Wellness & Rehab Services

Class IV Laser, Homeopathy, PEMF and Nutritional Therapies

Candace R. Benyei, Ph.D.

AAs a former research biochemist, Dr. Candace Benyei has always been interested in nutrition and is the force behind our feeding and feed supplement program. She believes in the scientific design of rations and the studied implementation of feed additives. Because she observed increasing gastrointestinal problems over the last few years, Dr. Benyei recently switched all of our horses to non-GMO feed concentrates with excellent results.

In 1985, Dr. Benyei became interested in alternative medicine, specifically chiropractic, energy work, acupuncture, homeopathy, the use of light-emitting diodes, Class IV Therapeutic Laser, and most recently Pulsed Electro-Magnetic Field or PEMF therapy. She found that often these therapies could actually enable the healing of an individual – be it human or horse – rather than put a Band-Aid on the problem.

Dr. Benyei uses homeopathy and her diagnostic abilities to fight a variety of infections from foot abscesses to both acute and chronic Lyme disease, as well as solve certain kinds of behavioral problems. And she employs Class IV laser along with PEMF and homeopathy to heal a wide variety of musculoskeletal disorders rather than employing pain-killers. Now a practicing classical homeopath for over 25 years, she is the Farm's resident expert on homeopathy, PEMF, and bio-light applications.

Candace lives on the Farm with her veterinarian husband, Dr. Christian Benyei and together they also own and operate the Schulhof Animal Hospital in Westport, Connecticut. Dr. Benyei is also a poet, a mystic, college professor, and the author of five books on a variety of topics.

Class IV Laser Therapy

Laser Therapy has long been known for its usefulness in pain relief, wound healing, tight muscles, traumatic injury, arthritic conditions, post-surgical pain relief and incision healing, lacerations and abrasions, and degenerative joint disease.

Therapeutic lasers are able to deliver larger doses of optimal wavelength light over a larger area for consistent treatment outcomes. Laser therapy, like acupuncture, eases pain and actually heals without the use of pharmaceuticals and in many cases surgery. Studies have shown that when tissue cultures are irradiated by lasers, intracellular proteins (specifically cytochrome C) absorb the energy from the laser. Photons are absorbed within the mitochondria and the cell membrane, producing higher ATP levels and boosting DNA production, leading to an increase in cellular health and energy. Like acupuncture, Laser Therapy reduces pain and inflammation, and stimulates nerve regeneration, muscle relaxation, and immune system response.

PEMF (Pulsed Electro-Magnetic Field) Therapy

Magna Wave PEMF (Pulsed Electro-Magnetic Field) Therapy is widely used in conditioning of people, athletes, small animals, and race, performance and pleasure horses around the world. The therapy serves to help regenerate damaged or diseased tissue, repair tendons and fractured bones. It enhances the synthesis of protein in the cells, which allows the body to take full advantage of all the protein available. Circulation is improved, not by increasing heartbeat or blood pressure, but by opening and dilating the arteries and capillaries. During treatment the Lymphatic system is stimulated to clean damaged areas and detoxify the body. Magna Wave PEMF therapy also increases blood oxygen at the cellular level. The improved blood flow, increased blood oxygen and lymphatic cleansing reduce pain and inflammation, buildup of lactic acid and improve the overall healing capabilities. Magna Wave PEMF, because of its deep penetration is particularly effective in relieving deep muscle soreness. The therapy is noninvasive, and no medication is required as a pretreatment for therapy.

Homeopathy

What It Is and What It Isn't

Homeopathy is NOT herbal medicine, a common misconception. Instead, it is a form of energy medicine, derived from plant, animal, and mineral substances which potentiate the body's own innate capacity to heal itself. Simply said, homeopathy does not hide pain or kill organisms. Instead it helps the body do what it does every moment so elegantly – heal its tissues and fight disease. As a result, there are no drug interactions with homeopathy, and it can be used alongside of other medical interventions.

Where Did It Come From?

The science and practice of Homeopathy was originally developed by Samuel Hahnemann (1755 to 1843), a German M.D. and chemist, who had many subsequent and well known followers. It is a familiar form of medicine in Europe and India today with a very wide body of literature on its clinical use and practice.

Why Do We Use It?

Homeopathy is particularly effective in nerve, muscle and surgical pain amelioration. It actually helps the body heal the cause of the pain, rather than masking it, as do pharmaceutical "pain killers." There are all kinds of "first aid" uses of homeopathy, as well as acute and chronic disease uses. Homeopathy is also often helpful in cases which are either unresponsive to conventional western medicine or in cases where conventional medicine may be too risky. In fact, some of us, like Dr. Candace Benyei, prefer homeopathy for personal healing almost exclusively, as it has no adverse side effects as can be common with pharmaceuticals.

Nutritional Therapy

Designing a diet for a horse is a science. Not only is it important to keep a horse at optimal weight, but horses need different amounts of protein, fiber, carbohydrates, and fat at different stages of their lives and different levels of training. And, some individuals – particularly draft and draft-crosses, warm bloods, and some genetic lines of Quarter Horses and Paint Horses with Hyperkalemic Periodic Paralysis Disease (HYPP), a muscular disease – are very sensitive to carbohydrates. Furthermore, some horses are allergic to or intolerant of certain feed-stuffs, some cannot eat anything dusty because they have a respiratory disorder similar to emphysema called "heaves," and some horses have gastro-intestinal problems that need to be managed.

In accordance with the increasing volume of literature, Dr. Benyei has begun using organic and non-GMO feedstuffs with the new understanding that both Round-Up application residues on grains, as well as the Bacillus thuringiensis genes introduced into genetically engineered corn and soy to make it Round-Up Ready, kill the symbiotic bacteria necessary to health and digestion in the horse's gut.

Horses also have a variety of individual needs, be it poor hoof wall quality, poor coat quality, excessive nervousness, joint problems, hormone deficiencies, electrolyte deficiencies, or vitamin mineral deficiencies that need to be attended to in order to assume optimum health and performance. These can be addressed by the addition of nutritional supplements to the ration, but the host of possibilities on the market is not only overwhelming, but intentionally confusing to the average horse owner. We can help you navigate these confusing waters!