| A horse is a horse, of course, of course |
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By: MELINDA HUDGINS, mhudgins@murfreesboropost.com
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Posted: Sunday, December 25, 2011 5:04 am
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Trainer Faye Lynn Coffey watches as Dr. Jim Daniel adjusts Sweet Dixie Night’s back inside Midland Farms boarding stable. (Photo by M. Hudgins)
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Sweet Dixie Night stood patiently between stalls inside Midland Farms’ boarding stable. Her hair shone in the light of incandescent bulbs mounted to the ceiling, and her braided tail fell to the concrete floor.
All around her, rows of regal horses craned their necks around the bars of their stalls, curious about the excitement.
They looked on as Dr. Jim Daniel felt along the Tennessee Walking Horse’s back, down her spine and along her shoulders. He climbed onto a three-step stair to stand above Dixie and push down on her with both hands.
Such a scene might seem peculiar to the average citizen, but it has become increasingly common in the equine industry -- for show and pleasure horses, alike.
“Any time you have athletes, whether human or animal, you’re going to have soreness and even injury, and you’re going to need health services, (be it) a medical physician and a chiropractor or a veterinarian and a chiropractor,” Daniel said.
As a chiropractor of both people and horses, he says the latter make for better patients because “they heal a lot faster.”
Along with his wife, Tara, Daniel owns Chiropractic Associates of Murfreesboro and of Nashville. He also travels around the mid-state treating horses of all sizes, ages and breeds.
“People take care of their horses better than they take care of themselves,” Daniel said, adding that oftentimes he will care for both the horses and their owners. “They are very willing to do whatever it takes to make their horse as happy as they can.”
Daniel spent years riding bulls -- he moved to bareback broncs and saddle bronc riding in college and even tested the professional waters for a short time.
“It’s the main reason I became a chiropractor,” Daniel said, recalling a list of injuries he endured. “The first time I got adjusted was at a rodeo. He adjusted me, and I felt better. So instead of going into orthopedics, I decided to go into chiropractics.”
He learned of equine chiropractic in college and said, “That’s what I want to do, too.”
“I like horses -- it gives me an excuse to get out to the barns,” he said. “I miss it.”
As with humans, the benefits of chiropractic adjustments and therapy are equally applicable to horses (and dogs and cats for that matter), and the animals receive the services well, Daniel says.
“Most horses are used to be handled any way,” he explained. “And most horses, once they get adjusted the first time, tend to like it and settle down and enjoy it.”
Faye Lynn Coffey has lived her entire life in the horse business, with the past 19 years working as a horse trainer and riding instructor.
She, too, can see a difference in the animal after a chiropractic session.
“They just overall have the appearance of a better well being,” Coffey said. “Their movement is more fluid and consistent. They are happier and more comfortable with everything they’re doing.”
During the initial years of horse chiropractic, Coffey would suggest services to horse owners, but the benefits of adjustments have become more well known.
“It has gotten to the point that it’s proven itself and has become normal in the equine world, especially once it happens and (owners) see improvement in their horse,” she said. |
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