Madalyn Ward, DVM shares her answers to specific holistic horse care questions from clients. To see more questions and answers on real holistic horse care situations check out the Horse Health Hotline postings.
Q – I have a 3 yr old morgan gelding (FIRE). He was given a WNEW-T injection. He appeared muscle sore for a few days after the injection, and then I noticed him having difficulty walking. The next day his back legs swelled up. The vet did 3 days IV DMSO, and we waited. He seemed much better, but still off. A couple of weeks later, we did x-rays – no rotation, but some mild lipping of the tips of the coffin bone in both front feet. The farrier put heartbar shoes on him, which seemed to relieve most of his pain within a day. Walking a straight line he looks happy and normal, still a little cautious on turns, but much better.
How can I support this horse nutritionally, homeopathically, etc? And what are his chances for a full recovery?
A – Because this horse is young he has a good chance of full recovery but I would never vaccinate him again. Hopefully no permanent damage has been done and he will be able to get out of shoes soon. I would give Thuja 30c or 200c 1 dose. Normally I start higher but I am concerned about the vital force on this horse since his symptoms developed slowly. If he is not already on a good preprobiotic then I would start him on 1 pack a day of Essentials. These should support his gut and provide whole food nutrients for healing. That may be all that is needed for now but let me know about his progress.
Q – Thanks. Can you explain what you mean by vital force?
A – Great question. Vital force is the healing energy present in the body. Conventional medicine does not recognize this force but all holistic modalities do and it goes by various names such as Qi, Prana or just life force. This is the force we want to work with for healing. We want to direct it and nudge it in the direction of healing but not overwhelm it if it is weak. A strong vital force will produce strong symptoms that are short lived and result in healing. A weak vital force will produce slowly developing symptoms that do not seem to bring about a cure. These symptoms then can be used to guide us in the direction the vital force is trying to go and we can support it with our remedies. As the vital force gets stronger it will produce more obvious symptoms and react more quickly to remedies. We may then have to change remedies or give a stronger potency to match what the vital force is now able to do and the direction it wants to go.
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