Anne Marie says, “Dr. Travers worked with Buddy prior to
the injury as well. My show horses are on a monthly mainte- nance schedule with him.” Dr. Travers, a veterinarian with 30 years experience, says, “Fifteen years ago I shifted my practice over to prevent as well as heal injuries. I’ve found the really good horses have a tendency to hurt themselves more than those who don’t try. Buddy is a pretty good athlete and he falls into that classification. I try to save these horses that have a lot of potential, so they can last longer.” Even with conscientious care, athletes can certainly sus-
tain injury. “Sometimes accidents occur that don’t show a lot of warning. A horse can go out and feel good that day, and he may tear something because he works hard,” he says. On Buddy, Dr. Travers used acupuncture, chiropractic and extra- corporeal shock wave therapy.
ONGOING MAINTENANCE “Every time we see a horse, we see changes,” says Dr. Travers. “We use a neurological approach. We look at reflex patterns that show up way before you get tissue damage, before a horse is even sore.” He describes using somatic reflexes, a special technique
tacted Charles Boles, DVM, DACVS, of Specifically Equine Vet- erinary Service in Buellton, California. Dr. Boles specializes in sports medicine and lameness diagnostics. “He spent over an hour with us, under saddle, on the line,
walking and trotting in straight lines, riding the incorrect diagonal at the trot—everything,” she says. “Finally, he said that there was something. He ultrasounded and reported that Buddy had a suspensory injury in one leg, and a compro- mised suspensory in the other. Immediately your heart just thumps, because you think it’s such a deal breaker. Now, with the technology, it’s just not the case any more.” Dr. Boles treated Buddy with stem cell therapy and ex-
tracorporeal shock wave therapy. Anne Marie then sent her horse to rehab at dressage rider Jan Ebeling’s farm, The Acres in Moorpark, California. “They have a covered hot walker,” she says. “He was on the hot walker twice a day. He was on the Game Ready [a unit that provides both compression and cold therapy] twice a day. His legs were shock waved every month. He was on very detailed therapy.” In rehab, he started a regime she describes as X minutes
of walk, X minutes of trotting, then back to the walk. They slowly brought him back. He was super fit. “He was in the rehab program for about four months. He came home from rehab around May 2012 and began maintenance again with Dr. Travers.” James Travers, DVM of nearby Glendale regularly visits and treats Buddy. He specializes in sports medicine, using different treatments tailored to each equine athlete.
to check nerve response in skin, muscles and tendons. “You have to know what is normal, and you look for abnormal. Is there tension in the tissues or muscles? If a deep structure is painful, you can touch an area of the skin, and the reflex will tell you about deep tissues. If they are abnormally sensi- tive, or I feel a deadened response, then I look at the deeper structure. If I see anything abnormal there, like an effusion in a joint, I may x-ray it or ultrasound it, and then institute any treatments that are needed,” he explains.
All photos are of Athabasca and Anne Marie Mueller on course at HITS Thermal, in Amateur Owner Hunters, 36 and over, 3’ 3 this past winter.
Warmbloods Today 21
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