Alternative Medicine for Your Equine Partner

 You’ve checked the saddle fit, the bit, your position and everything else you can think of but it all checks out ok.  According to equine health and wellness specialist Savannah Jackson of Prana Quantum Equine, the problem could be as simple – and yet as complicated – as your horse being out of alignment. 

A long-time rider and horsewoman, Savannah has worked for some the sport’s best trainers including George Morris and Richard Spooner.  She knows from personal experience that, like any athlete, horses can experience pain or stiffness due to a myriad of reasons.  Anything from a saddle fitting issue to a major medical problem can sidetrack your plans for your horse. 

In her practice, Savannah carefully evaluates a horse’s muscle and nerve reflex points for energy blocks that can be the cause of many physical problems.  She checks everything from their teeth down to their hooves for imbalances.  Once she’s found the problem, she uses a combination of Bio-Energy analysis therapy, acupressure, meridian massage, and applied kinesiology to align the horse’s body and release painful stagnant energy.  The idea is that by removing the pain, she allows the brain to send out instruction and receive feedback from the body. 

Using applied kinesiology (AK), a form of diagnosis that uses muscle testing as a primary feedback mechanism, Savannah can treat muscles as well as damaged tissues like skin, ligaments, tendons and joints.  According to AK theories, even problems with internal organs can be diagnosed by muscle-testing procedures. There is some controversy over the science of applied kinesiology but its founder, George Goodheart, was the first chiropractor named to the United States Olympic Medical Team in 1980. Since then, doctors using applied kinesiology have worked for professional baseball, basketball, football, hockey and soccer teams.

If this all sounds a bit too “New Age-y” for you, consider her long list of clients who swear by her treatment.  People from John Endicott, Grand Prix rider Jenni Martin,  Beth Cadwallader, and Gry McFarlane continue to use her to keep their horses happy, sound, and pain free.  Savannah’s ultimate goal is to make common body ailments a thing of the past, enhancing the bond between horse and rider to form an equal partnership.