This year’s table topic on alternative therapies discussed mostly acupuncture and chiropractic and how to best incorporate them into a veterinary practice for diagnosis and treatment. Facilitators Rhonda Rathgeber, DVM, PhD, of Hagyard Equine Medical Institute in Lexington, Ky., and Gayle Trotter, DVM, MS, of Millsap, Texas, discussed their own practices and fielded questions from the audience throughout the session.

Rathgeber has been using acupuncture for about seven years, and her practice mostly centers around that modality for her clients and the clients of other veterinarians in her area. She said that 90% of the time on referral cases, the horse has undergone traditional Western veterinary medicine prior to her examination. Rathgeber said she is encouraged, however, that more practitioners are requesting acupuncture earlier in diagnosing and treating cases.

She noted that about 30% of the world’s population uses acupuncture as the first line of treatment for illness. But, she cautions, veterinarians should do thorough workups of the horse, including X rays and ultrasound exams, as well as using acupuncture.

“What I find on the exam (regular and based on acupuncture) will determine the treatment,” said Rathgeber. She added that not all horses tolerate acupuncture the same, and competition horses must be treated under the rules of their events. Certain types of acupuncture treatments are not allowed or are allowed only within a limited timeframe.

The Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI) does not allow anything but dry needles (no injections into acupuncture points and no electrical stimulation) prior to or during competition. In California racehorses, for example, no acupuncture can be used less than two days before a race