Animals are getting the same unorthodox regimens that have become popular among humans even though the medical value of such treatments is still debated.
Vets are responding to the demand by scurrying to sign up for courses and finding mentors to help them understand herbs and mega-nutrients.
At least 100 vets are now trained each year in postgraduate courses in animal acupuncture. The membership of the American Holistic Veterinary Medical Association has ballooned to more than 800 university-trained animal doctors, up by about 35 percent in three years.
The mainstream American Veterinary Medical Association even has made room in its guidelines for vets to practice anything from chiropractic to homeopathy (the use of tiny - sometimes undetectable - amounts of natural substances to foster healing).
"We have tried to keep an open mind," said Craig Smith, a vet and staff consultant to the association. "Everything indicates that there is increased interest in it."
Meredith Snader, a Chester Springs vet, said the horse world has become so accepting of alternative care that she has no time to practice conventional medicine or treat any other type of animal. She travels to racetracks in nine states, packing a small pink grooming box to store acupuncture needles and a ladder to manipulate horse bones and muscles using chiropractic.
"It used to be that alternative therapy was the last resort in seeking health care for animals," said Snader, who graduated in 1973 from the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine. "Now many people are looking at it as their primary source.
