The Well Adjusted Horse: Equine Chiropractic Methods You Can Do [Paperback]

Brookline Books/Lumen Editions (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 1998

Horse riders, horse lovers, equestrians everywhere will enjoy this new book from our favorite colorful chiropractor, Dr. Daniel Kamen. Here in his latest animal chiropractic book Dr. Dan explains how any horse owner or stable keeper can take proper care of their animal. These animals are the equine version of a highly trained athlete, he says, and like any athlete they are susceptible to injury. Whether the patient is human or animal, the basic chiropractic technique—manipulating the spine to return misaligned bones—is the same. Kamen says, "If it has a spine, I can work on it." With the aid of a step ladder for height, and a few easy to follow techniques you can learn how to give your animal the proper care he needs to keep him on track. Dr. Kamen has treated racehorses he says, for what he terms, "a nagging backache." With his trademark humor, highly entertaining stories about his adventures as an animal chiropractor, Dr. Kamen has again delivered a book that will be delight to equestrians. A wonderful giftbook for horse-lovers. So ... Happy trails!

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Dr. Daniel Kamen, a chiropractor who lives in Illinois, has appeared on the front page of the Wall Street Journal, and also as a guest on the Arsenio Hall Show, ABC News, the Jonathan Brandmeir Show in Chicago, and in numerous publications including the Chicago Sun-Times, the Chicago Tribune, and Total Health

Product Details

• Paperback: 226 pages
• Publisher: Brookline Books (November 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 157129063X
• ISBN-13: 978-1571290632
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 5.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #276,343 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars User - Friendly Handbook, August 15, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: The Well Adjusted Horse: Equine Chiropractic Methods You Can Do (Paperback)

I found the book easy to follow and understand for the layman. The author did not talk over my head. The step by step procedures made sure you were comfortable at each step before you actually performed the various adjustments. If one did not feel comfortable adjusting their own horse, at the least the book made a more informed horse owner when you talk to your chiropractor and made the whole process less mysterious.

Melissa

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book & subject, but with cautionary note, October 22, 2008

By 

Redneck (Tejas, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Well Adjusted Horse: Equine Chiropractic Methods You Can Do (Paperback)

As background to this book review, I have recently taken a class in equine chiropractic from one of Dr. Kamen's friends, Dr. Bill Hampton (see www.EquineSpine.com) who is a retired human chiropractor and previously taught at Palmer College of Chiropractic (www.Palmer.edu). Dr. H. does all the work on Pat Parelli's animals (www.Parelli.com) as well as many other 6-figure horses. (Unfortunately Dr. Kamen no longer teaches these classes on a regular basis.) Dr. Hampton's two day class applies the Gonstead technique & philosophy (www.Gonstead.com) to horses and that course material is paralleled almost exactly in this book. The class comes with two other lab books by Dr. K. (neither are as good as "The Well Adjusted Horse") as well as DVD videos showing the chiropractic techniques and equine anatomy, plus a Parelli DVD. This book does NOT come with the class.

While I disagree with the reviewer who was aghast at this book (mainly the idea of adjusting your own horse) and rated it a 1 (based on their review I doubt they have bought it & read it!), I would agree with them in that you should not just skim over this book and go try it. It is well worth every penny of the $450 for the class, performing each technique on your own horse under an expert's tutelage. I read this book before taking the class and practiced some of the set-ups, but I did not actually adjust a horse until the class. Equine chiropractors in my area tend to use the long-lever technique which can be quite brutal. I had the atlas (C1) of two horses adjusted by a local vet, and he first doped the horse, twitched the lip, used the twitch to leverage the chin over the withers, and impulsed using the twitched lip! It cost $100 per horse for a licensed vet to bloody the lips of my animals like that (although it did fix the subluxation). Beside the fact that with my 5 horses this class will pay for itself in a week, this book and that class teach a much gentler, humane and drug-free method of restoring skeletal and neuro-muscular balance to a horse.

This review really is about this excellent book, not the parallel class, but I believe it's wisest to practice what's in the book after taking the class. Anyone simply interested in learning about equine chiropractic, from human chiropractor to veterinarian to equine masseur/acupuncturist to horse owner, should buy this book and read it! (And yes, Dr. K has corny humor as one reviewer complained - most of it actually is at least marginally funny, but I'll let you read about the pregnant dog yourself). If you want to learn the skills of equine chiropractic, definitely buy this book, but also definitely take the course from Dr. Hampton (www.EquineSpine.com). And tell Bill that Kevyn from Magnolia sent you!

;-{>

25 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Helps you to care for your horse, April 11, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: The Well Adjusted Horse: Equine Chiropractic Methods You Can Do (Paperback)

This is excellent. Clear diagrams and explanations. It is aimed at the non-chiropractor, so techniques are described from that perspective, but is excellent for Chiropractors too. A good summary of the basic anatomy and a very practical book. The techniques work, too!