One question that naturally arises when working with equine acupressure and other TC(V)M modalities and horses is: why do we address the “Gallbladder” even though horses do not have a Gallbladder?
Traditional Chinese (Veterinary) Medicine, in general, is based on a very different way of thinking and viewing the world than our Western approach. It often is said that it is both art and science. It developed through observation of nature, seasons, bodies, physiology, behaviour, etc. and the identification of related patterns over thousands of years. The underlying concepts and teachings and the way of mapping the body are not naturally familiar to us and we often simply do not have the language for them. So we work with the closest translation available to us in the English or the German or other European languages which, honestly, is not fully accurate and one of the major challenges to overcome when learning and studying TC(V)M is to develop an understanding that surpasses our linguistic limitations.
When working with “organs” in TC(V)M such as the Heart, the Lung, the Stomach and also the Gallbladder, we are not only working and addressing the physical anatomical structure but a wider functional organ system that, while it includes the physical organ, where available, also encompasses other structures, tissues, associated sensory organs and emotions, seasonal resonances, energetics, etc.
For the Gallbladder specifically, this means that even without the anatomical organ, horses have the other associations available. There is the respective meridian which is of high importance in manual practices such as acupressure and Tui Na as well as in acupuncture. And the functional Gallbladder system in the TC(V)M’s view is still involved in supporting digestive transformation even without a storage organ. In horses, bile flows continuously from the liver directly into the duodenum (part of the small intestine). And alongside the Liver, the Gallbladder has a particular role in the health of tendons and ligaments.
So in short, TC(V)M practitioners work with the Gallbladder meridian and system in horses because the meridian pathway, the functional correspondences and the clinical effects of working with Gallblader acupoints remain consistent regardless of whether a storage organ is present.