A new barn outside Ocala may treat several Kentucky Derby winners in a seemingly unconventional way: acupuncture.
UF’s College of Veterinary Medicine opened a 6,240-square-foot barn, which includes 12 stalls and a treatment area, for horse acupuncture Tuesday in Reddick, Florida, a town north of Ocala.
The Equine Acupuncture Center is the first of its kind in Florida, said Alison Morton, UF’s clinical associate professor and chief of service for large animal surgery. It will likely serve several Kentucky Derby winners, she said.
Many performance horses require a multimodal approach to treat injuries, which incorporates western and eastern styles of medicine, she said.
“Acupuncture combined with ‘western medicine’ often helps horses perform their best,” Morton said.
In addition to veterinary acupuncture, the new center will practice herbal medicine, Morton said.
“We are also gaining knowledge that acupuncture can potentially benefit healing of tendon and ligament injuries which are common in our performance horses,” Morton said.
Pamela Lynn, owner of Paloose Ranch in Ocala, has a team of chiropractors, massage therapists and acupuncturists for the horses at her ranch, but she thinks the new center will be beneficial to the community of horse owners and caregivers, she said.
“The fact we are going to have more people involved will make it more accessible,” Lynn said. “We like to take different approaches to healing.”
The center will be led by Huisheng Xie, who is internationally recognized for his expertise in the practice and education of veterinary acupuncture and herbal medicine, Morton said.
Xie also founded the Chi Institute of Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine in Reddick, which educates veterinary students in alternative medicine.
Despite it still being studied, the benefits of veterinary acupuncture so far range from reduction of pain, improving neuromuscular function, effects on immune function and stem cell activity, modification of behavior and more, Morton said.
Many of the benefits of acupuncture have been investigated and validated when used on people and other species, and increased research in horses has started to provide similar evidence, Morton said.
For horses, acupuncture is most commonly used for musculoskeletal problems and lameness.
“We are hopeful that we can expand other sports medicine services for horses, too, in the future,” Morton said.
HorseAlligator File Photo
