Equine Osteopathy: What the Horses Have Told Me

"This book comes as true information on the existence of an alternative way to experience and conceive medicine, whether animal or human. It is a real testimony of a distinctive quality of the relationship between practitioner and patient, and its authenticity is not its lesser merit." -Jean Josse, Osteopath DO, MRO A central premise in equine osteopathy is the pathological effect of vertebral lesions (subluxations) upon the functioning of the nervous system. Osteopathy concerns itself with the whole structure: the vertebrae and all of the other joints, muscles, ligaments, and fascia. Osteopathy holds that if the structure is blocked in one of its components, health will be jeopardized, since the flux of energy which pervades the organism will be impaired. It is therefore, a "manual" medicine, where the healer (physician, veterinarian) "listens" to his/her patient by palpation. Hence the subtitle of this book: What the Horses Have Told Me. Dr. Dominique Giniaux was the first veterinarian in the world to practice structural osteopathy on the equine. His fame was already established when he was called to lecture to the International Veterinary Acupuncture Society in the United States. Dr. Giniaux had begun his career as an allopathic veterinarian in 1968 and continued to treat horses in the allopathic manner until 1981. Although very respectful of and adept at the established method, he turned to holistic measures like acupuncture and osteopathy, which he studied first on humans. Enthusiastic, curious, and brilliant, Dr. Giniaux was a researcher who passionately tried to understand, not only with his brain but also with his heart and senses, the exhilarating phenomenon known as "the flux of energy fields." His life's work continues to inspire further generations of practitioners and horse owners alike. Xenophon Press has expanded this volume from its first English publication to include important material from all other language editions. The Recapitulatory Chart in Chapter 11 has been updated to include all of Dr. Giniaux's discoveries. The Appendix I: Dura Lex, Sed Lex (hard law, yet law) by the translator, Jean-Claude Racinet is unique to the English edition. The Epilogue: 20 Years later is published in English here for the first time. This all-inclusive expanded edition is the most complete release of Dr. Ginaux's work.