (I think that this mainly means saddles, girths, and collars for driving and that the fix is more/softer padding).
  • The top two injured areas are the shoulder girdle and the iliopsoas.
  • Kissing spine and navicular syndrome are caused by shoulder girdle injures.
  • Sternum injuries are very common, to the point that most vets say it’s normal for the sternum to light up on a bone scan.
  • Sleep deprivation is caused by injury to the stay apparatus.
  • Because they are quadrupeds, horses are naturally symmetrical and any one-sidedness is a sign of pain/injury.

Only listened to the episode listed above–hadn’t known of the existence of the series until it was posted on COTH.
The thing that struck me most was the lack of any substantive content (at least this episode). It was more of a tease than anything else.
I found it most curious.

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Does anyone have firsthand experience with Dr. DeClue?
I’m curious as to even a general idea of what type of therapy she employs.
Chiro?
Acupuncture?
Myofascial release?
Deep tissue massage?
Ultrasound guided injections?
Individually designed physical therapy exercises?

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Possibly talk therapy :slight_smile:

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What I have gathered from her cryptic podcasts is she does a lot of nerve and ultrasound guided injections followed by PT. No first hand experience, but most horses I see treated by her end up being lifetime lounging champions and don’t go back to ridden work.

Her theory behind Psoas injuries is that because they are common in humans and dogs, and since the common denominator is we all have hips, they must be common in horses too.

Favorite line of hers has been the #1 cause of lameness is pain… like no shit sherlock.

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Earth. Shattering.

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Not a fan of Dr. DeClue. Her go-to treatment is to inject every single joint, and then the muscle tissue. Regardless of your horse’s issues. Won’t discuss other treatment modalities. Arrogant as all get out.

Not a fan.

ETA: I know several horses being treated by her. They have not been fixed in the year she’s been working with them. They are complex cases, but at this point I’d be bringing in a posse of vets and farriers and body workers. She works with NO OTHER PRACTITIONERS. Not even to consult.

Nope. Not having it.

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Well. I’m back. Because I, apparently, connected with a guru lover. I commented on a post made by Heart Equine of a set of before and after pictures she shared. Claiming “markings (on a paint) had changed” due to body work (not specified). The photographs are CLEARLY different, not because of any work done but because they are taken of different positions and lighting. Apparently, I was being “derogatory” about “situations [she] clearly supports.” One of my comments was deleted and then she edited that “markings didn’t change.” So. MLM is alive and well and being religiously taught to new recruits.

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How…were they theorizing the markings changed? Legs are at different angles…that’s…how different angles work.

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Apparently the “markings changed” from the magical bodywork. When I, and three others, claimed that the only things that changed were position, lighting and camera angle, the vet (Heart Equine) edited her share comment to exclude that the “markings changed.” Then I was no longer permitted to comment. (By her editing “who” was allowed to comment.)

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