COPD Horse Lives Life to the Full with Homeopathy

Amanda Peters is based in the New Forest where she drives and shows her Shire horse Fred, who is also a draught horse for the Ringwood Brewery. Eighteen-year-old Fred loves his work and is a picture of health, but this hasn’t always been the case.

As a five-year old Fred was diagnosed with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, now known as recurrent airway obstruction (RAO). Amanda wormed Fred with a reputable worming paste and then returned to the yard the next morning to find him with severe breathing problems.

The vet was called immediately and after scoping, the diagnosis of COPD was confirmed. A range of medical treatments and changes to management and feed regimes ensued but nothing seemed to improve Fred’s breathing. Amanda and her vet were at a loss as to what else could be done.

Amanda was devastated at the thought of losing Fred and decided to contact homeopathic vet Nick Thompson, following a friend’s advice, in a last attempt to help Fred overcome his severe case of COPD. Said Amanda: “I will admit I was very sceptical about contacting Nick but thought at this point anything was worth a try.”

Nick visited Fred and Amanda and spent over three hours with them collecting as much information as possible and examining Fred thoroughly. The empty packaging of the wormer Amanda has used was also examined by Nick.

The next day Fred’s homeopathic medicine arrived in the post. The first prescription was a homeopathic ‘antidote’ to the wormer which was administered for a month. The second prescription was a pollen mix which would be given to Fred for the foreseeable future (two drops twice a day in summer and one drop daily in winter).

Miraculously after just a couple of days Fred’s breathing had improved and within a week the COPD was under control. Amanda is eternally grateful for Nick’s help and her whole view on homeopathy has changed, “Without Nick I would have lost a horse, it is amazing that homeopathic medicine keeps Fred healthy.”

Nick contacted Amanda for an update at the end of last year and suggested that Fred should come off the daily drops to see how he responded. It was a few months until Fred’s first scheduled show so Amanda agreed knowing if he was affected there would be enough time to pick him back up again.

The drops were stopped and for the first two weeks Fred remained fairly stable. Then his wheezing returned, he dropped weight and his coat became dull. Amanda phoned Nick and told him - Fred was put straight back on his homeopathic medicine and recovered in a few days.

Said Nick: “It’s been a pleasure to work with Amanda and Fred. He’s such a fine horse. He’s also a great advert for homeopathy. Sceptics say homeopathy is all in the mind, placebo. I think Fred’s responses are testament to homeopathic medicines being much more than that”.

The British Association of Homeopathic Veterinary Surgeons (BAHVS) offer a service to animal owners seeking homeopathic help and can supply names and addresses of veterinary surgeons with homeopathic qualifications.

Picture Caption: “Fred (left) in his role as a draught horse for the Ringwood Brewery pictured with Amanda and her father Jim Beck,” photograph courtesy of Audrey Scott Hopkins.

For further information please visit www.bahvs.com.