Integrated care veterinary assessment Mind, Body and Spirit

The integrated care veterinary assessment is a holistic examination of your cat, dog or horse’s body, mind and spirit. 

Although you come to us with one particular problem, we look at all the factors that contribute to their state of wellness. The result is a plan to improve this through nutrition, exercise, herbal medicine, and environmental adjustments. We have to address each of these areas to maximise the body’s ability to recover. 

The key concept is synergy: the interaction of our interventions produces a combined positive effect that is greater than the sum of each individual change.

What does your cat, horse or dog spend time thinking about? Do they live in an environment where all their vital resources are easily accessible? Are they frequently mentally stimulated? Do they have friends of their own species, and space to avoid them if they’d like to? Are they overwhelmed by a busy household or yard? Do they work, or compete in an athletic or mentally challenging activity?

We get down to the inner workings of their mind day-to-day and seek out ways to adjust or take advantage of their environment. Miriam uses her pre-examination questionnaire, listening to your thoughts, and her own observation to assess this.

Our animals can’t talk to us verbally, but they can give us amazing clues to their health through their body. Miriam will perform a traditional veterinary “nose to tail” examination, with some added extras!

She will note posture, assess muscle mass, and find any trigger points over the musculoskeletal system. She will notice asymmetry, areas of heat, and assess joints for range of movement, which may include a dynamic assessment. Subtle changes will be discovered and noted – such as weepy eyes, a coating on the tongue, asymmetrical or thready pulses, or abnormal hoof/nail quality.

There is no substitute for a thorough, attentive hands-on examination.

Lastly we need to know what makes your cat, horse, or dog them. What is their inner purpose, their character, what motivates them? Do they seek out warmth snuggling into heaters, or do they prefer the cool kitchen tiles? Do they initiate contact and play, or do they prefer to be independent? Do they have any favourite friends, people or animals? Are they jittery and jumpy, or extremely laid back?

Some characteristics are better suited to certain herbal medicines and dietary ingredients than others. We all know someone who has to take their jumper off and fan themselves if they eat a spicy curry, or someone who can’t drink a cup of coffee after 4pm or risk being restless all night.

We won’t be feeding curry or coffee to our animals, but there are plenty of herbs and dietary components with similar effects. Understanding their spirit means we can assess what impact limitations imposed by illness might have on their mental well-being. It means we can plan how to help them carry on doing the things they really love.

After thoroughly assessing these elements Miriam will make recommendations based on her findings. She will discuss how these recommendations can fit into your life, and together you will make a plan. Miriam will spend time researching, sourcing and compounding the best combination of herbal medicines for you. You will arrange a suitable time for a reacheck, and/or be referred back to your primary care vet for further work-up.