Out on Ranch M off Holt Stage Road, Dr. Christopher "Chris" Gebhardt brings out his patient, Ms. Graciee, a thoroughbred gray roan.  

Before coming into owner Kimberly Clarke's life, Graciee was retired from racing after sustaining an injury, which was followed by attempts to breed her.  

"I could tell when she would walk, when we got her, that she was really stiff just by how she was walking in her hind end," Clarke said.  

Along with visits from Gebhardt, who is a certified animal chiropractor, Clarke has a massage therapist work on Graciee, who is experiencing pelvic sensitivity and leg stiffness.  

Gebhardt starts the session by walking Graciee around and having her step backward to loosen her up and check for any restriction in joint movement, noting her hesitancy to square up a hind leg. He said the stance helps him evaluate pain or discomfort. A squared stance helps a horse balance its weight and provides stability, which is important when mounting a horse.  

Gently and methodically, he places both hands on the horse, moving from the base of the tail to her jaw. He focuses on the pelvis, withers (the bony ridge between the shoulders), and legs, making chiropractic adjustments and stretching as needed.  

When he focuses on these points, at times, Graciee leans into the adjustments or shakes her head, with some joints making an audible pop. When he begins working on the temporomandibular joints of the mouth, her eyelids droop in relaxation. These physical cues of comfort are why he became a veterinarian certified in chiropractic care.  

"My favorite part is when you see them relax, because you've made a difference — relieved some of their discomfort," he said.  

It's also seeing animal owners like Clarke achieve goals with their animals, such as horseback riding.  

"Boil it all down, it's getting her and that mare to be comfortable and have enjoyment in riding their horses," Gebhardt said.  

Chomping at the bit for breakfast, Gebhardt leads Graciee, who by now has eased into a squared stance, back to her stall where she dug into a pile of hay.  

Gebhardt became a veterinarian later in life. After high school, he began a career in telecommunications. Veterinary school was always at the back of his mind, having grown up on a farm in the area, where his family primarily raised cattle, hogs and sheep. Gebhardt also raised 4-H market hogs.  

When veterinarians came out to the family farm, Gebhardt said he watched them work with fascination.  

Yet, the amount of schooling, eight years, and the cost gave him apprehension. After 10 years, and with encouragement from Stephanie, whom he was talking to at the time and married after college, he decided to take the plunge, enrolling as a full-time student, attending Montana State University and Washington State University to complete his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine.   

"She said, well, how old are you going to be if you don't do it versus if you do," he said.  

"You might as well go and do what you love," Stephanie said.  

"So that's how I spent my 30s," he said while continuing to work on Graciee. "And then I practiced in Havre for about three years."  

The Gebhardts returned to the Flathead Valley two years ago, and he started his mobile practice, Broken Crow Veterinary Services. He said the name of his practice was inspired by his stepsons and a particular crow they looked for on the car ride to school.  

"They were like six and five ... and there was a crow that was always hunting in our neighborhood with a deformed wing, and the boys would always look for it. They called it Broken Crow, and I thought that was a kind of nice name for it," he said.   

Gebhardt works on animals of all types, large and small, from bulls and horses to dogs and cats, providing exams, vaccinations, chiropractic care, equine dental care — noting that horses' teeth never stop growing — and toenail and hoof trims.  

"It's the best job ever," he added.  

Outside of work, Gebhardt enjoys spending time with his family, which includes his daughter Stacy, who enjoys caring for the family's donkeys, and being outdoors, whether it's packing the donkeys into the backcountry, bird hunting, canoeing, leather crafting or blacksmithing.  

For more information, visit brokencrowvet.com.  

Reporter Hilary Matheson can be reached at 406-758-4431 or [email protected]. If you value local journalism, pledge your support at dailyinterlake.com/support.  

    Dr. Chris Gebhardt does a chiropractic treatment on Graciee a retired racing horse. (Hilary Matheson/Daily Inter Lake)