I’ve been seeing her posts a lot on Facebook and curious on coth thoughts. Many people seem to swear by her work and a lot of it makes sense, but is it misinformation or damaging? What do you think about conclusions being drawn from dissection? Any other info from reputable vets on this topic?
Never heard of her, had to Google. New Zealand amateur dissectionist, doing classical dressage with Andalusians, trained as a taxidermist.
Can’t see any more without joining Patreon.
I did follow another New Zealander who dissects hooves until most of her stuff also went behind a Patreon paywall.
My feeling on the ammie dissection crowd (feels like a crowd!) is that you can always learn something by watching (or doing) a dissection. My vet once put on a lower leg dissection clinic at the college where I teach. Totally fascinating.
Now when these ammie social media dissectionists who have no medical or vet training start to draw any controversial conclusions, is where you need to stop and start verifying what they are saying with other sources.
I suck at dissection it turns out, compared to all the college kids in biology heading for vet school!! So I love watching someone with the mathematical precision to slice a hoof and explore inside cracks. I know enough about a hoof to know if the dissectionist is talking us through in a generally correct manner.
Does that mean I credit the dissectionist with the skill to actually trim my live horse, suggest care options, suggest diet, suggest rehab? No. I felt like the hoof dissection person started out knowing less about trimming than I do (I know a lot about trimming theoretically but don’t have the skills or physical strength to do anything much beyond rasp. Yup there’s a pattern here!).
From former posts sounds like you have the worry of a horse with cervical arthritis and my guess is this person has some original ideas about how to treat that. However I don’t have access to her material and don’t see any reason at the moment that she’s compelling enough to follow.
What is it that she’s proposing that you care enough about fact checking?
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Becks never gives advice on treatment. She is gifted horses with issues to dissect, and points out issues or irregularities. If she doesn’t know, she will give her findings to vets or scientists for second opinions
Her Patreon is awesome. She gives a bit of a history on the horse, and then tries to see what the body says to explain the behaviour/s seen.
Amanda Wilson (Vicki’s younger sister) had one done and the results were very sad. It gives peace to owners.
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Are you saying she essentially does amateur necropsies, then? Or just looks at specific structures, like limbs? Not familiar with this individual at all.
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That sounds really interesting, very much like the hoof person who is good at precise description and observation and doesn’t over interpret what she sees. The OP was asking whether there was damaging misinformation which made me think there was wacky treatment theories like Celeste Lazarus the Traveling Horse Witch.
Curious then what OP was worried about.
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I just see her posts on Facebook, there is a lot of free information on her page there. I haven’t been on the patreon.
I think I stumbled on her page maybe a year or two ago? Yesterday just randomly thought of the page and took a look again. I saw a lot of praise for the work she posted, but a couple outliers worried about the conclusions she was drawing being damaging to the equestrian world. Through her work she has suggested all racehorses have skeletal damage from being started so young, and hypothesizes that most behavioral/training issues in ottbs are due to this damage.
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/153imFzTFG/?mibextid=WC7FNe
This is the general theme I see there. Obviously a lot of issues with that survey, just sharing the general consensus she tends to post about. The dissections sure are interesting, if you dig through her posts enough there are a bunch of free posts about si dysfunction discovered from dissection in the racehorse that limit performance.
Oop, I did not expect to be so interesting that my post history was worth digging through XD. Thankfully my horse is doing great, no cervical issues haha. I hope it’s ok to genuinely be curious what coth thinks about a topic without it being personal 
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Well, I think it’s generally accepted that pain issues are often behind behavior issues like bucking or balking or bolting even. But there are lots of ways to manage and heal pain issues. And many many horses that never raced get hind end issues, especially lesson horses with their awful hunters bumps
Where I live, OTTB are the affordable choice for a sport horse. Some trainers are smart about choosing a horse, about decompression time, and about riding a potentially hot young horse through basic retraining. But because the horses are affordable they can end up with juniors or ammies unable to do this well themselves but unable to afford good help. So the success rate of OTTB is lower than it could be.
Lots of “modern” horse people and animal rights activists want to condemn TB racing, which is also a sunset industry now that there are so many other ways to gamble. I myself don’t think it’s inherently the worst thing people do with horses, lots of horses retire off the track functionally sound.
One thing about dissection is that except in the case of a pasture accident, the specimens are going to be unavoidably biased towards horses with severe long term pain issues that were euthanized.
I honestly don’t think the findings of an amateur dissectionist on FB are going to disturb “the equine industry” that much, and are likely parallel to what actual vet research finding.
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I linked a post of hers in another comment if you want to check it out!
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I don’t follow her, but I’ve seen people share some posts of her that have some pretty wild leaps in logic.
Sharon May-Davis or Equine Anatomy in Layers are all better educated, more thoughtful choices, IMO
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I wonder how many sound working (second career) racehorses she has dissected to make this broad generalization.
It sounds like a conclusion that was looking for evidence to prove it.
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She’s very well known in NZ.
Despite her online claims, offline Becks is very happy to diagnose all sorts and even to recommend euthanasia - drives the local vets mad but she blocks any who dare to say anything publicly.
There has been at least one instance where professionals have been working with clients to rehab a horse for some time (often a long & tricky process, with steps backwards along the road etc. etc.) only to find that Becks or one of her followers has intervened and now the client wants to euthanise.
Multiple complaints have been submitted to MPI, the relevant govt body, who have asked her to stop but they don’t have the power to force her.
Take what is useful, question everything, I guess.
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That has been my experience also. Also a friend used to graze next door to her turnout block and those horses were in a fairly poor state - feet not done, skinny horses etc.
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I would like to share my experience with Becks Nairn. Twice, I have been subjected to her uncouth rage and ad hominem attacks. The first incident occurred when I challenged her claim that her dissections were evaluated by three or four veterinarians. I possess copies of the thread with her submission. I requested that she provide evidence of her findings to substantiate her credibility, but she did not respond. Instead, she employed one of her sympathizers to intervene. She then resorted to the thread, fabricating stories and directing ad hominem attacks at me when I asked her to provide evidence of her work to verify her credibility.
In another Facebook debate, Nairn lacked substantial contributions and failed to respond to those of us who are well-qualified to comment. She continually brought in her army of sympathizers to divert attention. She became so enraged that she contacted me on Messenger, accusing me of being a former member of her Patreon, which I am not. The woman she referred to is well-educated and would only pay for services from someone with proper qualifications in equine veterinary sciences, which Nairn does not possess. While she may have practical knowledge, she lacks the theoretical background.
Her threat about having access to someone’s financial details on her Patreon page is quite serious. I am sharing this to caution anyone using her unqualified services to be careful, as she may use this threat against you if you disagree with her. This woman is manipulative, angry, and uneducated—not a professional, but rather a cunning individual with an expansive ego living in a fantasy world.
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Just this morning I saw a post on the book warning against those like Nairn (without naming anyone) pointing out that gnarly xrays don’t always correlate to lame horses. The things these people find aren’t necessarily the cause of the horse’s issues. Apparently some of these people are advising euthanasia so they can do the necropsies. Does anyone really believe they’re going to admit to not finding anything?
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Your doubt regarding Nairn and other unqualified Gits stems from their unreliable online research practises. All abnormal X-ray patterns in horses do not lead to lameness or develop other health problems. I obtained medical information from a basic TikTok guru carpetbagger who examined X-ray images and discreetly conveyed hate toward veterinarians without any qualification. I plan to file a report about her unprofessional conduct after discovering her inaccurate diagnosis.
The insufficient qualifications and limited knowledge of these unlicensed unqualified Gits creates substantial worry. All assessments made by unprofessional Gits must be considered unreliable due to their lack of qualification. These uneducated Gits lack sufficient authority to carry out necropsies or suggest euthanasia decisions. The main priority for me is that these unqualified Git conduct evaluations to decide which horses should be euthanised even though some horses might have been saved. The Unqualified Git apply pressure to persuade owners about donating their horses and euthanising them by declaring “I can provide you closure.” Euthanasia is their motive to fake diagnoses and gain financial benefits from dead horses. The owner is left unaware while the facility provides a manufactured diagnosis.
The primary concern exists because organisations both suggest euthanasia and perform necropsies which potentially tailors their results to support earlier unproved diagnoses. Partitioning methods coupled with obscure results presentation could mislead people particularly when such experts do not reveal their research framework. TikTok Unqualified Gits who lack qualifications are utilising horses as wellness imitations while earning money from the situation.
Horse medical practises must abide by established professional standards and proper qualifications when delivering diagnosis and treatment services. People who lack qualifications should avoid influencing major healthcare decisions regarding horses. People caring about their horses’ welfare should consult veterinarians who have proper qualifications because this guarantees the advice comes from expert knowledge and focuses on the animals’ health.
These fraudulent uneducated Gits who circumvent MPI regulations engage in dangerous practises although their activities are not technically unlawful. Such unqualified gits bill fees for doing unscientific work and keep no responsibility when they give incorrect conclusions. Unqualified Gits who work without professional oversight perform their practise without regulatory oversight. Despite their lack of credible acceptance by the scientific communities Any unqualified con artist who charges for inaccurate information should be deemed highly worrying. To gain respect in science and equine fields they need to attend professional conferences for their findings to be professionally reviewed. Their primary focus is generating income by advertising both online and off which tricks people into donating their horses yet provides incorrect analysis results.
Without credible proof to demonstrate their legitimacy how can people accept these parasites do good work? Horses and their owners become victims of these unqualified individuals who persist in charging fees while lacking abilities to diagnose accurately. Throughout this thread, I have been using the term “practitioners” for these unlicensed thieves, but I have decided they do not deserve such a title. I have other names in mind, like “gits” and “uneducated charlatans.” The reason I resort to these expletives is because their actions genuinely anger me.
For those concerned about the welfare of our equine friends, please take a stand against these charlatans. I implore you to help protect the horses from their harmful practices.
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