Equine Vertebral Realignment and Joint Play

In this intestive 4 day course you can learn how to assess if your horse requires an adjustment and how to do the correct adjustment correctly. Palpation (how to use your hands to feel) is a large part of this course, as we must be able to identify boney landmarks. In this course it is an all hands on all day course where we work in teams of no less than 3 per horse. This creates safety, as each team will have a handler at all times.

Why do horses need adjustments?

Adjustments are required if a horse has either had an injury, or for maintenance. Something as simple as playing in the field, slipping on wet grass, improper saddle fit, unbalanced rider, improper training (where the horse is asked to move/turn more in one direction than the other), poor conformartion and muscle tension can cause an area to require an adjustment.

The relief gained from just one treatment can be the difference between a horse which is uncomfortable-and shows the discomfort in various ways, from refusals, to sullenness, and a horse which has free movement, suppleness of joints, and an overall better attitude!

What is Vertebral Realignment and Joint Play?

Joint play can be done (almost) at any time, and involves any joints which are not associated with the spinal cord. These would include the limbs, jaw and the tail.

Vertebral Realignment involves the bones which encase the spinal cord and include all of the vertebrae.

Can I cause harm to my horse?

Yes, it is possible to cause harm to horses. I need to be honest with everyone on this very important question.

It is necessary to understand how bones interact with each other and the movements produced from joint to joint. A lack of movment will show on specific tests. It is important to learn all of the tests so as to never inadvertently cause harm. In this course we cover all of the contraindications (when we should not carry out a manipulation) so that we do not cause harm at any time.

All of the bones of the spine have have tests that can determine if and when it needs to be adjusted. It is for this reason that we can adjust safely according to what the horse's body tells us and act safely using education and care in all our adjustments. Extreme care must be taken when a horse has become injured as veterinary intervention may be necessary.

The most extreme contraindication is a fracture (although many other contraindications will be covered). You will be taught how to look for signs that a vertebra has been fractured.

Causing harm to a horse which does not have any contraindications is extremely (almost impossibly) unlikely.

Is this all hands on, or will we be using devices?

This is an all hands -on course, and we do not use any devices-such as activators or mallets.

Mallets, hammers and activators will cause soft tissue injury.

I have made this statment clearly and in bold face print. I have been working with soft tissues as an RMT (registered massage therapist - human) an a CEMT (certified equine massage therapist) for 20 years. As I have over two decades of experience in soft tissue work I can make the above statement with no censorship.

In a massage class in 2009, a student told the story of going to an abitoir (butcher) for an educational demonstration regarding the use of sticks in prodding cattle to move. As a demonstration, one cow was struck with a stick to get it to move - not with excessive violence, but for those of you who run cattle, you will understand the force required to move a cow. The cow was then butchered and the class was shown the area where the strike took place. The meat was now downgraded to dog food quality. This was only one strike. Think of the damage to the surrounding soft tissue with a mallet, hammer or activator.

The force which is used on a joint when using a hammer, mallet or activator is close to the same force, but in a much smaller concentrated area. Although the joint may indeed benefit from the adjustment (if a joint is struck with enough force, it will move/adjust) however, the damage to the surrounding tissues of the joint is unacceptable.

Another student told the story of having taken a chiropractic course that teaches the use of mallets. She was in need of chiropractic and asked the teacher if an adjustment was possible. The teacher did the adjustment with the mallet. Yes, the joint moved, the student felt better, however the ensuing bruise covered her entire hip.

In horses, we cannot see bruising, and as a result, damage that is caused from therapy, discipline (from crops, spurs, motivators and other horses as they work through their heirarchy in the herd) and injuries are not readily apparent, so we cannot make adjustments in our use of tools based on visible injury.

A joint must be placed into a position where there is stress prior to an adjustment. Conceptually, it is like cracking knuckles by placing the hand on a table, then striking it with sufficient force to move the bone- and action which no one would ever permit.

Just an interesting FYI regarding knuckle cracking will lead to arthritis: Donald L. Unger systematically cracked the knuckles on his left hand and left his right knuckles free for 60 years, demonstrating (if only anecdotally) that knuckle cracking does not cause arthritis. For this achievement, he won himself the Ig Nobel Award in Medicine, at the19th First Annual Ig Nobel Prize ceremony. Ig Nobel Prizes are awarded in all the same categories as the higher-profile Nobels — physics, chemistry, medicine, economics, peace and literature — as well as four additional categories: public health, biology, mathematics, and veterinary medicine. Unlike the Nobel Prizes, Ig Nobel festivities allow prizewinners to show the audience their inventions and discoveries.

Are horses the same as other animals?

The equine vertebral system is unique in several ways:

The intervetebral discs in horses are not exactly the same as in humans and other vertebrates, equids cannot have a 'bulging disc' or 'slipped disc'. The disc is significantly smaller and does not have the same thickiness of cushioning found in humans as they are built on the horizontal and humans on the vertical.

As this above statement is an anatomical fact, the way equids are adjusted must be altered from that of humans and other animals.

In this course, I teach how to find the bones, how to move the joint into a specific alignment to put pressure on the joint and prepare it for an adjustment and how to apply pressure correctly - technique is everything.

Students will practice thrusts on my body so I can feel the thrusting motion and correct accordingly. What better way to critique the students?

In this course we do not at any time actually carry out any adjustments, thrusts, manipulations or controlled movement on the horses without the facility's/owner's express permission and direct supervision of the instructor.

It is possible that not every student will be able to practise a thrust on a joint that encompasses the spinal cord. It is for one very important reason: If we were to practise our manipulations over and over again (as there will be several people working in teams) we would cause harm to the horse as the continued manipulations would eventually lead to muscle soreness and spasm, and possible harm to the joint capsule thereby causing harm to the horses - which we do not at any time wish to incur.

Placement of hands, locating the proper location of vertebrae and joints, along with body positioning of the horse is what is truly important to learn - along with the tests that will indicate an area of resistance.

Can I adjust another person's horse or just my own?

The easy answer is yes, but one must consult 'The Veterinarians Act' for each province's definition of the 'practice of veterinary medicine'. Please see below for the example given forthe province of Ontario.

Each province in Canada has a Veterinary Association. Recently, the assocations have been looking to disallow any person but a veterinarian from charging for services such as: chiropractics, equine dentistry, acupuncture etc.

To my knowledge this has not come to pass. The various Colleges would indeed have been in touch with me if they had a segment of the Veterinarians Act to uphold.

Ontario Example:

Currently, in Ontario the CVO (College of Veterianarins of Ontario) utilizes 'The Veterinarians Act' to police veterinary actions. Within their own reguations (regulation of their own members, i.e. veterinarians), they have included the practice of equine chiropractics; however, according to the Ontario Veterinarians Act R.S.O. 1990, CHAPTER V.3, the:

“practice of veterinary medicine” includes the practice of dentistry, obstetrics including ova and embryo transfer, and surgery, in relation to an animal other than a human being;

It is very important that participants wishing to take this course in Ontario (or any other province where their perspective Acts may include either chiropractics or the vaguely worded:"treatment of any nature" ) to understand this wording.

If the act does not include chiropractic within the scope of practice, or the act does not use the term "treatment of any nature", then it is not disallowed. The wording within the act is for the College to oversee its membership, and not members of the public. We, the members of the public, are subject to the act, but with the limitation of areas that are specifically referred to as the "practice of veterinary medicine" only.

Anyone may legally practice in their provinces so long as their respective province does not have an inclusion within the 'practice of veterany medicine' withinThe Veterinarians Act that disallows the work.

Any person can learn how to do adjustments, and work on their own horses, as they are (sorry for the legal term) chattel-property.

Is there a manual with this coures?

Yes, there is a course manual which is yours to keep.

What do I need to bring to the course?

Please bring:

hat, sunglasses, thin gloves (Dollar store gloves are perfect) steel toed shoes if you have them and weather appropriate clothing. I prefer to work outside (weather permitting).

a lunch (coffee, tea, etc. is provided)

A more complete list is on the application form.

What are the class times?

Day 1: 7:45:am registration -4pm

Days 2-3: 8am-4pm

Day 4: 8am-12pm

Days 1-3 may be slightly longer if the class is larger.

Where are you teaching the course?

I teach in various locations across Canada. Please visit the 'Course Dates' for all the locations offered this year, then the matching 'Course Locations' section under the chiropractic heading.

Do I receive a certificate?

Yes, after completing this course, you will receive a certificate of attendance for equine vertebral realignment and joint play.

What are your qualifications?

Several years ago, I took a course specifically in equine chiropractics taught by Dr. Daniel Kamen DCM (Daniel is both a human and animal chiropractor). Daniel Kamen recently retired and is no longer teaching, but you can read about his work in the "Well Adjusted" series: dog, cat and horse. (The Well Adjusted Horse).

I have been a practicing human registered massage therapist with 2200 hours of initial training, along with a host of additional courses taken along the way for 17 years, and as such, have intimate knowledge of how muscles and bones work together to yield movement. Equine anantomy (from a bone/muscle relationship) is similar --muscles which are attached to bones contract and as a result, bones move.

I am a firm believer in continuing education, and I hold a certificate with distinction from the University of Guelph in Equine Health Sciences and will shortly by finishing my diploma.

Why do I teach this course?

In my home province of Ontario, only veterinarians or DCM (doctors of chiropractic medicine) are permitted to take the animal chiropractics course taught in Ontario. I had to take my course in the USA.

In the course I attended, I also learned how harmful the use of mallets, hammers and activators are to horses. There are people in Canada that were taught this dangerous method who now teach this to others.

At what point did this start and where will it stop? If I am taught something from someone that I trust, then I presume that the information is accurate. I may also be reluctant to accept another's opinion on the subject. This is the crux of the problem. When a teacher is taught something that they now teach to others and the information is not quite accurate, then it only perpetuates the problem. This is the reason I teach this course. My teacher Daniel Kamen, as an American, did not have the legal right to teach in Canada. To my knowledge, this has left me as the only person in Canada that teaches equine vertebral realignment without the use of mallets and hammers that is made available to horse owners. Veterinarians and human chiropractors are the only persons that are permitted to learn the equine (and animal) chiropractics course which is approved by the provincial veterinary associations.

Teaching people a safe, effective technique and educating about the damage to the soft tissues (and the joint capsule) of the horses that have the dangerous method used is the reason I teach this course.

There are many remote locations in this country - I have seen many of them first hand! Veterinarian care can be difficult to get in some locations, and if the veterinarian has not taken the chiropractics course, then there is literally no one within several hundred kms that can help. By making this course available, setting it to a very reasonable pace, time frame and price, it is now possible for anyone to learn.

What is the cost of the course?

The cost of the course is $500.00

In provinces that have the HST, it will be applied to the cost. In all other provinces, only the GST will be applied. Each student is responsible for the course fee and appropriate taxes.

Can I purchase the course without taking it in person?

No, at this time I only teach the course in person. Perhaps one day I can make it available as a DVD and workbook, but not

in the near future.

How do I sign up for this course?

Please go to the 'application form' section on this site.

How do I get in touch with you?

You may go to the 'Contact' section of this web site or you may call me toll free at:

1-888-378-4632 (1-888-EQUINE2)