Equine Therapy Services

Animal chiropractic is the science, art, and philosophy concerned with good health through restoration and maintenance of properly functioning neuromusculoskeletal systems without use of surgery or drugs. It is an alternative therapy using manual therapy to relieve vertebral subluxations. Animal chiropractic is not meant to replace traditional veterinary medicine, but to complement it. Animal chiropractic focuses on the biomechanical dysfunction of the spine and the subsequent effect on the entire nervous system.

Dr. Dunn has completed a course at Options for Animals in animal chiropractic and is now certified in the essentials of animal chiropractic.

Cold laser is a state-of-the-art alternative therapy to assist with pain and healing. It can be used after surgeries to help increase blood flow to local areas, improving healing. It can also be used for chronic pain, helping to increase blood flow to those areas.

Cold laser therapy promotes:

• Increased circulation/immune stimulation
• Increased metabolic activity/tissue regeneration and nerve stimulation
• Muscle relaxation
• Accelerated cell reproduction and growth (wound healing)

This non-invasive therapy is painless, and treatment sessions last only 10-15 minutes.

Phovia Fluorescent Light Therapy can help skin lesions heal up to twice as fast. This therapy uses the Phovia LED Lamp and Phovia Gel. The proprietary gel converts the lamp’s blue light into fluorescence, which skin cells use to fuel the natural healing process. This light therapy reduces inflammation, speeds up cell replacement, boosts local immunity, increases energy production and improves blood flow. We use this therapy for both small animals and horses.

Extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT) is an exciting new treatment that has been adapted from human medicine for use in the horse. The ProPulse machine generates a high-intensity pressure wave which travels through fluid and tissue to be focused at the site of the injury. Shockwave therapy has been found to be the most therapeutically beneficial treatment for injuries that involve ligaments and bone. These areas are often difficult to medicate, and unsuitable for surgery. Therefore, the non-invasive and focused attributes of ESWT have proved extremely valuable.

Examples of such injuries are:

• Navicular disease
• Proximal suspensory desmitis
• Collateral ligament injuries
• Sacroiliac injuries

ESWT has been shown to stimulate and accelerate the healing process. This is achieved by having an immediate analgesic (painkilling) effect and reducing the inflammation in the affected area.

The type and location of the injury determine the energy required, the depth of focus, and the number of pulses the tissue requires. The horses are usually restricted to stable rest and controlled exercise between treatments. The horses are then re-evaluated. Post-treatment exercise levels are guided by the nature of the original injury and the improvement seen with treatment.

We are particularly impressed with the ESWT's ability to provide pain relief for those horses with chronic conditions such as kissing spines, mild proximal suspensory desmitis, and pastern osteoarthritis.

Therapeutic ultrasound is the use of certain wavelength soundwaves to warm and relax the tissue. Our ultrasound produces a more effective and deeper action for a faster recovery in the treatment of equine muscles, tendons and joint structures. The ultrasound probe is applied to your horse's limb at a site of scar tissue, injury or inflammation, and delivers the therapy over 10-20 minutes. By mechanically stimulating the cells and warming the tissue, blood flow is increased, pain is decreased and healing is promoted.