Despite the growing popularity of acupuncture in Western veterinary treatment, most practitioners are not fully maximizing this ancient Chinese healing art, according to Wang Qinglan, a former deputy dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine at the China Agricultural University.

Wang says veterinarians in the West are just following the practical use acupuncture to address the problems, instead of really understanding the principles of Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine, which is far more complex.

"When they find the treatment is working, they continue to use it in the same way, and they are still using Western methods for diagnosis. I think the effect is not satisfying," the 75-year-old veteran says.

Wang explained that traditional needles, which are short and fine, are used on humans, but those used on animals are much longer and thicker. Most foreign countries are using traditional needles on horses because animal protection organizations in Europe protest that it is not humane to use the larger needles on animals.

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"Acupuncture is mostly used for daily nursing, to ease pain, enhance immunity and alleviate the stress of competition on the horses," Wang says. "There are about 70 to 80 acupressure points that are frequently used and different problems should be cured with using different combinations of these points.

"For example, a newly acquired flu and the fever that comes after must be treated in different ways."

According to Wang, Western veterinary medicine is better at curing acute diseases, while traditional Chinese medicine on animals, including acupuncture, treats chronic conditions. He believes the animals benefit most from a combination of Western and Chinese traditional medication.

Acupuncture has been used on farm horses in China for a long time, but the traditional Chinese treatment was recognized by Western countries only from the 1970s, and started being used on horses in sports even later.

When United States President Richard Nixon visited China in 1972, Wang demonstrated the use of electro-acupuncture on a horse, and performed an operation without using anesthetics - all in front of the president.

After this was reported in world news, many foreign veterinarians came to China to learn more about acupuncture in the following years. Wang also went on the lecture circuit to Europe, the US and Australia.

He also has many Chinese students teaching traditional Chinese veterinary medicine abroad. One of his students, Xie Huisheng, is based at the University of Florida in the US and has trained more than 2,000 students since the 1990s.

But sadly, veterinary acupuncture is fading in its country of origin and is on the brink of disappearing altogether.

In contrast, Western practitioners are thriving. According to Chinese national rider Huang Zuping, it has become so profitable in Europe that he once had to pay 400 euros ($490) to a Belgian veterinarian for treating two of his horses in Germany.

Some foreign veterinary training institutes have built a complete curriculum around acupuncture on horses. In contrast, there is very limited teaching material in China, and some Western vets are even coming to China to give classes to the Chinese, according to Zhou Yuan, a graduate of the China Agricultural University currently working at the Irish Jockey Club.

"These veterinarians from other countries still believe the best acupuncture practices are in China, but people in Europe and US are doing so much better in popularizing the treatment," Wang says.

"More and more Chinese veterinarians have turned to treating small animals like pet dogs and cats, because they need work and there is not much of a market in treating horses. Equestrian sports are not popular in China.

"We need to protect the traditional heritage of our country, otherwise, one day we will have to learn it from other countries. That will be a tragedy."

tangzhe@chinadaily.com.cn