Making Strides for Animal Chiropractic

Interview with Rachel Heart Bellini, DVM CVA CVSMT, AVCA Certified: Let’s Talk About Equine Lameness!

• Kaitlyn Lackey DC cAVCA

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Dr. Heart grew up in the western suburbs of Boston, Massachusetts. She graduated from McGill University in Montreal, Quebec with a BSc. in Biology in 1985. She went on to Tufts Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine located in Grafton, Massachusetts, receiving her DVM in 1991. Her career since graduation has been dedicated to working with sport horses all over the United States. In 2001 Dr Heart left the track to focus on other disciplines in the equine industry – a move motivated by the birth of her daughter Camille in 2000. She spent 6 years at a busy equine referral clinic in Illinois where she focused primarily on lameness. This move exposed her to the most advanced diagnostic and therapeutic techniques available in the sport horse industry. She was able to refine her skills in all imaging modalities and attend clinics devoted to lameness diagnosis and treatment.

Dr. Heart began her training in Acupuncture at the Chi Institute of Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine in 2003 with Dr Huisheng Xie DVM, MS, PhD. She completed her certification in Veterinary Acupuncture in 2005. She is currently working on her Masters in Chinese Herbal Medicine at the Chi Institute. She obtained her certification in Veterinary Spinal Manipulation Therapy (Also known as Animal Chiropractic) from the Healing Oasis Wellness Center in 2007 where she was trained by Pedro Rivera DVM. Rachel became certified by the American Veterinary Chiropractic Association (AVCA) in 2008. She is currently completing a series of seminars on Postural Rehabilitation in Horses with Judith Shoemaker VMD and Karen Gellman DVM. She has also trained with Marvin Cain DVM (Acupuncture), Jean-Michel Boudard (Osteopathy), and Carl J. DeStephano (Applied Kinesiology/Functional Neurology).

It is the integration of this career path that has led Dr. Heart to the concepts of restorative healing. Success with cases has demonstrated the obvious synergy that occurred when problems could be treated in relationship to the rest of the animal. Each year brings more opportunities to further learn about and refine the techniques used to help the animals and their owners.

Topics covered in this episode:

  • Dr. Heart’s journey and how she integrated her career path
  • How chiropractic changed Dr. Heart’s mindset
  • Dr. Heart’s opinion on the current status quo of equine lameness
  • Some things we should be looking for before jog a horse 
  • What is and where do you check for spinal extension in a horse
  • Body lameness versus limb lameness
  • How do we come together for the benefit of the horses we treat?
  • Fostering curiosity

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