Here in the hard rock country of Arizona, where horses fed acid-forming diets of alfalfa and sweet feed are run in the deep sand of washes, ringbone is rampant.  Our hoof caregiver figures that the majority of horses over 5yrs old that he sees have some level of ringbone forming in the lower legs.

Ringbone joint deformation

Ringbone is osteoarthritis (calcification) of the pastern and coffin joints of the horses.  It can be extremely painful and debilitating.  But realize that the body doesn’t make any mistakes, it is laying down this extra calcium for a reason.  Usually because the joint has been repeatedly overstretched and extended by poor shoeing, fast stops and turns, landing after jumping, etc.  And when exacerbated by a high-protein, low mineral diet – it can’t heal the overstretched connective tissue, so it stablizies the joint with a bony shell.

We have found that the best long-term solution for reversing ringbone is one of Cleanse * Nourish * Balance.

Cleanse – The organs of elimination are crucial in helping the body to heal from any health challenge.  When bone is involved alway think “Kidney”.  So we add raw organic Apple Cider Vinegar to the drinking water to flush the kidneys and balance pH.  Then we clean and support the liver with VivoZeoComplete or Dynamite Excel.

X-ray of ringbone in the pastern joint

Nourish – A major cause of arthritis is having the body be too acidic – this can come from high protein/low fat diets and is exacerbated by a lack of bio-available minerals in the diet.  the Cleansing products are alkalyzine but in addition, we move ringbone horses to only grass hay and giving them access to free choice minerals and a good daily Vitamin/Mineral supplement.  If they need additional calories, timothy pellets and coconut oil are added to the daily ration.

We nourish the joints directly with Dynamite’s Balm.  This helps soften the calcium deposits making it easier for the body to reabsorb it and come back into balance.

Balance – Here is where Photopuncture and Light Therapy come into play.  In addition to completely scanning the body to look for specific problems, we concentrate on balancing the Bladder and Kidney meridians each day.  This process supports detoxification and pH balance as well.

Horse with high and low ringbone in Light Therapy Wraps

Direct therapy is done twice a day with the Therapy Wraps. The wraps introduce infrared and visible red light into the affected areas. Best practice is to use the Therapy Wraps twice a day for 2 – 20 minute sessions to:

• Increase blood and lymph circulation helping the body to re-absorb the excess calcium
• Warm the joints and increase flexiblity
• Lower pain levels
• Increase fibroblast and collagen production to help replace the ringbone with healthy connective tissue.

Using this approach has shown amazing results.  Horses who had been assumed to be past any useful riding life are back on the trail and pain free.  I truly believe that anything calcium the body has put down, it can pick back up – when it has no need of it any longer.  We can reverse the ringbone, but if the horse goes back to an inappropriate diet or overuse of the joints without proper support and care, the ringbone will be back.

Here is a testimonial from one of our clients who followed this approach -

Stetson - before therapy

Stetson, a Quarter Horse gelding, came to us at age 7 barely able to walk.  He had been used as a rope horse on the pro rodeo circuit and had sustained a lot of damage to his body.  We put him on grass hay with vitamins.  After we took care of his teeth, corrected the balance of his hooves, and had a chiropractor work on him a few times, he was much better, but he still moved with a noticeable limp, whether under saddle or at liberty.  He was developing ringbone on his front pasterns and was still apparently very sore in hip and shoulder.  [photo is what he looked like at this point]

We gave him a 30 day regimen of cleansing (Dynamite Excel), balancing (Free Choice minerals) and Photopuncture by Kay of Grand Adventures Ranch.  There was a huge difference in his freedom of movement as the Photopuncture treatments progressed.  He was noticeably more free after each treatment, and the effect grew week after week.

A few months later, we placed him with the people who still have him today (5 years later) and he is out trail riding at all gaits with ease.  He also, of course, runs their herd.

Diana Lees
Elgin, AZ

Even if you don’t have access to a Photopuncture Technician in your area, you can help even the most severely affected horses with the Cleanse * Nourish * Balance appraoch and the Therapy Wraps. These wraps are the single most effect low-cost healing tool in our toolkit. I use them for the horses, dogs, husband, goat and even myself. If something hurts – I put the Light Wraps on it!

Share this:

More years ago than I want to remember, I trained in Equine and Canine Massage Therapy. Since that time I went on to study and certify in Acupressure, Iridology, T-Touch, Reiki and a host of other modalities.  But I always seem to reach for my Photopuncture System when I want to KNOW what is going on and shift it fast.

“Give a hard job to a lazy person and they will find the most efficient way to accomplish it.”

One reason for this is that I am, by nature, inherently lazy!  I know this about myself, accept in, and even am sort of proud of it. Massage Therapy is HARD WORK! And, especially when not combined with some method of balancing the energy that is improperly tightening the muscles and affecting the body, it usually needs to be repeated – using all that same hard work – more often than I have time for.

It takes me a good hour and a half of sweat and bending on aging knees to properly massage a horse.  This session automatically includes Reiki and I can’t help but throw in some energy point work when my hands are on a horse.  For this 90 minutes or labor I may not do more than help a specific area to relax and help the horse’s pain levels.  I know there are massage therapist much more talented and hardworking than I am – and I bless them for it. But I realize my limitations.

Back to the Lazy Person’s Therapy Session.  With Photopuncture, I whip out my Scanner and quickly scan the entire horse for where the problem actually lies. This may take me 15 – 40 minutes.  But I only have to do it once every week or two for chronic conditions – once for recent injuries or issues!

Then we use the Therapy Unit to use selected light frequencies to balance the points that the scanner has located. This may take 5 – 15 minutes.  I usually grab the Scanner again to double check that all the points have cleared, and I may use the Therapy Unit for a little longer on the pain suppression level if needed.  So usually within 45 minutes overall, I’m done!  With very little bending, no hard muscular labor and, for me, faster – more dramatic – results.

We mark the the out-of-balance point that the Scanner locates with bright colored crayons so that we can go back and apply the lights to those same spots without having to scan again.  This speeds up subsequent therapy sessions greatly. We have seen rapid pain reduction, immediate gut sounds, startlingly quick returns to soundness and dramatic reversals of long term metabolic and emotional issues with just one or two sessions!

An additional benefit to the Photopuncture Lazy Person’s Approach is that I get the benefits of Chiropractic, Massage and Acupuncture without months and years of schooling!

A few other business benefits:

• I can scan even when I am not feeling physically strong
• I can quickly train back-up therapists, so my business stays busy
• Clients can “see” what the Scanner picks up so they learn more about the underlying issues going on in their horses.

Boy, writing is hard work – time for some iced tea!

Share this:

Is there an old horse in your care, or a horse recovering from a broken bone?  One of the most frustrating areas of equine wellness comes with broken or aging bones and joints.  No matter what has caused the problem, bone repair takes time and sometimes it feels like there is just nothing we can do to speed the process.  While access to proper minerals and anti-inflammitories is important, there is something you can do to help the body to mend. By regularly stimulating Bladder 11 (*Influential Point for Bone) we help the body to strengthen bone throughout the body and more rapidly repair breaks.

Arthritis issues can stop a horse of any age and are aggravated by the body being too acidic.  Bone spurs and splints are laid down by the body to strengthen weakened areas, but become problems on their own later.  Helping the body to reabsorb these calcifications can make a huge difference to a horse later in life. When asking the body to reabsorb splints and other calcifications, balancing the energy at this point every day is a good practice to follow.  Opening the Bladder and Kidney meridians is also a good idea for pH balance and eliminating excess calcium buildup.

Supressing Cough

BL 11 is also a helpful point to remember for shoulder issues and especially for horses with chronic or sudden cough.  Massaging this point can rapidly ease a cough.

How to Find It

Cup your hand over the top of the withers and run your fingers along the top of the scapula (shoulder blade) toward the front of the horse.  As the scapula drops below the level of the shoulder your fingertips will fall into a depression – this is BL 11.

Exact Location: 1.5 cun** ventral to the midline, between the 1st and 2nd Thoracic Vertebrae, dorsal to the cranial edge of the scapula.

Acupuncture Indications

All bone disorders, back & shoulder pain, lung disorders, cough and fever

*Influential points “influence” the organ, tissue or system that they refer to.  For instance, Lung 9 supports lung function and respiration.

**A Cun (or ts’us) is considered an anatomical inch.  This varies for each horse and is the width of the 16th rib.  Most horses have 18 ribs so start from the last rib and slide forward 2 ribs.

***Acupuncture indications are not diagnoses, they are the accumulated correlation of common symptoms, issues or physical reactions corresponding to energy disruption or stimulation at a specific point.

Share this:

With the changes in our life this past year, Link went to live nearby with my friend and co-Photopuncture technician, Karen.  Here he is taking Karen’s novice rider husband for a ride with a tag-along friend “Ben” following along behind.

A few weeks ago during a trail ride Link somehow set his foot down wrong when coming down a somewhat steep and rocky trail.  He showed obvious signs of a slight pastern sprain so Karen used an Ankle Wrap and a Tendon Wrap on him daily for a few days, following each Light Therapy treatment with some Amazon Herb’s Recovazon and Miracle Clay to pull any heat and help with pain.  The swelling went down but he was still a little gimpy.

So it was time to scan Link and see what was going on. A full scan only picked up on a few points out of balance, which we treated with the lights.  We could have left it at that – but a little voice directed us to also treat the main shoulder energy points on each side of the body.

As we finished applying the lights to the second shoulder, Link suddenly reached his head and neck out toward the right, streched himself and we heard a loud “pop”! Just as if a traditional equine chiropractor had adjusted his shoulder. He licked his lips and sort of nodded at us to say “Thanks”!

By the next day he was much better and was sound in the paddock.  But when ridden a few days later there was obviously still something a little off.  So Karen treated the shoulder points one more time.  During this treatment session, when Karen applied the lights to Large Intestine 11, Link took an active part in the session.  He started offering to bite at the point and was obviously feeling the treatment at that spot.  Once the treatment was complete, Link no longer was bothered by the point and released with licking and chewing.

Since that second treatment, Link has been completely sound and he and Karen have been back on the trail.  This was yet another case where although the horse can speak aloud, by listening to his actions we learned exactly where to treat to get the best results!

If you want to learn how to use this process for horses in your care – check out our 6 Day Equine Photopuncture and Light Therapy Certification Course.

Share this:

This is also a Tonification Point * for Earth Energy (Stomach and Spleen Meridians).  If you have a horse with weak digestion this is a great place to treat for poor assimilation and underweight issues.

Of course, our preferred method of activating or sedating LI 11 is with the Photopuncture Therapy Unit, but you can also use needles, Reiki, acupressure or any other form of energetic therapy that works for you.

How to Find It

LI 11 is on the Large Intestine Meridian (Metal Energy) which begins on the forward third of the outside of the front hoof at the coronet band and ends at the top of the nostril.

LI 11 is located in a depression in the front of the elbow joint just below the head of the humerus bone.  If you divide the shoulder muscle in half and run your thumb down toward the elbow joint, your thumb will fall into the divot.

Exact Location: 1 cun** lateral to the humeral condylar crest, at the end of the transverse cubital crease.

Acupuncture Indications:

fever, abdominal issues, shoulder, eye, tooth pain, forelimb paralysis

Notes:

* Tonification Points are acupuncture points used to increase or stimulate energy flow along a meridian or to stimulate an organ.

** A Cun (or ts’un) is considered an anatomical inch.  This varies for each horse and is the width of the 16th rib.  Most horses have 18 ribs so start from the last rib and slide forward 2 ribs.

Share this:

I often get asked how I ended up using and teaching Photopuncture and Light Therapy for horses.  My beautiful horse got hurt – of course.  I think my story is similar to that of many of the horse lovers I meet – we would do anything for our horses… many things that we wouldn’t do for ourselves.

In the early 90′s I was sick.  I didn’t see it that way, I just didn’t like to walk or exercise and hadn’t ridden since the early 1980′s when I was in college.  Of course, my feet hurt all the time, I was steadily gaining weight and had begun to twist with arthritis. At 32 my foot broke when I stood up from the bed in the morning.  I lived on antihistamines and took lots of Aleve, Tylenol or asprin for aches and pains. Despite all this, nothing would have changed if a horse hadn’t entered my heart.

About this time a new friend got me back into riding.  I rode her husband’s horse for a number of months, but he sort of wanted to ride too.  So Debi and I went to “look” at a horse for me.  We went to see a gorgeous Arabian named “Sport” who was the spitting image of the horse I rode and showed all through high school.  I was hooked.  Had only a cursory Vet inspection done (foolish) and took him home. From that day on we were inseparable.  We began riding and training with new friends who were endurance riding enthusiasts.  Long miles started building up my strength but I hurt all the time.

It soon became apparent that there was more to Sport’s story than had been told to us.  He had fly allergies so bad that they nearly killed him, and then he bowed both front tendons during his first 25 mile endurance ride.  Ultrasounds showed that this was not the first time his legs had bowed.  I was devastated, here was my heart horse, my partner in daily fun, reduced to standing in a stall with a “put him down” edict from 2 vets.  Luckily I found a vet who “Never says Never” and she suggested Light Therapy and yucca for the inflammation.

About that same time I connected with the Dynamite Marketing Company.  From them, I learned about the connections between allergies, toxicity and a body that can’t repair itself to diet and proper mineralization.  This was key to both Sport and me beginning to heal.

After 30 days his bowed tendons had lost all of the swelling! I had the ultrasounds redone – and the vet was astonished.  Sport had fully bowed (completely torn) both front legs less than 6 weeks before and now ALL of the collagen had filled in in both legs. We continued with the Light Therapy and began hand walking him.  In 6 months not only had he repaired the bows, he had broken down all the adhesions and scar tissue of the earlier bows. So we began again to ride and train.  By the next year we were both able to complete a 50 mile ride. Quite a milestone!

Sport continued to teach me about alternative ways to help heal him (more about that in later installments).  But each lesson also had implications about my own health.  How I needed to alkalize and detoxify so that my tendons and ligaments could stretch instead of tearing and hurting all the time.  I started using the Light Therapy on myself with dramatic results.  I haven’t taken an antihistamine in 15 years and no longer have arthritis or a litany of daily aches and pains.

The more I used the simple Light Therapy pads and wraps the more I wanted to learn about how the full process of scanning the body for imbalances and then fixing them with light worked.  In 1995, I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to purchase a second-hand system and jumped in.  I started scanning every horse in my area and became facinated with the connections between certain points being out of balance and certain conditions showing up in the body.  They beauty of this correlation made me want to use this approach for horses as a business – and I dove head first into learning everything I could about equine (and human) energy points (acupuncture points).

I have seen this pattern repeated with many of my students.  One of my latest, Jayne, flew all the way to the US from Australia to learn Photopuncture Light Therapy because her heart horse, a magnificent Eventing horse named “Sabre” had damaged his lung in a cross country event.  Another student came because her rescue horses are her life and she is determined to bring them back to health.

Not everyone who uses Light Therapy will make it a life’s passion.  Sometimes it is just a tool for keeping performance animals at peak competition levels.  Sometimes it is strictly business – market demands are requireing more Veterinary Clinics to offer alternative and holistic approaches.  But for many of us, our passion is helping horses to recover from whatever may be hurting them. And sometimes, we begin to heal ourselves as well.

Share this:

Large Intestine 4

Is your horse in pain, your aren’t certain where and you have to help fast? Start with opening LI 4 (also called “Joining Valley”), as it is considered the Master Point for Pain anywhere on the body.  Specifically, LI 4 is the Master Point*** for the head and neck as well as the Source Point**** for the Large Intestine. It can be used in conjunction with other master points such as BL 40, PC 6 or ST 36 to add pain relief to specific areas as well.

This is a good point to know not only for general pain but for any troubles involving the head and neck.  If your horse typically has problems bending his neck to one side or the other, or shows TMJ pain, include opening LI 4 in your treatment.

Use LI 4 if your horse is fighting flu or nasal infection, or tooth pain.

There are also some studies showing an effectiveness of using LI 4 and PC 6 to relax the cervix and shorten labor time during the birthing process.

How to Find It

LI 4 is on the Large Intestine Meridian (Metal Energy) which begins on the forward third of the outside of the front hoof at the coronet band and ends at the top of the nostril.

It is located on the inside of the foreleg at the top of the splint groove. If you run your fingers up between the cannon bone and the suspensory ligament, LI 4 is located at the point where these two meet on the inside of the leg.

Exact Location: Distal and caudal to the head of the second metacarpal bone.

Large Intestine 4 - for the Face and Mouth

Acupuncture Indications

Fever, immune stimulation, mouth, forelimb and neck pain, intestinal and lung disorders ***

Notes

* Master Points exert a strong influence over a specific area of the horse’s body.  These are STRONG treatment points but have no diagnostic significance.

** A Cun (or ts’un) is considered an anatomical inch.  This varies for each horse and is the width of the 16th rib.  Most horses have 18 ribs so start from the last rib and slide forward 2 ribs.

*** Acupuncture indications are not diagnosises, they are the accumulated correlation of common symptoms, issues or physical reactions coresponding to energy disruption or stimulation at a specific point.

**** Source Points are points on each meridian which sedate or tonify the organ for which the meridian is named.

Share this:

Bladder 40 – Hindquarters Master Point

Does your horse have lower back or hind leg pain?  Have you ever had to walk back to the trailer because of “tying up” or weakness in the hind end?  Is there suddenly a large excess of sweat between the hindquarters, more than you would normally see in a regular exercise session? If you said “yes” to any of these, then Bladder 40 may be your savior.

BL 40 is a Master Point* which can lessen or eliminate muscle spasms, pain in the hindquarters and rear legs and help with dispersal of excess heat and toxins.

It is also a Source Point** for the Large Intestine so it is excellent for balancing the energy involved with peristalsis and water balance in the body.  Think of this point when dealing with diarrhea or impaction – it is very powerful when used in conjunction with ST 36.

When we scan horses to find blocked energy points, BL 40 often shows up along with other Bladder Meridian points as indicators of excess toxicity.  When this point is stimulated we see a wide variety of releases:

• licking and chewing
• stretching the back legs
• urination and defecation
• momentary shivers or trembling
• deep sighs

How to Find It

Bladder 40 is on the Bladder Meridian which travels from the inside corner of the eye up over the head beside the spine along the back and hindquarters to the outside of the hind leg.  It terminates on the coronet band on the back third of the hoof.

Slide your hand down the center of the hind leg to just above the back of the stifle joint.  You will feel a hole at the back of the joint.  This is BL 40.

Exact Location: Mid point of the transverse crease of the popliteal fossa, between the semitendinosis and biceps femoris mm.

Acupuncture Indications:

Caudal back, hip, stifle pain, genital pain, abdominal pain***

Notes:

* Master Points exert a strong influence over a specific area of the horse’s body.  These are STRONG treatment points but have no diagnostic significance.

** Source Points are points on each meridian which sedate or tonify the organ for which the meridian is named.

*** Acupuncture indications are not diagnoses, they are the accumulated correlation of common symptoms, issues or physical reactions corresponding to energy disruption or stimulation at a specific point.

Share this:

LU 7, also known as “Broken Sequence” is the Master Acupuncture Point* for all issues of the horse’s head and neck.  It stimulates circulation of Protective Chi and is used to strengthen the Lung.

Used for many different breathing issues: asthma, COPD, cough with nasal discharge.  LU 7 is also helpful for any head and neck pain: facial paralysis, deviation of the mouth and/or eyes, stiff neck, toothache or TMJ.

If your horse is tight to one side or the other when you ask him to bend, or has trouble when moving laterally, begin by stimulating LU 7.  Opening this master point before your workout routine may shorten warm up times and allow for a happier session.

If breathing is an issue for your horse, LU 7 can also assist with improving air flow and clearing mucus from the lungs.  Coughing and nasal discharge are also reasons to begin working from this points.  Start with your lights (or other tools) here before moving to more specific points.

This is also the Luo-Connecting point **** of the Lung and Large Intestine Meridians.

How to Find It

This equine energy point is located just in front of the cephalic vein (the large vein extending down the inside of the front leg) near lower border of the chestnut.  If you slide your hand up along the inner ridge of the knee, you will find a small deprepression just below the chestnut just above the knee and just in front of the bulge of the vein.

Exact Location: On the craniomedial edge of the radius, immediately proximal to the medial styloid process. 1.5 cun proximal to the transverse crease of the carpal joint. Caudal to the extensor carpi radialis and cranial to the m. abductor pollicus longus.

Acupunture Indications

Master point for head and neck, sensitivity may indicate facial paralysis, neck, tooth or knee pain, cough***

Notes

* Equine Master Points exert a strong influence over a specific area of the horse’s body.  These are STRONG treatment points but have no diagnostic significance.

** A Cun (or ts’us) is considered an anatomical inch.  This varies for each horse and is the width of the 16th rib.  Most horses have 18 ribs so start from the last rib and drop back 2 ribs. 

*** Acupuncture indications are not diagnosises, they are the accumulated correlation of common symptoms, issues or physical reactions coresponding to energy disruption or stimulation at a specific point.

**** Luo-Connecting points connect each of the major meridians with its paired meridian. They are especially helpful in balancing the Chi between the Yin and Yang paired channel. The Connecting points behave as “short-circuits,” allowing for excess of energy to pass through the point from one channel to another thereby equalizing the energy in the pair. For instance, LU 7 can be used to balance the energy between the Lung and Large Intestine meridians.

Share this:

As one of the students pointed out, they needed a chiropractor.  He should know – he is an equine chriropractor. So, of course, the first thing he wanted to do was to adjust the horses.  It took some doing, but I convinced him to wait until after the Photopuncture session.

The first horse we scanned was Buster.  A pre-scan evaluation determined that Buster was dramatically forward in the left hip and was also knotted up at the poll. He moved poorly and with his hip twisted to the side.

But when we scanned him – the only alert points that we found were on his neck, shoulders and front legs.  Most of the points came up on the Triple Heater, Large Intestine and Pericardium meridians.

After completing the scanning process, we treated the alert points with the LED clusters first at Level 2 (stimulate) and then Level 5 (balance) – for 30 seconds at each setting.

When we were finished, the students re-evaluated Buster and his poll and sacrum had both balanced.  We rechecked him daily for the next 3 days and he stayed in balance.  Not only was our Equine Chiropractor amazed, he was thrilled that he had not had to use forceful manipulations to adjust an issue that had obviously been around for a while.

I see this over and over, that applying the lights – to the right points – brings the body into structural, as well as energetic, balance.  Without force!

Hornet is another horse with similar issues, in addition to hip issues, he has been in constant pain from severe ringbone and splints.  Here we checked his hip balance:

As you can sort of see from this photo, his right hip is forward of the left hip. (His legs are squared up for this check.)  Scanning him was interesting as he let us know (with his teeth) when ever we found an acupuncture point that was seriously out of balance.  But, even with as much pain as he was in, we only found a few strongly alerting points and all of them were in the neck and shoulders.

As soon as we had scanned his head and poll area, we put the Poll Cap on his head to begin clearing the nearby alert points and relaxing the neck.  All through the scanning Hornet alternated between licking and chewing to laying his ears back when alert points would clear.  By the end he was a total sweetie and loved everyone. Here are his hips after the treatment to the neck and shoulder points:

During this 6 day class we experienced the same thing with at least 5 different horses.  These wonderful equine teachers really helped get the points across that:

1. You don’t need force to adjust the body, and
2. Always scan the entire body, don’t assume that the underlying problem is where you see the imbalance, and
3. More points aren’t always better – you don’t need to treat more than 10 acupuncture points!

Share this: