Dr Mark Newkirk, long known for his special interests in this field for dogs and cats, now announces his expansion into treating horses.

Q. Dr. Newkirk, why are you expanding your unusual talents into the horse field?

A. Since embarking on my journey into alternative and holistic medicine for dogs and cats over a decade ago, and seeing the remarkable results, I decided to expand my work to include the animal that has helped humans throughout history. These animals hurt and need help as much as dogs and cats.

Q. Why would alternative therapies help horses?

A. Remember that these animals, while they may be viewed as pets, also perform work. We ride them, (endurance and plesure), perform with them, (jumpers and dressage), and work with them (rodeos, barrel racing), etc. And they live much longer than dogs and cats. Its’ only natural that they have leg and back problems, plus neck problems, muscle pains from being ridden and arthritis. Just as humans benefit from chiropractic, accupuncture etc, so too, would horses.

Q. So horses need spinal adjustments?

A. You bet! Just as much as we do! Imagine carrying a weight on your back while you were asked to go up and down hills, jump over obstacles, and run like the wind! Not to mention a saddle grinding into your back.

Q. What types of problems do you see that can be resolved by spinal adjusting?

A. Leg, back and neck problems. Often the horse is sore at the withers, where the saddle rubs. Neck problems from reining in the horse too hard or too often. Leg problems are common. Pain relief from reducing what are called subluxations in the spine, (which put pressure on the nerves), is a common result.

Q. I understand you do something called Myofascial Release. What is that?

A. Myofascial Release is a way to conquer chronic muscle spasm. Just as when our muscles spasm, causing pain, this occurs too in our animal friends. Myofascial release “defeats” the muscle spasm by pulsing the muscle belly so fast that the nerve that’s causing the spasm, relaxes. Kind of like when you have a knot in your back and a massage therapist pushes and massages that knot out, so the muscle relaxes and the pain goes away. MFR does this much faster

Q. I understand you also do what you term Aqua-puncture. What is that?

A. This is where we inject homotoxocologic remedies into accupuncture points. For example, there is a remedy called Traumeel. As the name implies, it is for trauma. It consists of multiple homeopathic remedies that deal with swelling, inflammation, pain, spasm etc. By injecting this into the accupuncture point that corresponds with the injury (for example, lumbar vertebrae 3,4,) this relieves the spasm in the back that affects the knee. We can also inject this into the accupuncture points around the knee. This delivers the homeopathic symptom relief as well as stimulates the accupuncture point for relief, thus delivering a more powerful pain control. (by the way, Traumeel is listed in the PDR, the physician’s “bible” of drugs). We often combine this therapy with spinal adjusting and MFR.

Q. What other therapies for horses do you do?

A. Horses also get allergys. So we do NAET, the allergy elimination therapy. This is a human technique adapted for animals. It is a way to determine what the allergys are, and then by stimulating accupuncture points, to eliminate them. Yes, I know that sounds crazy, but I’ve done it for dogs, cats, rabbits, birds etc for over a decade with some amazing results. I’ve had it done on me, and I’ve eliminated my food allergys!

Q. All of this sounds terrific. Anything else you do?

A. Glad you asked. Our newest breakthrough therapy is Low Level Laser Therapy. This is an FDA approved hand held laser that has some amazing powers. We can use it to help heal many diseases as well as musculo-skeletal work. It works on the premise that different frequencys of laser light can stimulate healing in various tissues in the body. Thus we can use it to help with chronic disease, lameness, wound healing, burns and even emotional problems. This special Erchonia laser allows us to “dial in” the frequencys of laser light that work in different organs, so it is vastly different from other “cold” laser therapys.

Q. This has been a terrific interview. How can people reach you doctor?

A. Call Newkirk Family Veterinarians at 609 646 0700.