Acupuncture and Chinese Herbal Medicine

Can They Benefit Your Horse?

Cotton, an eighteen-year-old Appaloosa gelding experienced a sudden onset of Equine Recurrent Uveitis (ERU). This painful and debilitating condition is also known as Moon Blindness. Cotton displayed all of the hallmark symptoms of ERU. His eyes were extremely swollen, watering and the pupils had a cloudy, blue haze. Exposure to sunlight was very painful and as a result he spent all day with his head in the dark corner of his stall. Cotton’s owner called the local veterinarian who put him on the standard treatment of antibiotics, steroids, aspirin, and a topical cortisone ointment. He had been receiving this treatment for approximately one month without much improvement. Cotton’s owner was afraid to ride him because he now tripped, and shied. He was in obvious pain and unsafe to ride.  Cotton’s owner was willing to try anything to help his talented, all-around horse from becoming totally blind. He decided to give acupuncture a try.

Cottons treatment plan involved two phases. In Chinese Medicine terms this is referred to as the root and branch treatment method. This concept is a typical example of the more rounded and holistic Chinese approach aimed at resolving disease and promoting balance and health within the body. The Chinese are very fond of using nature analogies to describe practical hands-on techniques. The analogy here being that like fruit trees in an orchard diseased branches grow from weakened root stock. When the roots are feed and a solid program of soil maintenance, irrigation and pruning is in place, trees grow strong, vibrant and the branches and bear fruit. 

In Cotton’s case first the first goal was to get acute symptoms under control prevent further damage to the eye, then secondly address the underlying root cause of the disease.

Cotton was first treated with electro acupuncture in the local region around his eye. This reduced the acute inflammation and swelling - treating the branch.  The treatment consisted of four acupuncture needles inserted around the orbit of the eye. Small electrical leads were attached to the needles and connected to a small battery pack. The needles were stimulated with a low level current for about a half an hour.  The result was excellent.  The following morning Cotton’s eyes were wide open and only slightly swollen. He was standing outside his stall in the bright sunlight, something he had been unwilling to do for the past month.

Phase two of the treatment focused on treating the root cause of the disease. ERU is considered by many experts to be an autoimmune disease. As with most autoimmune diseases the body is fighting the disease and itself simultaneously in this case the interior eye. The second phase of treatment focused on building and regulating his immune system. This was accomplished utilizing herbology, the second pillar of Chinese medicine. Cotton began a powdered Chinese herbal supplement consisting of twelve ingredients mixed into his sweet feed. He was started on a large dose for the first few months and then reduced to a much smaller maintenance dose that he continues to receive two days per week.

Cotton remained symptom free until his death from other causes in 2006.  His eyes remained bright with only the tiniest trace of white streaking on the iris. His vision was good and he appeared to be pain free. For seven years Cotton and his owner returned to their normal work and enjoyed trail rides again.

Can Chinese Medicine really benefit your horse? The answer is more than likely yes. Complimentary or alternative TCM treatments are available for most conditions. Chinese herbs have replaced Lysix for many racehorses with bleeding in the lungs; chronic laminitis is treated with a combination of herbs and acupuncture. Electro acupuncture is a complement to conventional treatments for colic. Clearly, Traditional Chinese Medicine offers a wealth of treatment possibilities for the horse.

Copyright ©1996-2008 by Gloria Garland / Whole Horse Herbs ~ For more information email us!