Beasley Equine Podcast
Welcome to the Beasley Equine Podcast, where horse lovers, riders, and industry experts come together to explore the fascinating world of equine care, training, and culture. Hosted by passionate equine Veterinarian Dr. Travis Beasley, each episode dives into the latest trends in horse health, innovative techniques, and inspiring stories from the saddle. Whether you're a seasoned competitor, a backyard horse owner, or simply captivated by these majestic animals, join us for practical tips, expert interviews, and a celebration of all things equine. Saddle up and tune in—your next great ride starts here! New episodes every Tuesday!
Beasley Equine Podcast
Your Horse Might Be Telling You It Needs a Chiropractor - with Dr. Kiley Kelly
The mysterious world of equine chiropractic care comes into sharp focus as Dr. Kiley Kelly, veterinarian and certified equine chiropractor, shares her professional journey and practical wisdom. What begins with the story of a family pony named Salty—transformed from bucking menace to dream ride after a single adjustment—evolves into a fascinating exploration of how subtle spinal issues profoundly affect horse performance and comfort.
Dr. Kelly demystifies the science behind vertebral subluxations—those slight misalignments that restrict motion and create cascading problems throughout a horse's body. She expertly distinguishes between genuine chiropractic needs and underlying lameness issues that require different veterinary attention, emphasizing how proper diagnosis prevents wasted time and resources. Her candid assessment of saddle fit as the primary culprit behind recurring chiropractic issues offers a wake-up call for many horse owners holding onto expensive but problematic equipment.
The conversation takes an unexpected turn when Dr. Kelly reveals the profound connection between rider and horse biomechanics. Her account of treating two different horses with identical subluxation patterns—resolved only after their teenage rider received human chiropractic care—illuminates how our own physical imbalances directly impact our equine partners. This holistic perspective extends to practical advice on preventative care, from regular dental work and balanced exercise to stretching techniques that maintain flexibility and comfort.
Ready to discover if your horse's mysterious behavioral changes might have a spinal solution? Listen now and gain insights that could transform your understanding of equine wellness and performance. For personalized consultation, reach Dr. Kelly at 217-294-3947 or through her Facebook page "Kiley Kelly DVM LLC."
Full Chiropractic adjustment here! - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yy1qXZceJKs&t=12s
All right, welcome to the Beasley Equine Podcast. Today in our studio we got Dr Kylie Kelly, a veterinarian and equine chiropractor, who's been sweating in the back working on horses all morning, and now we got her in the AC and we're going to talk to her about chiropractics.
Speaker 2:Veterinarian surgeon or a doctor. Come quick, draw the syringe and give it a flick. Bring your little black bag with the medicines in. Bring the trank and the crank and the penicillin.
Speaker 1:Well, thanks for taking the time out of your day to do this, yeah exciting. We appreciate it. It's always a fun day when you're here. I guess the first thing I want to know is what I mean. You went through all the vet school and then chiropractor school. What inspired that route? What inspired you to be a chiropractor?
Speaker 2:so when I was a kid, we had a pony. That was really a good pony for a lot of years and then all of a sudden she just started bucking, trying to buck us off, and someone told us to take actually, it's Kevin Woods's mom told us to take her to a chiropractor and my dad was like there's no way. There is no way I'm taking this pony to the chiropractor. And we ended up. I don't know what changed his mind my mom probably and they ended up taking her to the chiropractor Her name was Salty and got her back adjusted and then she rode like a dream after that.
Speaker 1:So then we were sold, so that's what inspired you to see those results.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and then when I was in vet school I went to a conference AAEP and they were set up there. The college was at a booth and they offered a scholarship, and so I applied and got accepted and like well, I guess I'll do this.
Speaker 1:And where was that at? Where'd you apply?
Speaker 2:Options for animals in Wellsville, Kansas.
Speaker 1:And how long? How long is that?
Speaker 2:You go like a week a month for five to seven months, depending on how long the weeks are. Basically, sometimes it's a long weekend, sometimes it's a whole week, and then at the end you you come back each time and you have homework and case studies, and then you go back and re-practice and learn something new and do case studies the whole time, and then you take a test and then you graduate.
Speaker 1:Oh nice. How was that different than vet school? I mean probably a lot.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it wasn't a lot different, like I started it when I was still in vet school. So I was in my fourth year and I would do them on my off blocks. I tried to schedule around that. So I was almost done with chiro school when I graduated vet school so I just had a couple more sessions to go back and finish after that and they taught like neurology, anatomy, physiology, like a lot of the things I'd already learned in vet school. And then the hardest part was learning the chiropractic technique. For me because the school has human chiropractors and veterinarians and so the human chiropractors knew all about the adjustments and how that worked and we knew all about the anatomy of the horses and dogs. So it was kind of nice to work together. They helped us, we helped them.
Speaker 1:So it was human chiropractors learning to do animals.
Speaker 2:Yep, yep.
Speaker 1:Oh, that's interesting.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it was a combined program.
Speaker 2:Okay, so can you kind of explain what chiropractic involves as far as like your assessment of the animal to what you do next, and and so on so a lot of times I get a history from the owner like are you noticing anything? And some horses they are noticing, like they're stiff to the right, they don't want to turn, they're not taking their leads, their backs or they they'll kind of give you an update and some horses they're like I just check them over, they to be okay, but we just want to get them adjusted. So kind of the owner will give you a history first and then sometimes we'll watch them move around if they're worried about a lameness or something like that, and I'll send them to you. But you know, so we'll watch them go. We'll start kind of just feeling over them. See where they're painful, they'll tell you.
Speaker 2:You know, they'll usually pin their ears or give you like a stomp of the foot. They'll just look upset whenever you hit a sore spot or they'll just kind of dip down or move away from you and so kind of just do a baseline and see where they're hurting. And then the goal is to get these vertebral subluxations to just restore motion. And you don't need a lot of motion, we just need a little bit of motion to give the nerve and the blood flow and the muscle a chance to kind of relax and function normally again.
Speaker 1:When you say vertebral subluxation, can you explain that just a little bit?
Speaker 2:Yeah, so everybody always calls me when they think their horse has a dislocated hip or a broken pelvis, their goat has a dislocated something, and I don't treat dislocations, I only treat subluxations, and the difference is huge. So dislocations are a really big, dramatic thing. Subluxations are, things are just stuck, they're just barely stuck, so there's just not motion in your vertebral segments. So that's what we're trying to treat is those areas that are just stuck. They might be stuck up down to the left, to the right. We don't know until we get in there and really start feeling.
Speaker 1:It's really a feel and that was the hardest part of going to school was figuring out how to find that feel Right. And then why? How come the vertebrae gets stuck?
Speaker 2:It's just like in people you know. I mean you might roll wrong or sleep on your neck wrong, have a traumatic injury, get kicked by another horse, or the saddle might pinch you for too long. Yeah, there can be a lot of reasons.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's when you wish the horses could talk.
Speaker 2:Yes, exactly, and that would be great.
Speaker 1:So what are some of the common things? You see, what are most of the horses you work on? Quarter horses.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I would say probably the majority are quarter horses, roping horses, um, I do do some hunter jumpers and some dressage horses and um, but mostly the biggest issue I see is saddle fit really yeah, or you know people over pad them and then they get really tight and pinched um, or they don't have a good quality pad and it's like concrete. Yeah, they don't clean it.
Speaker 1:And you're trained in saddle fitting too right.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I did learn some saddle fitting in school. I'm not like a certified expert by any means, but I know where to feel and, like a lot of times you'll put the saddle on and they'll tell you whenever you run your hand under the shoulder, if it's too tight. They do not like it yeah, I can imagine.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so if um say there's a horse owner listening thinking maybe I need my horse to see a chiropractor, what are some things they can look for? Or notice that maybe they should ring a chiropractor?
Speaker 2:yeah, a lot of times. Um, stiffness, you know. Are they not able to turn their head to the left, to the right? Can they bring their you know head down between their front legs so you can try to see if they can do those stretches? And if they can, you know, move, you know, their neck in a smooth motion, not jerky, not head tilting, because some horses will try to cheat to alleviate pressure. If they run their hand down the horse's back or they're brushing them and they're flinching or kind of buckling, that can be signs too. Or just being a little bit off in the hind end or not taking the leads or cross-firing, things like that can indicate that there's something stuck up there.
Speaker 1:Cool. So you said you know if it's a lameness issue you'll send it to us or refer. How do how do you incorporate chiropractics with, like the farrier work or other medical things?
Speaker 2:and stuff like that. So usually one of the first questions I ask people is when was the last time their teeth were floated? You know, take a look at the feet, see if the hooves looked balanced, see if there's any thrush um or misfitting shoes. Sometimes I pick up feet and they have different size shoes on different front feet, so, um.
Speaker 2:So we try to talk about that too. We try to talk about diet, um, and just you know, where does the horse live? Does it live in a stall? Does it live turned out? So I try to get as much of a history from the owners as I can and then make recommendations based on you know what they're telling me. The lifestyle is like.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and then there's kind of a misconception out there. We've had people that have had lameness issues that go straight to the chiropractor for weeks and then spend all their money when it's an underlying lameness issue, and I've experienced that with my knee trouble. I started lymphindexing. I know my SI is out and I'm at the chiropractor, so do you see stuff like that too?
Speaker 2:Absolutely, yeah. Yeah, I try to make sure people understand. I'm not a miracle worker, not a holistic magical person. So if your saddle doesn't fit, you're going to be back to see me in a couple of weeks because you're going to have the same problem. I'm just band-aiding some of these problems. If you have lameness, then you're going to be back again because you're going to say, well, you didn't do your job. My horse is still sore. Well, I don't, I can't fix a swollen hawk, you know. So, yeah, I try to refer those people out and, um, you know it's. Everybody says, well, it's good job security. Well, it is. But if I take all their money before they come to you, they don't have any money to pay for all your lameness, workup stuff.
Speaker 1:So, yeah, and you gotta sleep at night too. Yeah, exactly, exactly. I like to refer the medicine cases and I think people appreciate that too, like if I tell them I don't know what's going on, but I know somebody that probably does right right and then the. The whole vet community is such a great network it's great, yeah, and then I'm always texting somebody, phone a friend. People call me. The stuff they're not trained on, yeah, um. So I guess the other thing I want to know is do you ever watch people ride?
Speaker 2:to evaluate yeah, sometimes I do. Do you ever refer?
Speaker 1:them to a human chiropractor. I do actually.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I actually have one client off the top of my head. I adjust two of her horses and after the second time of working on them I said Natalie, these horses are out in the exact same spots. Each horse would be left, shoulder, right, hip, and I'm like I don't know why. Why are they not getting better? Why are they always out in the same spot and why are their listings identical from horse to horse? That's not normal usually. So I asked her. I said do you go to the chiropractor? And she's like oh some. And I said have you been recently? And she said no, and so I said will you do me a favor and go? She said yeah, yeah. So her mom she's a teenager Her mom took her to the chiropractor and then sent me a Facebook message and said she was extremely out of the line and had a lot, of, a lot of things going on and the kid feels so much better. And then the next time I worked on the horses, they were so much better, and so that was pretty cool.
Speaker 1:Is that just a balance thing, like where she was, I think?
Speaker 2:so, yeah, her pelvis was out and, oh, I don't know exactly that. They told me exactly what was wrong, but her pelvis was like shifted, so whenever she rode she was like cockeyed.
Speaker 1:Yeah and that just puts more weight or pressure yeah huh yeah, that's interesting. Some of the stuff I've seen it's um which I'm not trained in chiropractics, but it's more of a rider ability. So I think some of these problems we see are people riding.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:That their ability may not be. They may need to go take lessons.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's hard to tell somebody it is.
Speaker 1:It is when I get a little bit older. I think I'll lose my filter, like my dad has. Those conversations will be easier. Yeah, there you go, and then we, you know, same thing with people that are on smaller horses. That are not small people.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:We've had those tough conversations too. Yeah yeah, so how do you? Is there any good studies on chiropractics as far as, like, horse behavior or, you know, blood markers or cortisol or SAA or anything like that you can think of?
Speaker 2:Not that I can think of. I'm sure they're probably out there, but I don't know of any off the top of my head yeah, I don't know.
Speaker 1:We should do some studies. Yeah, I'd be down. So if you're reevaluating a horse kind kind of what do you? What do you?
Speaker 2:go on like your records and paying response yeah, so usually if I adjust them and there's a lot going on, I'll recommend rechecking them in three to four weeks to make sure that it is actually improving and we don't have something minor underlying that we're missing and um, you know, if the owners make some of the saddle fit changes or get the teeth floated or something like that, then we can recheck and make sure everything's kind of staying where it needs to be. Um, sometimes there's horses that just live out with other bullies and they're just always fighting and they're just always going to be out. You know what I mean and so, but if it's not responding well, then usually we'll recommend referral after that if we're not getting the response that we want, right, I think owner education has come a long way and people are starting to recognize things.
Speaker 1:And preventative medicine I know we do a lot more vaccines than we used to and some people, just you know, beginning of show season, they want to see if there's any problems. And preventative medicine I know we do a lot more vaccines than we used to and some people, just you know, beginning of show season, they want to see if there's any problems.
Speaker 1:So, as far as like preventative stuff on your end, what can horse owners do to and I don't want to say to prevent, have to call you but like some common sense things they could do to try to prevent any of these problems and their horses hurting?
Speaker 2:Yeah. So get the teeth floated every year. You know I see a lot of jaw pain, a lot of pole pain. Keep the feet done. Get a good farrier. Make sure you're getting the feet done every five to six weeks. Sometimes I see horses that are only getting done every 12 ish weeks. That's not enough. You know they're not going to be able to stay balanced if you're not doing them more regularly than that and then having good quality tack. I have a lot of people that are like well, I can't get a new saddle, even though this one doesn't fit, because it was expensive. Well, sell that saddle and get another one. Horses are expensive, yeah exactly.
Speaker 2:So yeah, just having good, proper fitting tack, getting the teeth done, getting the feet done and having a good quality diet. Because I, I wonder and I'm sure you're seeing this now you guys are scoping horses. I think there's a lot more stomach ulcers than we ever knew years ago.
Speaker 1:Oh, yeah, we had that conversation with the lady this morning. Like a horse that comes in with even just one symptom will find an issue in their stomach. Yeah, I think the AAEP reported 60% of the Western performance horses.
Speaker 2:Wow.
Speaker 1:But I was looking at the time range and I think that was mainly squamous because I don't think the scopes and the techniques were good enough to get to the glandular.
Speaker 2:Okay.
Speaker 1:So I would say and I think think dr sykes has commented on that I'd say the incidence even even higher, and I think thoroughbreds is like 90 I'd believe that, but I mean if you look at most of their lives, they're yeah they're fed way too good. They're high, strong.
Speaker 1:Most of them live in a stall yep, yep so yeah, the scopes opened up our eyes, yeah, a lot. And honestly, knock on wood, which I I had one Sunday night, but our emergency colics, since we've started recognizing ulcers, have kind of gone away, because I think a lot of it was stomach pain where they wouldn't eat good or drink good and then that just snowballs into some other intestinal problem and then we treat it and we're not able to look at the stomach. So yeah, the gastro, especially the stomach health, is super important in these guys. And one thing you taught us, I think one of the first times you were here at the horse owner education thing was lunging and exercising in both directions.
Speaker 2:Yes, the team ropers. I don't know if I'll ever get them trained. I think they just only lope circles to the left.
Speaker 1:We'll lunge some on exam they lunge okay, yeah, to the left Then we go to the right.
Speaker 2:They can't. It's a challenge, yeah, yeah. So always go the same amount of circles to the left as you do the right.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:And does that just stretch the soft tissue and just move things? Yeah, it just keeps everything balanced. You know, if we were to just um hop around always on our left leg, our right side would get weaker, you know, and or vice versa. So, yeah, you want to just keep everything balanced, and, and muscularly, and now that I'm going to physical therapy, it's a game changer. You have to do all the exercises left side that you do on the right side to keep everything balanced.
Speaker 1:Are there any misconceptions you see in, especially horses, but you work on small animals too Any misconceptions you see with the chiropractic care you know you mentioned your dad was a skeptic.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I still have clients that are like I don't believe in that. Um, I have some that come around, you know, I mean usually I don't meet them unless they're willing to give it a try, right? But yeah, I've had a lot of people come around and my dad does a lot of driving of his mules and stuff and so now he's always telling his friends well, maybe, maybe it's sore, maybe you should get it adjusted. Like, I don't want to adjust mules Unless they're good.
Speaker 1:Yeah, we had a rope horse. He was a heel horse and when he was stopping he was just stomping his feet. And we did a lameness exam couldn't find anything. Took some spinal radiographs couldn't find anything. Took some, took some spinal radiographs couldn't find anything. Consulted with a neurologist couldn't find anything. And and that was before we were real familiar with chiropractors we finally, you know, just try that and whatever. I don't know who it was, but whatever fixed it fixed it.
Speaker 2:Good, yeah. So I don't care what, what they did, as long as we, as long as it fixed it, yeah, and it's not here. It, yeah and it's not here for rechecks, exactly.
Speaker 1:Is there any cases like that you've had that have really made people believe or even kind of some of the stuff we do? I'm like I can't believe that worked as good as it did.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, there's been a few cases where you know sometimes you're like I'll try. You know it's Sometimes you're like I'll try. You know it's kind of a last ditch effort and if you've ruled out all the other things, I mean we'll try and see. And some of them do really well. Some of them you're still like I don't know what to do with you. But yeah, we've had several success stories.
Speaker 1:That's awesome. We're sending one for a bone scan in a couple of weeks. Yeah, we've blocked it out all the way, so hopefully, hopefully, they get an answer. Yeah, um, as far as routine chiropractics is there, is there, like you know, shooing. You said every five, six weeks. Is there any set time frame on these horses that, especially the performance horses that are getting asked a lot of?
Speaker 2:yeah, like most of my really really busy show horses I see every four to six weeks pretty consistently. Then you know I have some horses that I see twice a year. I have some horses I see only when they need something.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 2:So it kind of depends on the owner, but I mean ideally four to six weeks is probably ideal, just because you can catch things sooner before they become an issue.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and then we kind of talked about the rider posture or biomechanics. Is there anything people can do to kind of help that, where they're more balanced and stuff?
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah. I think rider fitness is extremely important. You you're not fit or you're not balanced, or you get lazy or you're leaning trail riders whenever they pack their saddlebags. If they could pack them evenly.
Speaker 1:So six beers on one side and six beers on the other, and then drink one from each side before you go.
Speaker 2:Don't drink all the ones on the right and then the left, but yeah, so things like that. Don't drink all the ones on the right and then the left, but um, yeah, so things like that. Um, I have some Amish horses I work on and, uh, I couldn't figure one out for the longest time. We tried everything. Um, they got the teeth done, they changed farriers Uh, we just could not keep this horse from being just body sore.
Speaker 2:And finally I was driving down the road one day, like months later, and I see this buggy and it's like tilted, severely tilted, and I'm thinking I wonder, I wonder if his buggy has been maintenance, like I wonder if the wheel is pulling harder on one side versus the other. So I call, leave a message, wait two days for the call back and he's like no, I got a wheel that's bad. I've been meaning to get it fixed. He's like you really think I should get that wheel fixed. I'm like let's try it. And he did. And you know, I was seeing that horse every two to three weeks. I see her like once a year maybe.
Speaker 1:Oh, that's awesome.
Speaker 2:Like magically different.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:We're a bit of detectives and problem solvers with some of this stuff and, yeah, you got to get creative sometimes.
Speaker 1:I remember sometimes like things just click yeah at the most random times usually when you can't call the owner like you're in the shower but yeah, that kind of stuff, that's that's cool to figure out. Yeah, that's probably one of my favorite cases yeah, we see we work on a lot of Amish horses. Yeah, because they're getting really nice horses these days. Yeah, and they're, they don't want to replace them.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, they are doing a lot more as far as joint care and things like that and vaccines. I think they're getting into more vaccines too.
Speaker 1:Yeah, Is there any? You know, like on my side, every time I get in my inbox, there's some new tests, there's some new diagnostic, there's some new something. Now there's AI that can watch lame horses and give you reports. Is there anything like that emerging in the chiropractic field that you know of?
Speaker 2:Not really. They do have some continuing education classes that they host there in Kansas, usually like once a year, and they do also have a location in in europe, I think somewhere too, and they'll have like one continuing ed class over there a year too. Um, but nothing, not really. It's kind of a quieter area you know, um, I don't know. I think there's a lot more in the way of like magna wave laser therapy. I think there's a lot more technology coming down that area, but not so much chiropractic specific.
Speaker 1:Yeah, do you ever recommend like the MagnaWave or laser stuff before you adjust them?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think it can really help before and after Massage. Magnawave laser it's just another tool to keep the muscles nice and relaxed and then you know they're not constantly pulling on the bone structure.
Speaker 1:so I think it can help yeah, when I've gone to the chiropractor I usually even any doctor's office I tense up my blood pressure goes up, yeah so I can just feel myself more tense in there. And the guy I go to after I think the second or third time he sent me to the like the tens and I think it made his job a little bit easier, where he could feel and move stuff around.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:And then stretching has helped me a ton. After that sciatica I had. I never want to go through that again. I bet not, so I started Googling all these searches, so now that's part of my morning routine. I just stretch for 15 minutes. I got a nap, so is there any stretches you'd recommend for for people to do with horses?
Speaker 2:yeah, they can do the the carrot stretches or the treat stretches, where you bring the treat to each side and have them bend all the way around to their shoulders and then down between the front legs and then lift the front legs and just bring them straight forward. Just a nice stretch. They'll tell you when they're done stretching. You know, don't let them pull your back out, because they will. Some of them will really sit down and pull against you pretty hard, but those can all help keep them limber.
Speaker 1:Yeah, is there any good resources on that? Maybe we should make a video today, john, with stretches While.
Speaker 2:Kylie's here yeah, I can show you some. Yeah, cody's here yeah, I can show you some.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, we'll make a video and put it down in the okay, the show notes on youtube. Yeah, that'd be good. The other thing I want to talk to you about is, um, you mentioned all your training and all that continue education. So if, if somebody decides, I think my horse needs to see a chiropractor, what should they look for in the chiropractor as far as training or certification and stuff like that?
Speaker 2:So I think it's important to realize that. You know, I have malpractice insurance, liability insurance, and so if something, I hope nothing ever does.
Speaker 2:But if something were to go wrong, you know you'll be able to file a claim or be financially compensated for your animal. And these horses are worth a lot of money. I mean, there's some horses I work on that cost $60,000 plus. You know, if you have someone who's not certified, who's not a human chiropractor, who's not a veterinarian, those people probably don't have liability or malpractice insurance, and so you're going to trying to get them to cover something if something were to go wrong is going to be really hard, you know Um. So I think it's important to make sure people are are licensed and insured and trained properly, because the spinal cord is close, you know Um it, and so you don't want to to to risk that.
Speaker 2:And I do think there's a lot of lay chiropractors out there that, um, you know, I don't know where their training comes from. I don't know if they watch some youtube videos. I don't know if they went out west to somewhere and watched someone and then made it up as they went, because it's not an easy skill to learn. I mean, I can remember sitting in school thinking how am I going to do this, how am I going to know what I'm doing and feeling, and it took a lot of guided practice and a lot of hands-on experience with experts to be able to find that feel. And so I do worry for those horses that you know. I mean, hopefully nothing will ever go wrong and you probably will release some things and get some licks and chews and good responses, but, um, at the end of the day I don't. I don't know where their training comes from, and that's scary to me.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and similar with the, the quote-unquote dentist.
Speaker 2:Yes, yes.
Speaker 1:So, at least in the state of Illinois, what legally do you have to? Have to be a chiropractor.
Speaker 2:So you have to be either a human chiropractor or a veterinarian and then you have to be trained by one of the approved schools. There's a school down in Ocala, there's the one in Wellsville, Kansas, and there may be a couple other new ones that have emerged. Um, and then human chiropractors are technically supposed to have a referral from a veterinarian and then, if you know something were to go wrong, then, um, the veterinarian who referred you would also be able to help with the case and stuff referred. You would also be able to help with the case and stuff. Um, so, yeah, they, they do require you to be in the state of Illinois, licensed as a veterinarian or a human chiropractor.
Speaker 1:Gotcha, yeah, and I've noticed one thing working with you is people that'll come in and like, yeah, we went to Dr Kylie and she doesn't think it's this issue, it's that, and I think that's as far as a horse owner perspective. I think that's huge because, yeah, you know, it may be something way more serious than an adjustment can fix. Yeah, and maybe that's going to be part of the whole horse plan.
Speaker 2:but right, I think it takes. You know you need dentistry, you need farrier work, you need lameness exams, you need nutrition, you need body workers, you need, you need a whole well-rounded picture. You know, it's not just a oh, I'm going to take it to see the chiropractor and it's magically going to be better. I mean maybe one out of 10 cases, but for the most part I'm having pretty good discussions with these owners, like, okay, what are you doing? What are you know? What are you seeing? I want to know. I want to dive deeper.
Speaker 1:I want to know what the cause is, and that's what we try to do too. Not just band-aid, but figure out where, what and why? Yeah.
Speaker 2:And then you can come in and get an adjustment every month or two or three as maintenance Right, and those horses really like me. Yeah, I mean, those horses are like oh yeah, she made us feel really good, we like her. The horses that come one time that are extremely sore with all these other issues, they don't really like to be adjusted.
Speaker 1:It's not comfortable for them you know, yeah, Do you ever? Do you have to sedate horses when you adjust them?
Speaker 2:I try not to. I really like to get their facial responses and I like them to kind of be able to brace against me. I sedate probably maybe two or three horses a year.
Speaker 1:Oh really.
Speaker 2:And I probably Cairo a thousand horses a year. So the goal is not to sedate them.
Speaker 1:Interesting Talking about, like their facial stuff. I know one thing Autumn trots most of my lame ones and we've done enough together where you, you know we get done trotting or something she might tell me he really didn't like.
Speaker 2:I may not be feeling much back there, but she sees it, but she sees it or notices their facial expressions and stuff like that.
Speaker 1:Horses will tell us if we listen yeah, they really will.
Speaker 2:They really will. Good release signs are licking, chewing, yawning, um, just like some slow, soft blinks of the eyes or just good, big, deep breaths, or they'll kind of rest a leg and just lower their head. So yeah, I I try to watch them pretty closely and see if they're happy, if they're angry, you know.
Speaker 1:Yeah. So if there's somebody out there considering calling a chiropractor, what would you tell them? What kind of advice would you give them ahead of the appointment to ensure that it goes good for the horse and the chiropractor?
Speaker 2:Yeah. So I usually tell them you know, make sure you bring your saddle, your pad, you know, make sure you bring anything that you think could be helpful for me to look at. And then usually I will just ask how old the horse is? You know any arthritis, any maintenance already, like, does it already get joint injections or things like that? Is it live in a stall? Does it live? Turned out just kind of getting a bigger picture and then having them bring mostly saddle pad, bridle tack, things like that, because you know if the, if the bridle pinches somewhere between the pole and the tmj, you can have issues there too.
Speaker 1:So yeah, that's, that's. I think a lot of people over overlook some of that stuff. Yeah, yeah, and then some of that carries into what we see all the time too. Yeah, people, horses fighting the bridle, this and that you know and I I really wonder.
Speaker 2:I don't know how you'd figure it out, but, um, how many horses have a headache? How many horses are just walking around with a headache?
Speaker 1:I don't know. We had one, a weanling the other day that I think had west nile, okay, and I think those get a terrible headache yeah, they'll bang their head off the ground, grind their teeth and yeah so yeah, I know, if I get a headache, you don't want to be around me right, yeah, you're just miserable, yeah and same thing with the stomach ulcers. I had a little bit of heartburn this morning. I don't know why, but I just want to be left alone yeah, so I can imagine if somebody was wanting to cinch your saddle up on me.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, ouch um.
Speaker 1:So how can people get a hold of you if they're listening to this and think they want you to look at your horse?
Speaker 2:yeah, they can call me um. My phone number is 217-294-3947. Call or text. Um. I have a facebook page kylie kelly dvm llc. So, um, they can message a facebook page, call text, call here and schedule whenever I'm down here with you guys. Yeah, I'm pretty, pretty easy to find, I think.
Speaker 1:Okay, and then I think John's still got the video of you working on his horse. We'll put a link to that down in the show notes too, and people can kind of they've never had it done and kind of get an idea what you do.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and I think we did do a little bit of saddle fit stuff. I think we talked basic saddle fit on that one too Awesome.
Speaker 1:Well, I think that's. That's about it. We'll have you back for sure. Okay, We'll do this again and maybe dive a little deeper into some certain things. I'll do a little research in the meantime so I can understand this a little bit more, but thank you so much for for stopping by and spending the day with us.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's always fun coming down here.
Speaker 1:Well, we appreciate it, thankful for all you do to help our horses feel good.
Speaker 2:Thank you, thanks for letting me come down.
Speaker 1:Alright, and for those of you tuned in, thanks for listening and until next time, take care of your horses and yourself.
Speaker 2:Fitting a surgeon or start to come quick. Draw the syringe and give it a flick. Bring your little black bag with the medicines in. Bring the trank and