Henny's Acupuncture (Pictures and Video!)

So Henny has a few residual quirks from his accident in November. His top lip is pulled to the right a tad, his left eye looks down a little, and he tilts his head to the left. Nothing can be done for his lip or eye but it's very obvious that there is a lot of tension in the tendons running from the left side of his pole down into his shoulder.

We're trying acupuncture to help relieve the tension but it's been said he may never carry his head normally again. That's fine with me. At this point I'm getting him as comfortable as possible as it cannot be fun to have a constant neck ache that severe. There was a noticeable difference after just one session. This is his second session 5 weeks later. We'll be going in for another session in 4 weeks. :) Henny stood very well for the acupuncture and is always a favorite at the clinic when we visit. And side note, thanks to our sending exercises, Henny is now loading in the trailer with a simple point of the finger and a kiss! And now onto picturessss.


Here the Dr. Is checking for sore points throughout his body to give her an indication of where she should put the needles. Look how tall he's getting! 12.2 hh at the withers :)


Placing the first few needles




All the needles in his butt arrow :) The one in the middle is placed where it "pleases his kidney." He is an earth personality meaning he is very friendly and always looking to please. Pleasing his kidney helps him feel better.


See the needle up top where his neck meets his shoulder blade? That has always been his worst point. Both times his muscles contracted so much they bent the needle. There was a needle in the same place on the right side and that one was bent as well.


A million needles in his neck!


Here we are getting hooked up to the electricity. The electric current prolongs the affects of the acupuncture to up to almost two weeks. You can see how relaxed he is in this picture. I offered my arm as a rest and he gladly took it to rest his heavy head on. <3


Now this part was really neat. I refer to this as an "Acu-pen." It basically focuses an electric current to one point like the needles do. It's used where horses don't want you placing needles like their legs and head.


Dr. Checking the electric current on herself before using it on Henny.


I really wish the video was rolling at this point as it was hilarious. Behind his left ear is one of his most tense areas and he won't let the doc put a needle there as it hurts too much. So we used the pen and, oh my god, his ear started twitching uncontrollably! Everyone in the clinic was laughing so hard. It's actually a calming point, so Henny was just chilling there all relaxed while we were dying.


Another point at the fringe of his forelock. He loved both of these points and we nearly falling asleep.


She did multiple points on all his legs. Excuse his dirty feet. It's been muddy in his paddock.

Continued in next post!

And here we are afterwards! He looks emo in this picture with his forelock pulled over one eye.


All done and feeling so relaxed. He was yawning up a storm afterwards.

He gave the doctor kisses before we left and Henny left a fecal sample as a thank you gift! He loves going to the clinic because everyone there knows him and spoils the crud out of him. He almost knows that place better than our stable! And as promised, here's the video. The needles are moving because his muscles are contracting so much. Excuse the poor quality at the end, my friend wasn't paying much attention at that point LOL. Thanks for looking! :)

What was the initial accident?

He was kicked in the head the day before Thanksgiving last year. It's hard to believe it's only been 3 months! You can see all the info and details in this thread: Prayers for my Henny

Looks like he's well on his way to being as good as new again! Aghhh, I just can't get over that cute face a big butt <3 and 12.2? Wow O_o He's Kenzie's height and probably twice a broad, and she's 15, almost 16 months old! Big, pretty boy <3

Thanks, Endiku! I personally love his cute face and big butt, too LOL. But with the care you're giving Kenzie, she'll soon just explode in growth and weight gain! It's just amazing what some good, simple nutrition can do.

Glad you are able to do acupuncture on him. That is a ton of trigger points! He must of gone down with his head and neck getting caught under his body when he fell.

My now 14 year old stallion suffered a neck injury as a 2 year old. His initial treatment included 5 sessions at 2 week intervals (after a 2 month period post injury cooldown). He responded best to the deep muscle stimulation. After that, he went to about once ever 6 months for maintenance. The vet would inject his worst hot spots with B12 at the end of the session. The B12 continues to stimulate the nerve ending as well as help regenerate new connections. We did that for maybe 2 years. Since them I might have him done once a year or once every 2 years depending upon how he's moving. He still has residual gait abnormalities but is solid on his feet. I do ride him lightly but find I have to have his saddle restuffed every year. (not cheap!) I have never driven him but that might be something you can do with your colt if he isn't sound under saddle.

If there is a silver lining to this is he's young and he's more apt to heal with no residual damage than an older horse would. Best of luck.

Thanks, LHP! Sorry to hear about your boy's accident but I'm glad he made a great recovery. Henny has recovered more than the vets initially thought, so that in itself is a miracle. Just the fact that he's alive right now is a miracle so I take what I can get. It's also only been 3 months. I know it's a long road to go down and I will be there with him every step of the way. :) He has a great support system with my two vets and my farrier who are all working together to get him as healthy as possible.

Aww, what a sweet face!
I hope he feels better, from the photos he looked very relaxed. :)

Thanks, WH! He was very relaxed during and after the process. :)