I have been looking for a horse chiropracter and have had several recommended.  The first is Dr. Karen Hooks out of Little Rock, Arkansas.  She is a vet, a chiropracter and does acupuncture.  She would be a 2-3 hour haul away and she seems very knowledgable.  She wants to see video of my mare's runs throughout her career and wants to evaluate her now.  She also recommends creating an excercise/conditioning program specifically for my horse.  Have any of you gals in that part of the state heard of her? 

The second is Glen Woods ( I don't know if I spelled his name correctly or heard it correctly on my cell phone) he is from Oregon and comes monthly to the University of Arkansas to work on horses.  The lady that foals my mares (she teaches reproduction/foaling at the U of A and she uses my mares to "teach" the process-- I'm a lucky gal I don't spend nights watching my mares waiting for them to foal) recommended him.  She thinks highly of him.  He works on Olympic quality horses.  Has anyone from the northwest heard of him?  OregonBR do you know of him? 

I'm sorry to be the downer on Mr. Woods, but have any of you asked about his credentials?  I can tell you that he's had 1 week of massage therapy school in Virginia.  He's not certified as a Chiropractor.  A vet in his part of the country happened to show him a few moves.  From what I understand that vet is very upset with Glenn for going around charging people for doing this type of work, with no formal training.  A girl in Texas had Glenn work on her horse last year and ended up spending a fortune on vet bills because of what he did.  This is a very nice horse too!  Does he have insurance against malpractice if something goes wrong with your horse?  Are you willing to 'pay' that price?  Stick with someone certified.

As for the pros using him, most of them have wised up. 

I'll probably get flamed for this.  But I thought someone needed give the "other" side of the issue.

I have used Glenn.  I am very impressed with his ability...several good local chiros couldn't fix a mare I had...he did.  It took a couple of treatments and she was VERY sore after the first one.  But, she was much better after a few days off and I had her treated again in 30 days.  She worked better than she ever had after that and stayed fixed.

As with anything, you have to use your judgement about WHO you have work on your horses.  I have used shoers and vets who had NO business laying a hand on a horse that do and charged me for it.   

I have used Karen Hooks for accupuncture with good results.  She wouldn't do chiro on my horses because I used Dr Schmidt for years--they had some kind of agreement that he would mentor her as long as she didn't steal his clients. <shrug>

I LOVE Dr Lowdermilk!!!!!  He has done some wonderful things for my horses and he's a super nice guy to boot.  You can tell he genuinely loves horses and is so patient and quiet with them.  I had to cancel my last appointment with him, I need to hurry up and reschedule while he's still at Oaklawn.

I tried Dr Ennis once and didn't care for him.  I won't go into details here, but I have no intentions of using him again.

Thanks for everyones input.  Because I want ongoing treatment for my mare I'll try Dr. Hooks.  I need someone who is accessible without waiting for them to come into my area or for me to run across them somewhere.  She has good qualifications--being a vet trained in chiro. and acupuncture.  She also has a lady who works with her that does equine massage.   What do you pay an hour for your horses treatment?