This is Dr. Kathleen Anderson, whom some of you may remember as Barbaro's vet from Fair Hill. The photo is from The New York Times and illustrates Dr. Anderson doing acupuncture. The article is about alternative therapies for race horses including the use of a hyperbaric oxygen chamber, an underwater treadmill (see below) and cold saltwater spa.
Some of the new age therapies come straight from nature. The idea behind the cold saltwater spa is based on standing horses in the ocean, a practice quite common in England and France. The cold water reduces swelling and we all know saltwater is good for practically everything.
None of these treatments come cheap and many are not regulated which opens the door to all sorts of dangers for the horse as well as the owner paying the bill. While massage, acupuncture and even reiki (a type of Japanese energy healing) are pretty much standard, many draw the line at animal communicators who claim to be able to determine why a horse is not winning (or running well).
Personally, I think a combination of traditional and alternative therapies is probably the best way to go for humans as well as animals and it is always important to remember that there is no placebo effect for animals. Either it works or it doesn't. Chances are if horse trainers are using some sort of alternative therapy, they have probably seen some benefit to it.
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