Acupuncture Points of the Horse’s Distal Thoracic Limb: A Neuroanatomic Approach to the Transposition of Traditional Points

Veterinary acupuncture charts were developed based on the concept of transpositional points whereby human acupuncture maps were adapted to animal anatomy. Transpositional acupuncture points have traditionally been placed in specific locations around the horse's coronet and distal limb believed to be the closest approximation to the human distal limb points. Because the horse has a single digit and lacks several structures analogous to the human hand and foot, precisely transposing all of the human digital points is not anatomically possible. To date there is no published research on the effect of acupuncture treatment of the equine distal limb points. This paper presents a modified approach to equine distal limb point selection based on what is known from research on other species about the neuroanatomic method of acupuncture. A rationale is presented for modification of traditional equine ting points as well as additional points around the hoof and distal limb that do not appear in the standard textbooks of equine acupuncture. The anatomy and physiology of the equine foot likely to be affected by acupuncture are briefly reviewed. Modified neuroanatomic points are proposed that may be more accurate as transpositional points. As an example of clinical application, a neuroanatomic approach to acupuncture treatment of equine laminitis is presented.