An Introduction to Acupuncture and Its Incorporation Into Equine Reproductive Practice

Introduction
Traditional Chinese veterinary medicine (TCVM) has been used to treat animals, primarily horses, cattle and pigs, for thousands of years in China. It differs from Western medicine in that acupuncture focuses on “balance” of the physiological, spiritual and emotional wellbeing of an individual while conventional Western medicine focuses on controlling a disease. Western medical practitioners analyze a disease to discover its specific, physical cause, whether this is an infectious agent, an enzymatic defect, cancer or a toxic insult. By fully understanding the functions of the physical body down to a cellular or molecular level, one can target the abnormality and better control the disease process.1 On the other hand TCVM practitioners recognize disease as an imbalance in the body. They understand that the body is an integrated, energetic structure and that disturbance of energy flow creates disease in the whole organism. When a disease pattern is identified, one can restore balance and health by helping the body regulate itself. Traditional Chinese veterinary medicine therapy is directed at not only treating the disease but identifies external and internal factors contributing to the primary abnormality. These include environment, nutrition, hereditary influences, the neuroendocrine system and the animal’s emotional state. Therefore, TCVM is directed at evaluating the entire animal and its response to its environment as a whole as each contributes to the imbalance. [...]