Nelson Chiropractic

Chiropractic Helps Race Horses

From the May 29, 2003 issues of the Daily Racing Forum and the Johnson County Sun, comes a story of how a top level race horse, "Ten Most Wanted" was helped by chiropractic. The story reports that the day after the Kentucky Derby, he had been bumped sharply leaving the gate, putting his back out of alignment. "He wouldn't jog," his trainer, Wally Dollase, remembered. "He had displaced his back about a half an inch."

Dr. Herb Warren, a veterinarian who worked on Ten Most Wanted said, "There was severe pressure on his spinal cord. His back was out of whack. He didn't want to move behind." This is where the chiropractor Dr. Dave Hand came in. Dr. Hand is a former trainer who for more than a decade has been sought out by some of the top trainers to work on their horses. During the week leading up to the Derby, Hand did adjustments on four horses - Atswhatimtalknbout, Scrimshaw, Ten Cents a Shine, and Ten Most Wanted. Hand worked on Touch Gold prior to his victory in the 1997 Belmont Stakes, but his most consistent client has been Dollase, for whom Hand has treated the likes of Grade 1 stakes winners Deputy Commander, Jewel Princess, and Windsharp.

"He's good at what he does," trainer Wally Dollase said. "I call him in if I think a horse needs him. He puts a horse back in place with his own arms. He adjusts the back to where it's normal." According to Dollase, "He is moving fine now, and Ten Most Wanted is scheduled to run in the June 7 Belmont Stakes. One of the reasons he will be there is the long-term care he has received from an equine chiropractor"

The Daily Racing Forum article was written before the running of the Belmont stakes. The chiropractic care that Ten Most Wanted received must have been effective as the horse finished second in the Belmont Stakes.