First and foremost, chiropractic methods are often mistaken for acupuncture.
However, this type of therapy is based upon the relationship between the animal's body and spinal column and its nervous system.
It is not acupuncture.
Over the past decade various alternative therapies have been brought into the mainstream of veterinary medicine.
One such alternative therapy is equine chiropractic care.
Equine practitioners have remained skeptical, for the most part, in the benefits of this type of care.
Admittedly, it is difficult for the veterinarian to imagine how the huge frame of the horse can be manipulated in such a fashion as to "adjust" a skeletal abnormality.
Recently, however, a few brave specialists have undertaken equine chiropractic care in such a manner that the veterinary profession is rethinking the whole issue.
There are now documented cases where chiropractic manipulation of a horse was a welcomed therapeutic measure that brought relief where everything else had failed.
If you yourself decide to give chiropractic a chance, please ensure you locate someone with the proper credentials.
The American Veterinary Chiropractic Association should be able to assist you.
The equine vertebral column is a flexible structure that permits the horse to lower its head, arch its back, and bend laterally.
The vertebral column is also subject to outside-of-self movements and forces from compression, tension, vertical pressure, and horizontal pressure.
Some of these can include

• a faulty or poorly fitting saddle.
  
• Improper riding.
  
• Improper shoeing.
  
• Trauma.
  
• Any leg problem that causes the horse to compensate.
  This compensation travels through the spinal column.
  
• Even the type of performance work that the horse does can result in the need of an equine chiropractor.
  

Most horse owners seeking equine chiropractic treatment complain most commonly that their horse has a sore back.
Or stiffness in the neck when turning in a certain direction.
Stiffness through the body when turning in a certain direction, or failing to pick up a lead.
For some, it can be merely a change in attitude about saddling.
Equine chiropractic care offers many benefits to the equine patient.
It does not replace veterinary care.
However, many horse owners now realize that these and other performance-related troubles sometimes cannot be diagnosed through standard physical examinations.
There are also instances whereby anti-inflammatories, muscle relaxants, even joint injections and time off do not improve the situation with the horse.
Many vets are now turning to equine chiropractic to enhance their diagnostic abilities.
It has been found that equine chiropractic care has been successful in

• detecting and treating gait abnormalities and other performance problems in the athletic horse.
  
• alleviating pain in their back and neck.
  
• reducing pressure on the sciatic nerve.
  
• identifying horses that have chronic back and neck problems
• assessing the potential that a horse may have for success in a particular endeavor, whether race horse or trail ride horse.
  

But, how can you move bones on anything as large and strong as a horse? Some equine chiropractors use dynamic adjustments, while others adjust the spinal vertebrae through movement generated by the horse itself.
When an adjustment is successful, many horses will show signs of relaxation.
Horses may lower their heads, get a glazed look in their eyes, yawn, and seem to enjoy their treatment.
Remember, as with everything, equine chiropractic treatment does not replace veterinary care.
However, it may enhance it.
As always, it is your decision.