An Equine Veterinary Physiotherapist is an individual who works as a ‘para-professional’ alongside vets and farriers to ensure horses perform at their best or recover well from injury. They are generally individuals who have a love of both horses and science. Equine Veterinary Physiotherapists must have a keen eye for soundness, as well as excellent people skills.
There are two primary routes to becoming an Equine Veterinary Physiotherapist. Individuals can either qualify first as a Chartered Physiotherapist trained to treat humans, and then complete a postgraduate Masters in Veterinary Physiotherapy, or they can complete an undergraduate Veterinary Physiotherapy degree focusing only on animals.
Did you know? While a Chartered Physiotherapist to treat humans is a protected title, Veterinary Physiotherapist is not. That means that technically anyone could call themselves a Veterinary Physiotherapist, even though they have not completed a Veterinary Physiotherapy degree. Veterinary Physiotherapy is therefore regulated instead through membership of professional bodies.
Route 1: From Human Physiotherapist to Equine Specialist
Although this is the longer route to qualification, and many horse people are put off by it – “because they want to work with horses, not people!” – the benefit of this route is the diversity it builds into your services from the beginning. By having a deep understanding of how people work, you will of course have a better understanding of how the horse and rider influence each other, and be able to offer treatments on both horses and humans by the time you are fully qualified.
1) Qualify as a Chartered Physiotherapist
Start by completing an undergraduate degree in physiotherapy, usually either three or four years in duration. You can find a list of accredited courses here which would allow you to practise as a human physiotherapist to get started.
2) Train in Veterinary Physiotherapy
Once you are a Chartered Physiotherapist, you can complete a postgraduate qualification in Veterinary Physiotherapy. You can find such courses via the EQUK Database here.
Route 2: Study Veterinary Physiotherapy Directly
There are undergraduate veterinary physiotherapy degrees which allow you to study animal physiotherapy from an undergraduate level. Becoming qualified via this route means that you will only be able to practise on animals, unless you were to do a Masters in Human Physiotherapy. Again, the Chartered Society of Physiotherapist’s list of accredited qualifications details these here.
Applicants to undergraduate veterinary therapy degrees generally must hold Level 3/SCQF Level 6 qualifications in specified subjects, or may need to complete a Foundation Year before applying. You can find Veterinary Physiotherapy undergraduate degrees on the EQUK database here.
Undergraduate Veterinary Physiotherapy degrees may involve a mixture of both equine and canine work.
It is important to check that your Veterinary Physiotherapy degree allows you to become a member of a professional body upon graduation.
Join a Professional Membership Body
In order to hold insurance and therefore be legally able to practise, you must join a professional register or membership body. You can only join these bodies if your qualification is recognised by them. Being a member of such a body means that you have to uphold certain professional standards – such as completing a set amount of CPD every year. This is how the profession is regulated, in the absence of the title of Veterinary Physiotherapist being protected.
Examples of registers and professional membership bodies for Veterinary Physiotherapists are:
- RAMP (Register of Animal Musculoskeletal Practitioners)
- IRVAP (Institute of Registered Animal and Veterinary Practitioners)
- IAAT (International Association of Animal Therapists)
- AHPR (Animal Health Profession’s Register)
Working as a Veterinary Physiotherapist
Once qualified and legally allowed to practise, your work will involve treating horses to allow them to perform at their best, working alongside vets to help horses recover from injury, building rehabilitation plans, and if you are also a human physiotherapist you will also treat riders for a whole host of horse related injuries.
Success in this profession largely involves building a successful business and client base. This may involve other elements of administration or IT – as in the early days you may have to design your own website, run or own social media, or carry out your own SEO research.
EQUK is here every step of your journey. Whether you are looking to find the right qualification, or want to expand your skills in other ways to grow your business, we are happy to hear from you.