This is why you ALWAYS get the vet before physio *rant*

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Scheherezade

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My friend spent 2 months with 2x call outs a week from her physio and chiro to try fix her horse. They said it was a muscle spasm/bad bruise.

I convinced her to gt the vet, and after tests and surgery the horse had torn ligaments which had gone pretty nasty because it had been left untreated and now horse is unrideable. On top of that she now has no money to pay vet bill as it all went on physio/chiro.

My own horse has been diagnosed with OCD (osteochondritis). Instructor and most people said it was a back/pelvis thing and to just get the physio - but I insisted on getting the vet to look first for structural problems.

Urgh
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In theory your physio/chiro is meant to get permission from the vet to treat your horse. I guess you friend has learned this the hard way.

Hope her horse makes a good recovery.
 
I know of a similar sad tale where the horse ended up being PTS. Owner had spent hundreds of £ with back person & light therapy lady because she was worried about getting an exclusion on her insurance!
 
this annoys me as I do equine sports massage and always insist on veterinary permission, will not work on a lame horse unless vet has seen it and also refer back to the vet if after a couple of sessions I am not seeing the improvements I would be expecting! sad to say there are a lot of money grabbers out there it really does give the profession a bad name! All I can say to everyone is that physio/massage/farrier/vet etc etc should all be happy to work as a team with the horses best interests at heart.
 
I don't think a bit of physio is a bad thing if there's just something not right with a horse. Best case scenario, it could fix the problem, or, more likely, it might show up more clearly a lameness that the horse has been compensating for.

I do agree that having repeated sessions with physios, chiros, sports massagers, touch therapists, animal communicators, reiki crystal chanting people, etc, etc before calling the vet out takes the p!ss somewhat.
 
I do get the physio to my horse fairly often (twice a year) and will call him out if my horse suddenly goes 'off'. Not lame, just off. But I think I know my own horse and can decide if a vet job or just if I think he's done something daft and pulled something.

If my horse appeared to be in serious pain and was lame though I would get a vet first. I do trust my physio though 100% and do not believe he would treat my horse if he didn't think his treatment would not be effective or help. He also does not treat my horse if he finds there's nothing wrong - we sometimes just have him out to check over the horses at beginning of the spring.
 
[ QUOTE ]
In theory your physio/chiro is meant to get permission from the vet to treat your horse. I guess you friend has learned this the hard way.

Hope her horse makes a good recovery.

[/ QUOTE ]

Its not just in theory, its the law!
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A therapist cannot legally treat a horse without vet's permission. They cannot diagnose what is wrong with your horse either: only a vet can do that.

So many seem to operate outside of this simple law, and I really don't understand why: vet's permission to treat a horse can be as simple as a phone call.
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I agree, my horse has had back problems and I have probably seen every physio, bowen practitioner, magic man and back person in the south of england!
I was recommended to try a chiropractor by my instructor but the chiropractor advised me to get the vet out as it sounded quite serious. I took my horse t the practice and he was x rayed and scaned and it was found he had a facia tear in his lumbar region. He was injected with steroids and local anesthetic and was like a different horse the next day.
I believe he had this problem for years and I only wish I had gone to the vet in the first place!
 
I was convinced that the physio couldnt just wade in and treat a horse without the go ahead and back up from the vet who has the horse as a patient! Could be Im making it up
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Your friend has learned the hard way and sadly its the horse who will pay the consequences. What a sad situation
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[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
In theory your physio/chiro is meant to get permission from the vet to treat your horse. I guess you friend has learned this the hard way.

Hope her horse makes a good recovery.

[/ QUOTE ]

Its not just in theory, its the law!
frown.gif


A therapist cannot legally treat a horse without vet's permission. They cannot diagnose what is wrong with your horse either: only a vet can do that.

So many seem to operate outside of this simple law, and I really don't understand why: vet's permission to treat a horse can be as simple as a phone call.
crazy.gif


[/ QUOTE ]

Yes, know it is the law. The reason I said theory was that most people seem to ignore the law. PS I don't and always get my vet's approval first.
 
[ QUOTE ]
Yes, know it is the law. The reason I said theory was that most people seem to ignore the law. PS I don't and always get my vet's approval first.

[/ QUOTE ]

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Sorry didn't aim that post at you, even though I quoted you
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It was a bit of a wail of despair because as you say, very few people seem to know/ take notice of that fact.
 
[ QUOTE ]
I do get the physio to my horse fairly often (twice a year) and will call him out if my horse suddenly goes 'off'. Not lame, just off. But I think I know my own horse and can decide if a vet job or just if I think he's done something daft and pulled something.

If my horse appeared to be in serious pain and was lame though I would get a vet first. I do trust my physio though 100% and do not believe he would treat my horse if he didn't think his treatment would not be effective or help. He also does not treat my horse if he finds there's nothing wrong - we sometimes just have him out to check over the horses at beginning of the spring.

[/ QUOTE ]

Ditto with vets approval. If it needed more than a couple of sessions I would be going down the vet route.
 
[ QUOTE ]
this annoys me as I do equine sports massage and always insist on veterinary permission, will not work on a lame horse unless vet has seen it and also refer back to the vet if after a couple of sessions I am not seeing the improvements I would be expecting! sad to say there are a lot of money grabbers out there it really does give the profession a bad name! All I can say to everyone is that physio/massage/farrier/vet etc etc should all be happy to work as a team with the horses best interests at heart.

[/ QUOTE ]

And there in lays the difference between a reputable therapist and a shister......

Sadly it's those who flout the law that give decent therapists a bad name.
 
Neither physio nor chiropractor were allowed to treat the horse without the vets permission. So if permission had not been sought, both acted outside the law.


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As a practising Equine Bowen Therapist myself, I can only re-affirm the comments above that it IS a legal requirement for any therapist to work on a horse only with the vet's consent. I always insist that consent has been obtained before arriving to treat a horse.

And yes, I will refer back to the vet if sufficient progress isn't made. I've actually got a current client who I have referred back to the vet. The owner and I are trying to get to the root of the problem by a process of elimination (I must stress at this point, however, that as an Equine Bowen Therapist - and the same goes for most other therapies - I am NOT legally allowed to diagnose, that is the job of the vet).

We have our suspiscions as to what the problem is (S/I joint) however can't prove this to be the case, and as the problem is also affecting the hind leg action, owner and I have agreed that the horse will go back to the vet to have a series of nerve blocks, in the hope that we can eliminate the cause as being in the legs.

For the same reason, I get really annoyed when ANY therapy is referred to as an "Alternative" therapy. As far as I am concerned, what I do is a "complimentary" therapy and I will work alongside the vet and will not disregard the benefits of conventional medecine.
 
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