Oppresive legislation

[Trimmer]

I would like throw out a word of caution in the possible legislation I saw when I first started reading the threads here. In the U.S. there are about six states that have passed laws limiting how we as horse owners can choose how we can care for our horses.

In short you must be a Vet to; use message therapy, use accupressure, use herbs, anything that can be termed theraputic. And interpreted strictly, to even shoe a horse. I think a lot of this comes from well meaning but miss guided people trying to do Vet work without a license. One example would be the Strasser system of hoof care. If someone intentionally draws blood while working on a horse that is surgery and in the Vets domain.
Fight this type of legislation tooth and nail. scream, yell, protest do whatever it takes to keep this from happening. A person does not need to be a farrier to trim horse feet, or a Vet to message sore muscles.

Good luck All and fight the good fight.

[baxter]

hmmmm tricky one.... i have had my horse tinkered about with by all sorts of professionals , of whom i have sought the advice and agreement of my vet prior to my horse being touched... i think there is a fine line.... and each individual should tread with trepidation.... its all very well to fight the "cause" but how will some people know if the so called professional they call out isn't a cowboy? and boy oh boy are there lots of them out there, equine dentists with no qualifications, masseurs, osteopaths, chiropracters etc etc, all of whom have had no formal training...
i'll remain wary and sit on the fence before i fight this legislation.

sorry need to make myself more clear, in short i think that before anyone undertakes an alternative method it should be cleared through their vet.... most holistic practioners insist on you getting your vets approval prior to treatments.

[KarinUS]

One example would be the Strasser system of hoof care. If someone intentionally draws blood while working on a horse that is surgery and in the Vets domain.


While I basically appreciate your post and think it is important to make people aware of this pending legislation, I do find your statement above highly offensive, over-simplified and uninformed. I have been to several barefoot seminars and have seen some 'natural' trimmers do way wackier things than my SHP (Strasser Trimmer) would ever attempt. I find my SHP well-educated, knowledgable and compassionate and it drives me batty to hear people generalize SHPs as the devil. :mad: ANY trim is only as good as the person applying it.

[Bebe]

its all very well to fight the "cause" but how will some people know if the so called professional they call out isn't a cowboy? and boy oh boy are there lots of them out there, equine dentists with no qualifications, masseurs, osteopaths, chiropracters etc etc, all of whom have had no formal training...

It's down to owners to become educated about these things, we should be checking certification, checking professional registration and also having some understanding of what is to be expected from each professional so that we can evaluate the work being done. Professional qualifications aren't the be and end all, you can still have poor work carried out by someone who is qualified so it's down to owners to be able to evaluate each person who treats their horse on a case by case basis.

It's then also down to us as owners to speak up when someone who treats our horse provides a less than satisfactory service.

[mayS]

I have mixed feelings on this:
On one hand it's going to make it difficult, expensive, & sometimes illegal to try out treatments on our own horses. Owners should have the ability to try out alternative, experimental, or new treatments on their own animals.

But on the other hand, we're in a marketplace where *anyone* can claim they're a farrier, chiro, healer, horse nutrition consultant, saddle fitter, trainer, horse whisperer... you can pretty much claim you're anything (short of being a licensed vet) legally, without any certification or formal licensing. All most states care about is a *business* license (so they get their cut in taxes).

There had to be some middle ground.... where, for example, all farriers must have some sort of professional certification or degree from some recognized organization. You've got to think: an unskilled or misunformed farrier can make your horse sore, waste your money, and in an extreme case contribute to the horse's long-term unsoundness. It might also provide a way to take that very small percentage of bad farriers out of business; too many complaints to a licensing/cert board and they could lose their license.

This is the same situation of the natural & homeopathic remedies in the US (equine or human); you don't need to be a licensed health professional to sell, recommend, or administer them. It does keep prices down and remedies accessable... but is it worth it knowing nobody does any objective safety, effectiveness, or quality control testing. Some people (& horses) have been helped, but others have been sickened and killed as well. Consider "natural" remedies such as ephedra / ma huang and one form of L-tryptophan -- people had to die from these before they were examined and pulled from the market. Scary what happens when nobody watches over what non-doctor/non-vet people sell us to improve our (or our animals') health.

[KarinUS]

Who pushes for legislation though? I think many bills that are presented have interest groups behind them. In other words groups that will benefit from this new legislation (vets in this case for example) will pay lobbyists to get the bills introduced and supported by the senators.
I think very rarely do bills like these originate with someone being simply worried about the citizens welfare. That's really more likely to happen with child protection bills, etc. rather than commercial/livestock services.

[Tim]

.... we're in a marketplace where *anyone* can claim they're a farrier, chiro, healer, horse nutrition consultant, saddle fitter, trainer, horse whisperer... .

This must be a major difference between the US and the UK..at least as far as farrier and chiro go, they MUST be qualified to practice, it is illegal in the Uk to fit horse shoes if you are not a farrier. It's worth noting that many laws start off as 'oppressive' in nature, generally because they are a new idea, but they get refined along the way to the statute books and 'generally' end up acceptable. Many people were opposed to the passport scheme introduced in the UK, but it makes sense in the long run, if every horse has a passport it should then be illegal to sell a horse without it, and this has benefits for buyers and sellers alike. I can see the point you're making here, Trimmer, but I personally don't think anybody should be allowed to try out all and sundry on a horse without knowing what they are doing, the horse wouldn't want it if he was given the choice.

[Trimmer]

Just to clear the air on Strasser type trimming. Yes I did generalize on Strasser trimmers but if you were to look at what some of the "therapies" for founder or laminitis are you might be surprised. I don't feel that cutting a horse's feet and making them lame in any way is correct short of corrective surgery by a qualified Vet. no matter who taught the technique. There are far better ways to treat both chronic and acute lameness in equines that are non-invasive and these are what I use. I do support certification of Farriers and Trimmers. It was a farrier that got me into Natural Trimming. If I were to shoe my horses he would be who I would call, but he sored three horses in my barn, all thee never had shoes, one was an x-rental/lesson horse who hadn't been trimmed before, was sound and after he was trimmed was declared flat footed and needed shoes. I don't shoe because horses don't need shoes. Yes there are hacks out there, some even have earned degrees. That dosen't make good at what they do, just legal.
Sometime ask a Vet how many hours they have personally spent in actual study of the dynamics of the horse hoof. During my continuing education of hoof care I have already surpasseds the amount of time 99.9% of the average Vet spends on hoof education. But then I my "expertise" is only 1% of the horse. I have the ut most respect for Vets and qualified Farriers.