Not sure where your horse fits?
That’s okay. The best treatment plan isn’t a formula, it’s built around the horse in front of us.
Which core services do you offer?
Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine (TCVM)
TCVM evaluation • Acupuncture • Moxabustion • Herbal Therapy • Food Therapy • Tui Na
Performance & Wellness
Integrative Wellness • Proactive Performance Support • Subtle Performance Changes • Attitude & Engagement • Relationships with Caregivers & Trainers • Prep for PRP Collection
A Different Lens
Behavior • Reproduction • Mystery Lameness • Complex or Unexplained Concerns
Advanced Therapeutic Modalities
Class IV Laser • Phovia Fluorescent Light Therapy • Electro-acupuncture • Aqua-acupuncture
Expanding Areas of Expertise
Chiropractic • Myofascial Body Work • Saddle & Tack Assessment
the meaning behind aequus
Aequus (Latin, adjective): equal, even, level, balanced, fair or equitable.
A philosophy of balance—in medicine, movement and the horse as a whole.
what to expect - a different type of exam
Looking at the whole horse
A TCVM evaluation may look a little different from the veterinary exam you’re used to, but there is intention behind every part of it. Rather than focusing only on a single complaint, we take time to understand the whole horse: their history, lifestyle, performance, behavior, environment, and the subtle patterns that may provide clues about how they’re feeling.
Start with the story
Before putting hands on your horse, we want to understand them. We’ll discuss their medical and performance history, current workload, previous injuries and diagnostics, medications and supplements, diet, behavior, and any changes you or your trainer have noted.
Sometimes the details that seem unrelated are the ones that help complete the picture.
Observation
The examination begins before the needles ever come out. We observe your horse’s posture, demeanor, body condition, symmetry, movement, and other physical characteristics through both a conventional veterinary and TCVM lens.
Tongue & Pulse
In TCVM, characteristics of the tongue & pulse provide additional information about the horse’s overall pattern.
We evaluate qualities such as tongue color and moisture along with character, strength and symmetry of the pulse. These findings are considered alongside—not independently from—the rest of the exam.
The TCVM Scan
Next comes a systematic hands-on examination of the body and specific diagnostic acupuncture points.
Changes in sensitivity or reactivity at these points can help identify patterns and regions of concerns. Research has demonstrated associations between certain patterns of acupoint sensitivity and musculoskeletal pain or pathology in horses.
The scan does not replace diagnostic imaging, nerve blocks, or a comprehensive lameness evaluation with your primary veterinarian. Instead, it provides another piece of information—one that may help us focus treatment or identify an area worth discussing with your horse’s primary veterinarian. It may also be particularly helpful when previous diagnostics have not yielded a definitive diagnosis.
Where Art Meets Science
There is no single finding that determines a TCVM Diagnosis.
History, observation, physical exam, diagnostic point sensitivity, tongue, pulse, previous veterinary findings, and the horse’s individual constitution type are considered together to identify their TCVM pattern and determine the most appropriate approach.
A Treatment Plan Built for That Horse
Good medicine doesn’t begin with a menu of treatments. It begins with the horse in front of us.
Once we’ve completed the evaluation, treatment is selected based on what we find—not from a predetermined protocol.
That may include traditional dry-needle acupuncture alone or a combination of modalities such as electro-acupuncture, aqua-acupuncture, moxibustion, herbal medicine, food therapy, or other supportive treatments.
And when our examination suggests that conventional diagnostics or treatments should come first, we’ll say so. Collaboration with your horse’s primary veterinarian, sport medicine veterinarian, farrier, trainer, and other members of their care team is an important part of the AEQUUS Approach.
Then We Listen to the Horse
Treatment doesn’t end when the needles come out.
How your horse responds during and after treatment provides valuable information. We reassess over time and adjust the approach based on their response, changing needs, workload and goals.
Because TCVM isn’t about fitting a horse into a treatment protocol.
It’s about understanding the individual well enough to choose the right one.
Not sure where your horse fits?
That’s okay. The best treatment plan isn’t a formula, it’s built around the horse in front of us.
The meaning behind AEquus
Aequus (Latin, adjective): equal, even, level, balanced, fair or equitable.
A philosophy of balance—in medicine, movement and the horse as a whole.
Which core services do you offer?
-
TCVM evaluation • Acupuncture • Moxabustion • Herbal Therapy • Food Therapy • Tui Na
-
Behavior • Reproduction • Mystery Lameness • Complex or Unexplained Concerns
-
Integrative Wellness • Proactive Performance Support • Subtle Performance Changes • Attitude & Engagement • Relationships with Caregivers & Trainers • Prep for PRP Collection
-
Class IV Laser • Phovia Fluorescent Light Therapy • Electro-acupuncture • Aqua-acupuncture
-
Chiropractic • Myofascial Body Work • Saddle & Tack Assessment
what to expect - a different type of exam
-
A TCVM evaluation may look a little different from the veterinary exam you’re used to, but there is intention behind every part of it. Rather than focusing only on a single complaint, we take time to understand the whole horse: their history, lifestyle, performance, behavior, environment, and the subtle patterns that may provide clues about how they’re feeling.
-
Before putting hands on your horse, we want to understand them. We’ll discuss their medical and performance history, current workload, previous injuries and diagnostics, medications and supplements, diet, behavior, and any changes you or your trainer have noted.
Sometimes the details that seem unrelated are the ones that help complete the picture.
-
The examination begins before the needles ever come out. We observe your horse’s posture, demeanor, body condition, symmetry, movement, and other physical characteristics through both a conventional veterinary and TCVM lens.
-
In TCVM, characteristics of the tongue & pulse provide additional information about the horse’s overall pattern.
We evaluate qualities such as tongue color and moisture along with character, strength and symmetry of the pulse. These findings are considered alongside—not independently from—the rest of the exam.
-
Next comes a systematic hands-on examination of the body and specific diagnostic acupuncture points.
Changes in sensitivity or reactivity at these points can help identify patterns and regions of concerns. Research has demonstrated associations between certain patterns of acupoint sensitivity and musculoskeletal pain or pathology in horses.
The scan does not replace diagnostic imaging, nerve blocks, or a comprehensive lameness evaluation with your primary veterinarian. Instead, it provides another piece of information—one that may help us focus treatment or identify an area worth discussing with your horse’s primary veterinarian. It may also be particularly helpful when previous diagnostics have not yielded a definitive diagnosis.
Where Art Meets Science
There is no single finding that determines a TCVM Diagnosis.
History, observation, physical exam, diagnostic point sensitivity, tongue, pulse, previous veterinary findings, and the horse’s individual constitution type are considered together to identify their TCVM pattern and determine the most appropriate approach.
A Treatment Plan Built for That Horse
Good medicine doesn’t begin with a menu of treatments. It begins with the horse in front of us.
Once we’ve completed the evaluation, treatment is selected based on what we find—not from a predetermined protocol.
That may include traditional dry-needle acupuncture alone or a combination of modalities such as electro-acupuncture, aqua-acupuncture, moxibustion, herbal medicine, food therapy, or other supportive treatments.
And when our examination suggests that conventional diagnostics or treatments should come first, we’ll say so. Collaboration with your horse’s primary veterinarian, sport medicine veterinarian, farrier, trainer, and other members of their care team is an important part of the AEQUUS Approach.
Then We Listen to the Horse
Treatment doesn’t end when the needles come out.
How your horse responds during and after treatment provides valuable information. We reassess over time and adjust the approach based on their response, changing needs, workload and goals.
Because TCVM isn’t about fitting a horse into a treatment protocol.
It’s about understanding the individual well enough to choose the right one.