Naturopaths and the creep of pseudo-science

[riderinthestorm]

320. I don't know and don't care. I (and my vets) just know it works

to reduce bruising and swelling.

Since drugs are prohibited (and tested for) in horse sports, you can't administer any pain relievers or anti-inflammatories so treatments like arnica are front line. Our horses do the human equivalent of the tri-athlon but before they move on to the next phase they are held for 10 minutes and extensively evaluated by a team of vets. At the upper levels these are the best vets in the US as they are evaluating them for international competitions.

And they recommend homeopathic drugs like arnica for bruising, stiffness and swelling. Like I said, the horses can't "lie" and manufacture a placebo effect. It either works or it doesn't.

I think its interesting how many human treatments have evolved from equine competition research. Of course, the racehorse industry is extremely rich and they heavily subsidize research into innovative treatments so they are often on the front line of experimentation. Equine research has to rely on strict observation and evaluation in order to test efficacy since their test patients can't articulate a verbal response.

I've never participated in these threads before and I'm pretty amused at the resistance of many people on this thread to "woo". No worries for me. I'm utterly comfortable being open-minded about trying products that may help my horses.