I apologize for my subject line. It’s not really a “fight” between sports medicine and TBT (Tucker BioKinetic Technique).
This email explains how they’re different.
And they’re mostly different in the thought processes.
Here we go…
An owner looking for help sent me this cute horse’s photo:
Ember is approx. 14 years old. She is off in the hind end, and stiff. The owner just wants her to be comfortable and happy.
So the owner called a Sports Medicine Specialist veterinarian. Sports Medicine focuses on problems related to lameness. This type of vet won’t do colic, or cuts, or breeding, etc.
Veterinary thinking
This vet ultrasounded the hind leg suspensory ligaments, and took xrays of the hock.
What I want to share is why? Why did the vet xray and ultrasound?
Because veterinarians are taught the most common cause of lameness in the hind end is the hocks. And if it is not the hocks, it’s the suspensory ligaments. (and the third is sacroiliac (SI) issues)
So vets start there to keep it simple. And, since it’s most likely the problem, it saves the owner money.
The vet found suspensory ligament damage, and hock joint damage. And the vet thinks that is not fixable.
The owner is supposed to do joint injections, rest the horse, Bute or Previcox, and…consider putting the horse down.
Veterinary summary: The vet sees no long-term solution, because of the damage found.
TBT thinking
With TBT, we always start by asking (via the horse’s energy field):
Is it best to “Chase symptoms” or do the “Best primary for the entire horse”?
With this horse Ember, I found that it was best to start with the best primary. Which was her liver.
The liver makes sense! Why?
Because the liver is responsible for making some ligament “groceries”. Without those “groceries”, Ember’s ligaments were beginning to weaken and fray.
Because the ligaments were weak, they are unable to support the joints.
So the joints start squishing down, putting more pressure on — and damaging — the cartilage.
(By the way, this is what happens with kissing spine too)
This is not just happening in her hind end. Her ligaments were weak all over her body. The hind end just showed it first (possibly because of the incorrect hoof trim).
Once the liver is fixed, the ligaments will have all the groceries they need, and they’ll be fine. As will the joints, once the ligaments are fixed.
TBT summary:Very common liver problem, easy to fix with TBT.
Honestly, I think this was part of the reason I kept looking for more answers. As a veterinarian, so many times there are no answers (only maintenance) for the horses, and it’s depressing and frustrating.
As a TBT practitioner, I get to hear happy success stories most every day.
If you’re thinking of jointing TBT, the info is here: TBT Certification.
We are looking for submissions for Dr. Tucker's "Featured Cases." If you have a puzzling case you want solved, we would love to post it to help others. Pictures needed, videos welcome. Email to support@wheredoesmyhorsehurt.com. Thank you.
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