Chiropractic Helps Show Horses

An increasing number of stories are appearing in the news about how chiropractic helps high-end horses. The latest is an Associated Press release on June 11, 2004 that follows a horse named "O.V. Rowdy". The story starts with Rowdy and another horse "Ozzie" waiting to see the chiropractor to help with soreness. Rowdy's owner, Vicki Crotts, described her horse as, "sore from the tip of his ears to the tip of his tail." She suggested that this situation was brought on when he banged a hip on the door of his stall.

Rowdy is a show horse and having problems creates problems for him and his owner. His current injuries kept him out of the Pinto World Show in Tulsa, Okalahoma the previous weekend. Rowdy was not the only horse waiting to see the traveling chiropractor, the story notes that three other show horses were also waiting to be adjusted.

The Hutchinson's Ironhorse Equestrian Center co-owner Lilli Weaver, notes that many people do not understand, "While some people discount the idea of equine chiropractic, it works." She described what she felt the horses might be thinking by saying, "They squeal, buck and bite, but when he's done they lick their lips. Their eyes turn big and soft, and they whisper 'Oh, thanks.' "

Rowdy's owner Vicki Crotts reports. "They recover and feel so much better, they think "Oh, I can do this now. But I'm keeping him penned so he won't go out and hurt himself." Crotts concludes, "Show-horse athletes, like humans, perform under high stress and demand top range of motion from their bodies. They have to have coaches - and chiropractors."