• Homeopathy works with the natural healing process and has been used successfully for almost 250 years.
• Homeopathy is safe to use, even in pregnancy and the very frail; not one incidence of harm has been recorded.
• Homeopathy can be used alongside conventional medicine.
• Homeopathy is non-toxic, non-addictive and is virtually free from side-effects.
• Homeopathy has been used for almost 250 years and is well established in Europe, India and South America.
• 500M people worldwide use homeopathy.
• Homeopathy has been available on the NHS since its inception in 1948.

• There is a growing evidence-base to show that homeopathy is effective in a wide range of conditions seen in general practice.
• Research has demonstrated that homeopathy is not the same as placebo.
• Five out of six meta-analyses of homeopathy in the last 20 years show overall positive effects for homeopathy in the following human conditions: hay fever, post-operative ileus, rheumatoid arthritis, and childhood diarrhoea.
• Randomised controlled trials using homeopathy show a positive outcome for a growing range of human conditions – asthma, glue-ear, influenza, pain, anxiety, ADHD, chronic fatigue syndrome, IBS, migraine, osteoarthritis and PMS.
• There is a healthy research culture across Europe – 35 PhD students are investigating homeopathy in this country alone in 2008.

I have owned my horse Jazz for seven years since she was four years old, and during this time she has had numerous health problems. When she was six years old she developed a respiratory allergy when at grass in the autumn and winter; her salivary glands swelled up and she became very lethargic and exercise intolerant. After numerous tests and supplements I was advised that the best way to keep her comfortable and able to work was to keep her in for at least six months of the year.

Although still looking a little odd behind she did quite well over the summer and seemed fairly happy wandering round getting fat. However as soon as the damp weather came her respiratory allergy started to return and she began to look tired again. As she would go stiff being kept in over the winter without exercise and turnout not being an option I decided that the kindest thing would be to put her to sleep. As a last resort I asked my vet if we could look into alternative treatments. I contacted Nick in September 07 and after coming to see her he felt that her problems were due mainly to a weakened immune system and started treating her with a homeopathic remedy for her allergy and a blood nosode for her immune system. Within weeks she seemed brighter in herself, a lot of people kept commenting on how much happier she seemed.

12 months on amazingly she’s still with us. Her allergy has been managed well enough that she has been turned out for 4 or 5 hours every day over the winter (last year we struggled to turn her out for an hour) even when it’s been very wet and she’s now living out all the time. In herself she is bright and lively, so much so that over the last month or so she’s being playing in the field charging around so much that she’s been making herself stiff from doing too much! Because of this on Nick and her other vets advice I have started to bring her back into very light work, she is now managing 30min walks in hand each day and for the first time last week I rode her for 20 minutes something I never thought I would do again.

Nick has made up a second homeopathic remedy for days she looks stiff but at her last trot up the vet said she looks 99% sound. Everyone who saw her this time last year is amazed by how she’s doing, she is defiantly behaving like a different horse.

If Nick hadn’t started treating her in October I honestly don’t think she would still be here, I started her homeopathic treatment to try to give her a comfortable retirement the fact that I have even considered doing any exercise with her shows how far she’s come and riding her was a bonus I never thought would be possible.

Alfie, our Airedale, began to have health problems four years ago when he developed arthritis. This became apparent after a much further than normal (for him) hike. Our daughter took him rambling on the hills around Wotton under Edge, which he managed at the time - but on return he flopped down and was unable to get up again without great pain and discomfort. The conventional treatment was a course of an anti-inflammatory drug, which dampened down the symptoms of pain, stiffness and inflammation - with Glucosamine as a long term supplement.

Two years ago we noticed that Alfie was stopping and panting frequently on his walks, and this time he was diagnosed with a major heart problem with fluid in his lungs. The conventional treatment for this was a course of diuretic tablets to clear the fluid, and a powerful heart medication which he would need for the rest of his life.

Finding out about Alfie’s heart disease was difficult and depressing for me, as it evoked the experience of close family members who had been diagnosed with severe and unrelenting conditions. I remember wishing at these times that the clock could be turned back to the day before such diagnoses. The treatment stopped him getting worse, but it was only when he saw Nick Thompson that Alfie began to get better.

Our first appointment with Nick was 28/09/07, and it was so good to be given hope for improvement through homeopathy and nutrition. Nick prescribed Cretageus and Digoxin drops for the heart condition, and Rhus Tox for arthritis. We also discussed how to get Alfie’s weight down a little, and as his joints and spine were found to be out of alignment, a short course of Osteopathy was recommended to correct this.

Almost two years later, Alfie is a different dog. He is still the same laid-back couch potato as always, but physically the change is nothing short of miraculous. Both our conventional vet and Nick can detect no abnormality with his heart, quite an achievement considering that the conventional heart medication was reduced by half around a year ago. This is in effect a tiny dog’s dose,and it was possible to achieve because Alfie’s heart was performing so well.

Alfie’s joint and mobility problems have been alleviated to a great extent, up until recently he was on Rhus Tox as and when necessary. He recently strained himself trying to jump into a ‘people carrier’ (higher than the car he is used to) Nick suggested an increase in the Rhus Tox to twice daily, which has worked really well and resulted in us having to run to catch up with him at times.

It is reassuring to know that whatever twists and turns Alfie’s health takes, Nick will be able to intervene with a gentle but highly effective remedy which is side-effect free. We did discover one side-effect, though - much to our amazement, Alfie’s Neem chewy sticks ( one three times per day to benefit his heart, arthritis and dental health) also prevent him having fleas. The Frontline chemical treatment we bought a year ago remains unused. Fleas do not appear to like the taste of Neem!

Richard and Teresa Bacon, 11/09/09