<b>By DOUG GRAVES<br>
Ohio Correspondent</b> </p><p>

ALEXANDRIA, Ky. — Cindy Hollon of Goshen, Ohio, noticed her horse walked with a funny gait and didn’t act as peppy as it once did.</p><p>
She had heard about the holistic remedies by Dr. Ron Leick of Alexandria, Ky., and decided to give them a try.</p><p>
Hollon wasn’t alone on the veterinarian’s schedule this day. Another young girl and her horse were there to find out why the horse refused to enter the barrel racing ring during a competition. And yet another horse and its owner waited in line, wanting to know why the horse walked with a limp.</p><p>
Welcome to the successful world of animal acupuncture and chiropractic procedures.</p><p>
“Healing without medicine,” Leick said. “You can count on the body’s own healing ability to heal itself. The body is born with an innate intelligence that tries to heal itself. When you cut your finger, it will heal itself. When your bone breaks it will heal.
“To carry this further: There’s no reason the body can’t heal other things.”</p><p>
Leick, a 1975 graduate of Ohio State University, began chiropractic studies in 1998 and began intensive acupuncture studies the following year.</p><p>
“I just felt this is what I was meant to be doing,” he said.
His practice takes him throughout Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky, though his office is located on Moreland Road off State Route 27 in Alexandria. He specializes in horses and dogs, but has worked with cats and even llamas.</p><p>
“People are taking to it to where it’s almost mainstream,” Leick said. “I see about 12 to 15 horses each day and roughly four dogs per week.”</p><p>
Most often he can remedy an animal’s problem with simple chiropractic methods, but sometimes he uses acupuncture.
And that didn’t surprise Hollon, who saw her horse in severe pain.
“Acupuncture helped me with my sickness,” Hollon said. “I had a bad case of shingles, chicken pox and herpes all at the same time, and acupuncture helped me.”</p><p>
Leick begins with a thorough examination of all muscle groups and skeletal structures. From this examination, Leick can discover swollen muscles in the hindquarters which may force the animal to overcompensate for lightening the pressure it puts on front legs. He uses a carrot to entice the animal to let him examine its range of motion in its neck.</p><p>
Often, he will tell the horse owner to give the animal a break from riding or simply say rest will heal the ailment. If needed, however, Leick will resort to acupuncture, putting a series of needles into the horse’s hooves or sides as needed.</p><p>
Usually, the needles are injected with a syringe full of liquid vitamin B12 to stimulate circulation and energy flow.</p><p>
Such procedures can last up to an hour.</p><p>
The acupuncture treatment is used often by Leick. The procedure has been used to relieve horses that have inflammatory conditions that can cause hoof and bone deformities, bedsores and even extreme pain.</p><p>
Limping problems can be a sign of laminitis, and Leick can remedy that with acupuncture.</p><p>
“Most of the animals really enjoy the procedures,” he said. </p><p>“They’re intimidated the first time, but once they get used to it, they handle it really well.”</p><p>
The growing field of equine chiropractics and acupuncture kept Leick so busy that he gave up his more traditional practice of veterinary medicine and now specializes in the unique field of chiropractic medicine for horses. He is one of two such veterinarians in Kentucky and, consequently, is in high demand.