Anyone else use alternative medicine?

I love my western medicine vet. She has been really good to both me and my horse over the year that I have owned him. But I also think there is something to be said for eastern medicine as well.
My barn manager has taken classes with a local, well-known vet on energy healing (Qigong) and has had nothing but good things to say about him. He was making a visit to the barn this week for a couple of other horses, so I asked for him to see Fella as well. I have had concerns over his vision and a possible hip/stifle issue and wanted to see what this vet's evaluation was.
He examined Fella first by feeling his energy. He scanned him with his hands, about an inch over his entire body. In his scanning he mentioned several things, sand in his belly (which is always a concern in our area), he has interferences in his eye (floaters, possibly cataract beginnings), his neck was out causing imbalance and short stridedness, and little fluid in his right stifle joint. Of course he did pull out his optical equipment to "see" the floaters and recommended bilberry added to his feed to help break them up. I had just gotten a supplement for the stifle issue which he checked over and said it seemed to be a good purchase. He "reset" his neck with a chiropractic activator. He said that a lot of pain issues were memories that needed to be reset within the brain and the activator was doing that. He also did some accupressure to test for EPM which he says he definitely does not have (was a concern). He promised me that the next time I rode Fella he would have lost his choppy stride and would be more balanced.
Well, that was Wednesday...I rode him today for the first time since and he was like a different horse. I asked my trainer/BM to ride him to see what her opinion was and she could definitely feel the improvement too. He looked a lot more comfortable, and he was definitely freer in his movement!

Oh, and after he did the horses, he did the owners too! What a wierd feeling to have him scan me and pick out things that have been bothering me for years! He got rid of some back pain I have been having too!

Oh wow! Looks like I might be a pioneer!

I'll chime in. Around our house if something major happens the first call is to vet and the second call is to here:
Horse Health - Cloverdale Pharmasave Health Centre

A couple of years ago my older guy ripped his chest open top to bottom. He and his brother had been playing a he reared up and came down on a fence bolt. We of course followed our vets instructions, but also paid a visit to the above. We combined homeopathic remedies with traditional medicines. The vet came out three weeks later for a follow up and said he had never seen a horse heal so quickly.

This link is to George's injury. WARNING GRAPHIC!!!!!!

kevang/George-laceration - Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting

I'm very open to trying alternate types treatments, but the caveat would be if it's an emergency I'm calling the vet first!

Oh GK Mom, I definitely agree! My traditional vet will always be the first involved! But how wonderful is it that we can back up their work with Eastern medicine or holistic/homeopathic medicine???

My traditional vet has just recently certified in accupuncture. Most horses practically fall asleep when she is working on them mine included! And Fella LOVED the new vet! I have never seen him so cooperative with another person.

Anyone else?

I am all for combining traditional & alternative medicines, or foregoing the traditional if I know the alternative will work.

I wish wish wish I had paid more attention to my grandparents old time cures

I have used equine chiropractics, acupuncture & massage for the last 15 years with great success.

My 21 yo TWH is metabolic; while not on alternative methods like are being discussed here, he is not on drugs like my traditional vet wanted to put him on.

So far his EMS (Equine Metabolic Syndrome - Type II Diabetes if he were human), is being handled by a strict diet that includes herbs & minerals and a strict barefoot hoof trimming regimen.

I will visit the links that have been posted so I can further educate myself.

Thanks for posting

I should add that George was on I/M injections of traumeel and an immune booster, which I can't remember the name fo, as well as antibiotics from the vet.

My old mare that hard a sore back got acupuncture every 6 months or whenever she got stiff. It worked wonders, my vet has been doing it on horses for years and can actually do it on people as well. I wouldn't do it to myself, but I swear by it.