Many options for treating equine ailments exist–some are more traditionally performed by veterinarians in some regions, and some are often labeled as alternative therapies and might tend to fall more to non-veterinarians. Who can legally handle the treatments that are not always performed by veterinarians can be a sticky problem, which is compounded by the fact that in the United States, different states have different laws on this issue. The Therapeutic Options forum, co-moderated by Kevin May, DVM, CVA, of the El Cajon Valley Veterinary Hospital in El Cajon, California; and Roger Magnusson, DVM, a private practitioner in LaGrange, Ky., at the 2003 American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP) convention focused on this and several other issues regarding “nontraditional” equine therapies in the United States.

Magnusson noted that last year’s forum resulted in a recommendation for the AAEP board to establish a program similar to the racing “On-Call” program (in which veterinarians are designated as media liaisons for major race meets or equine events) to provide information for state boards on this issue. However, the AAEP board didn’t want to become involved in state issues, so the program was not created