And I do totally agree with you about true homeopathy I would be willing to assume that some of the original methods had merit (since I believe it originated as essentially herbalism), but what it is today is total 100% nonsense.

I don't have any studies to link you, but I can describe what I observed while watching a local vet administer acupuncture and the effects on the three horses it was performed on at our barn.

One horse, Rondo, is kinda a SPAZ CASE, and we were all a bit nervous about poking him full of needles (however small. we use the same needles as the human acupuncture needles). Surprisingly enough, Dr. Robinson put in the first "Balance point" needle on the top of Rondo's withers, and he completely totally relaxed. This is not a first hand account--I missed his acupuncutre--but that is how the clinician and some of my barn-mates described it.

The other two horses I did watch. Both were good horses, if a bit tempered at times. I cannot vividly recall Logan's acupuncture at this time, but I vividly recall Benny practically sleeping through his acupuncture. They were both being treated for back pain, but they had needles strategically placed on most of their body (not limbs). We also had a very weak electric current running through some of the needles to stimulate them to move. It is usual practice in acupuncture to "jiggle" some of the needles to stimulate the energy/nerve nodes they're located for, and the electricity just does the stimulation on all attached needles at once instead of the practitioner needing to.

Anyway, all three horses certainly enjoyed the procedure and they were observed to be happier under saddle and their riders insisted they both felt better to ride and were less bull-headed (As pain tends to make you ).

I would say that at least in horses (where it can be impossible to properly relieve strained muscles with massage-type stimulation), acupuncture is a very good alternative for horses with muscle pain.