Customer Reviews

The Well Adjusted Horse: Equine Chiropractic Methods You Can Do

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

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

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!

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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!

i LOVED reading this book, but it was a little technical at times. i am scared enough to try chiropactic treatments on my horse and this, even though it is written very clearly and interestingly, scared me a little. it made me realize that i really needed to understand what i was doing before i tried anything out!

I am an Equine Physical Therapist. I frequently encounter chiropractic issues in my horses and have had to rely on waiting for someone else to come out and assess/ treat the horse. I thought I could do alot of this myself but I needed more detailed instruction. Although I do not consider myself a replacement for the chiropractor, I believe I can treat quite a few of these problems without the long wait. This book is extremely useful but I would not recommend trying the techniques without an extensive anatomy background. I have a Masters in Physical Therapy and have done human therapy for years--- this enables me to apply those techniques to this instructional manual.
This is a great book with the correct background knowledge.

This is an absolutely must have for all horse owners! As an equine massage therapist, I found it extremely beneficial for understanding how massage and chiropractics can help and influence each other. As a horse owner, it helped me to understand when to call the "other" alternative healer for advice and help. It is written in a witty, easy to understand, comprehensive manner. I strongly recommend this book.

Great little book, packed with info and diagrams that all work towards solving problems before they become major issues. VERY easy to read and refer to. Highly recommended diagnosis book!

I have had two horse, both with constant chiropractic needs!
This book taught me many things I needed to know to help my horse along myself. I would recommend it to anyone with a horse to better understand the physical needs of their animal, along with the support of a good equine chiropractor and a massage therapist. Horses have back problems too!

Disclaimer: I do know a few things about horses...
However after a significant injury to my beloved equine he went lame. This book helped me put him back on his game and hitting the trail.

If you ride a lot and I mean lots! You need your horse to stay in the best alignment possible.

My mare after foaling was out of allignment and draging her right rear leg, The vet checked her and said nothing he could do for her, hopefully she will get herself back in. I tried all the horse chiropractors I could find and none could be reached so I got this book and it has helped so much that the mare is feeling tons better and back out on pasture till her next adjustment.This book explained how to check for the proper allignment on the horse and what to feel for. VERY HELPFUL !!