Holistic
Veterinary
Alternatives
Equine Spinal Manipulative Therapy
Dr. Reznicek’s Philosophy
Dr. Linda Reznicek is a licensed Texas Veterinarian and is trained in Spinal Manipulative Therapy (animal chiropractic), Equine Acupuncture and Chinese Herbal Medicine. She offers holistic veterinary treatment for horses in all disciplines such as roping, barrel racing, dressage, flat track racing, endurance, cutting, and ranch work. Using only holistic medicine, she has effectively treated horses with performance problems, lameness injuries, internal medical diseases and behavior issues.
Dr. Reznicek believes in the whole horse approach to lameness and looks beyond the obvious to restore your horse’s health and soundness. As an experienced horse-woman and avid endurance rider she recognizes subtle body asymmetries and abnormal patterns of movement that can compromise your horse’s performance.
How Veterinary Spinal Manipulative Therapy can help your Horse
Performance:
Dr. Reznicek has treated horses for a variety of performance problems. Veterinary spinal manipulative therapy has helped resolve many of these problems as well as helped maintain the horse’s ability to perform to his full potential. To maintain optimal performance, any horse involved in a competitive sport can benefit from spinal manipulative therapy.
Some common performance problems Dr. Reznicek has successfully treated include:
barrel horses having difficulty starting or completing a turn
dressage horses not flexing at the poll
inability to collect
loss of impulsion
gaited horses not staying in gait or unable to gait at all
slow times at the race track
difficulty going up or down hills on the trail
winging out with a front or rear leg
inability to circle to one direction
cross cantering
Lameness:
Lameness is often a result of an asymmetry in flexibility and resultant pain. These asymmetries are often the result of an injury but can also be caused by simple events such as slipping in the pasture.
Some common lameness problems Dr. Reznicek has successfully treated include:
obscure lameness with no other apparent cause
short striding
all grades of lameness in front and rear legs
recovery from suspensory or flexor tendon injury
Behavior:
Horses often behave badly due to pain. Problems such as being “cinchy”, difficult to bridle, rearing and bucking, not loading in the trailer, and biting or kicking can be caused by a painful condition. Dr. Reznicek has successfully treated horses with a variety of behavior problems. When owners realize that pain may be the cause of a behavior problem, evaluation and treatment with veterinary spinal manipulative therapy can help rule that out.
Since saddle fit can be a huge contributor towards pain and behavior problems, it is best to evaluate a riders tack along with the spinal treatment. Dr. Reznicek identifies tack problems with a large number of patients, and getting properly fitting tack has resolved many pain-related behavior problems.
Some common behavior problems Dr. Reznicek has successfully treated include:
violent reactions to saddling or cinching
difficulty loading or unloading from a trailer
sudden and excessive spooking under saddle
unwilling to hold up a rear leg or kicking out at the farrier
Pain:
Pain by itself can be a significant factor in the usability and quality of life of your horse. Painful conditions can prevent you from being able to ride your horse and can also cause excessive discomfort. Many painful conditions respond positively to veterinary spinal manipulative therapy because they are caused by immobility of joints with resultant muscle spasm and nerve inflammation.
Some painful conditions Dr. Reznicek has successfully treated include:
pain in the back or saddle areas
abnormal muscle stress, tension or conformation following an injury
injury-induced problems in the low neck, withers and shoulder area
ear shyness and pain in the poll area
pain from slips and falls
Injury Prevention and Treatment:
Dr. Reznicek performs veterinary spinal manipulative therapy on many performance horses because it corrects subtle imbalances in biomechanical function before they cause lameness or clinical disease. In this way an animal treated with spinal therapy will move in a balanced and flexible manner, resulting in even distribution of stress and concussion in the body.
Dr. Reznicek has also had success using veterinary spinal manipulative therapy to treat lameness and assist in rehabilitation from injury. Horses who have sustained an injury have reduced and unbalanced joint mobility because they have had to compensate for the injured body part during recovery.
Likewise horses who have sustained ligament or tendon injuries benefit from spinal manipulative therapy because mobilization of the shock absorption system of the leg results in less stress on the ligaments and tendons. Dr. Reznicek has found that mobilizing all of the shock absorbing aspects of the legs and neck allow the horse to recover more quickly and with fewer complications.
Dr. Reznicek recommends treating horses who have had full anesthesia surgery with spinal manipulative therapy because the process of being anesthetized removes the joint protection mechanism that muscles normally play, and laying a horse down on a surgical table changes the relationships of joints and muscles. Horses treated with spinal manipulative therapy post-surgically have a more successful return to performance.
Older Animals:
As horses age their bodies become less flexible and they sometimes develop chronic musculoskeletal problems such as arthritis. These conditions reduce the ability and desire of the horses to move around, which further contributes towards discomfort and reduced flexibility. Dr. Reznicek has found that spinal manipulative therapy of older horses improves flexibility, makes the animal more comfortable and extends the horse’s useful life. Dr. Reznicek’s patients have returned to the trail or arena as pleasure or lesson horses.
Overall Health and Well-Being:
A horse that is relaxed and comfortable is more likely to be healthy. Since the nerves that exit the spinal cord contain the nerve supply to the internal organs, freeing up the joints with spinal manipulative therapy makes these nerves healthier. Therefore in addition to removing pain and improving performance, spinal manipulative therapy assists in maintaining overall health.
Horses accept and enjoy veterinary spinal manipulative therapy. Since no sedation is used the treatment is safe and the horses are able to experience the positive sensation of tension release. They often lick and chew and their eyes begin to soften. It is a positive experience and clients notice a significant change in their horses following treatment.
Dr. Reznicek’s Equine Treatment Protocols
Dr. Reznicek treats all of her equine patients with a combination of acupuncture and spinal manipulative therapy as indicated for their specific needs. Acupuncture treatment significantly enhances the results of the spinal manipulative therapy, as it helps the adjustments hold longer, provides more profound pain relief and muscle relaxation, and works to correct underlying disease patterns. She may in addition prescribe Chinese Herbal Medicines for pain relief and to correct imbalances in the horse’s body that are contributing to the disease process.
979-877-5690
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