Traditional Chinese medicine dates back at least 2500 years. This type of Medicine, its theory and practice center around the idea that balance of the life energy provides the key to health. This is an ENERGY-based system, and Qi (chee) is its primary component. Qi (chee) flows through the body along specific channels, called meridians. According to traditional Chinese medicine, imbalance in the flow of Qi is responsible for wide variety of medical conditions, By restoring this balance in the body one can regain health.

According to Chinese Medical diagnosis , Qi (chee) energy can be broken down, categorized and described in a number of ways: First to find a balance of the two principle types of energy, Yin and Yang; Second follows the division of matter into five basic elements, wood, fire, earth, metal and water, which is closely related to the seasons; and thirdly an understanding of whole health based on eight principles, cold/heat, interior/exterior, deficiency/excess, and Yin/Yang. Using the above principles Traditional Chinese medicine is considered especially useful for treatment injuries and is very successful in pain relief and management along with many other internal conditions.

Herbal Medicine is the primary modality within the Chinese Medical model. Traditional Chinese Herbal Medicine is one of the world’s oldest, safest and most comprehensive forms of medicine. Chinese herbal/food therapy is the primary modality in Chinese Medicine even far before Acupuncture. It survives because of its concept of preventative care and total treatment to the body. Chinese Herbal medicine is so interrelated with diet that herbal formulas are often simply known as food supplements or food therapy. Chinese Physicians do not believe in instant therapy, thus many of the formulas are built to treat deeper constitutional problems, and are made for long term treatment, continuous care.

When a Chinese herbal medicine is ingested, the essence and healing benefits of the formula are distributed through the meridian complex and the blood stream. A horse with a strong and healthy well-balanced body and spirit will resist attack from even the most extreme environmental factors. Chinese diagnosis involves understanding the factors acting on the body, and how that particular body is responding constitutionally and symptomatically. And these formulas are designed with the horse in mind.

Animals are very instinctive when it comes to healing. They respond to natural remedies from the earth, and often look to soil, plants and seasons to treat the body naturally. This relates very closely with the many forms of Chinese Diagnosis. These Formulas work to bring balance to the body. The body quickly falls out of balance due to the many forces and stresses placed on it, in the case of horses these are: racing, working, improper food habits, injury, emotional trauma sporadic weather, and seasons. Too much or too little of any of these factors can quickly have an animal lame. Chinese herbals work to bring the ‘Qi’, or vital energy, of the body back into balance. “Where there is no circulation, there is pain, Where there is no pain, there is circulation”.