Ohio 4-H Horse Volunteer (Advisor) Training
Who is working on your horse?
What Questions to ask?
What credentials to check?
Why Holistic?
Dr. Lisa Fox
Divergent DVM LLC
Are they a veterinarian?
Are they licensed in your state?
Is their license active?
Do they have any complaints or board action against their license?
Are they Certified?
What certification?
You get what you pay for…
How long did it take them to get it?
From where?
Online from some “Course”
An Accredited School or College
How long have they had it?
What did the certification entail?
Do they have liability insurance?
If they harm your horse are they covered?
AVMA PLIT
Will YOUR horses insurance cover a “layperson” or a non-veterinarian?
Is it legal?
Different in each state
Only human Doctors of Chiropractic can use the term “Chiropractic”
Human Chiropractors without a certification in Animal Chiropractic can ONLY work on an animal in the DIRECT supervision of a veterinarian.
In Ohio only licensed Veterinarians can legally do dental work and vet techs must have DIRECT supervision to do dental work including minor extractions. Extractions are considered veterinary and CANNOT be preformed by a non-licensed vet or non-veterinary person.
Sedation is a must for proper dental care and cannot be administered someone who is not a vet or vet tech under direct supervision.
How does your horse act with them?
Manipulation should not be scary or painful.
Dental visits should be routine and thorough.
We understand that some horses don’t like vets, obviously.
Why Holistic?
All the same questions apply, as when working with your conventional veterinarian.
You should also question your supplement companies as these are not closely regulated and you could just be getting ground up hay.
Don’t use herbs or herbal supplements without talking to a veterinarian first as some interact with other medicines.
Did they just take a 24 hour course and now they are “certified”? Also only a vet should “diagnose”your horse. Do they know when NOT to adjust or massage an area? Beware “cure alls”.
Why Holistic?
Often this is used as a last ditch effort, but it shouldn’t be.
It has more scientific evidence and backing than people know.
Acupuncture, Herbs, Laser, Aromatherapy, Reiki, can all be used for ailments that are not limited to lameness and injuries.
There are acceptable herbal treatments for almost any ailment that can be treated conventionally and usually when used appropriately there are little to no side effects.
Chinese traditional veterinary medical diagnosis can often find answers for issues that are not discovered conventionally.
Advice
Look into Whole Food feeding for your horse instead of pelleted high carb\sugar grains
Watch for obesity, this is more of an issue than people think.
Get a holistic practitioner that is either a vet as well or answers all of the recent questions correctly. They should be willing to work WITH your conventional vet and not against them.
Your farrier should ask you to get radiographs and consult with your vet if they feel that a horse needs correction beyond the hoof wall. A good relationship is optimal for your horse.
THE KEY IS AN INTEGRATIVE APPROACH!!!!!
Questions about holistic modalities?
Questions about certifications?
Where to find a vet, license information, holistic practitioner, etc.
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