Equine massage courses/therapies

[DebO]

Hi everyone

Has anyone done a course for horse massage or some sort of therapy and then gone on to successfully use it for a career working closely with local vets?

It's something that I have been interested in for a while (would love to be an equine physiotherapist but at my age the training is too long as you have to do human first), I'm a qualified swedish massage therapist which is obviously a bonus. But how do you know if any courses offered are bona fida?

DebO

[Ginger Thing]

Hi, I did a 2 year diploma with ICAT - the Institute of Complementary Animal Therapies, which is in Devon. My vet was impressed with the syllabus and the assignments and case studies I had to do (60!), beware of home study courses where the tutor either sees you for a 1 day practical or you send in a video!

I am also a qualified human therapist and treat horse and rider, whenever I do a horse the owner will say 'ooh, I could do with a treatment too!'.

The Mary Bromily and Equinology courses are also good, but there are some not-so-good ones out there! Vets also differ in their opinions/support, the horse vets in my area are very supportive but others on my course found some of their vets quite obstructive, refusing permission for treatment etc. Might be worth speaking to your local vets before starting an expensive course to check if they would be happy to authorise massage as a therapy.

But I would say go for it, it's a very rewarding career, I did a horse this morning who has shown a huge improvement over 3 sessions, its great to be able to help them!

[R-D]

Hi There,

I have taught and ridden freelance in my area for about 7 years. I met someone who had done an amazing job with a lessons horse after a couple of massages. I got her to work on all my lessons horses that I thought would benefit. She talked me into doing the Sports massage course she did. Its amazing and I am now fully qualified and work with the local vets not just on the sports massage but it appears to have given me credit as a trainer in their eyes too.

I work on about 6-8 horses a week and continue with the teaching and riding. It makes my weeks varied, enjoyable and I would not have things any other way. I love what I do and would say follow your heart. I wish I had done it earlier!!

Can PM you details of courses attended. I had fully researched most avenues prior to the recommendationof someone that I trusted as I had witnessed the work she had done on the horses I was teaching.

[DavidH]

Can PM you details of courses attended.
I'd be interested aswell :D

[JULIA G]

I'd be interested too - do you mind ?

[KazRider]

Hi, I did the equinology course earlier this year and thought it was great- very intense and thorough, unfortunalety unable to complete coursework at moment as broke back :eek: ooops. But can't wait to get back into it.
I'm also human massage therapist but would say that i learnt tons more about the anatomy of the horse than i ever did about humans!! Plus it's alot easier on your own back than human massage. :)
I'm already looking at further courses.
PM for further info if required.

[Hollymead]

I'm the same as Ginger Thing, did the ICAT course and passed in Feb of this year. I love doing the massages, but am currently finding it very hard to get new clients. I am still having to work full time (in an office, yuck) to keep the bills paid. Hopefully come the new show season though I'll get back into the groove and pick up some more clients.

[DebO]

Can I ask how you have tried to get new clients, sometimes it's word of mouth that works better than adverts.

Keeping fingers crossed for you. Let us know if the new year brings you more clients.

DebO

[Hollymead]

Honestly? I've been a bit lazy :o A few posters in stables & tack shops, some handing out of business cards. Got to be a lot more proactive really! It's my New Year's resolution :)

[Sam (aka SLW)]

I am looking into Equine Therapy courses to "better myself" and "add another string to my bow". I am looking into equine touch, bowen, TTouch, equine massage etc. Am unsure what to do :( My main problem though is money to pay for the courses. I basically don't have any and have been looking into funding/grants but no joy. I would love to do something like this part time (around my boring office job) and eventually set up my own equine remedial centre. I am a qualified riding instructor/trainer but do not do it full time anymore :(

[poniesrule]

Sam, hi Im considering the equine touch courses too, I will struggle to raise funds to do the 3 level courses (vet bills to pay!) so have applied for a career development loan that you dont have to pay off until a month after the course finishes. Have you tried these lenders?

[Sam (aka SLW)]

Sam, hi Im considering the equine touch courses too, I will struggle to raise funds to do the 3 level courses (vet bills to pay!) so have applied for a career development loan that you dont have to pay off until a month after the course finishes. Have you tried these lenders?

I haven't looked into this that much as I am a bit put off by the whole loan thing!! I have bad debts as it is and a low credit score so I don't think anyone will want to loan me any cash unfortunately. Serves me right for being a sill teenager - still paying for it 5years later!! I really wnt to do this though. have found the course and everything. I could save the money for level one but it wouldbe too late to book the course I want and to be honest, If I can save that much cash I should spend it on something sensible like work that desperately needs doing on my car - sooo unfair, but thats my luck

[poniesrule]

I haven't looked into this that much as I am a bit put off by the whole loan thing!! I have bad debts as it is and a low credit score so I don't think anyone will want to loan me any cash unfortunately. Serves me right for being a sill teenager - still paying for it 5years later!! I really wnt to do this though. have found the course and everything. I could save the money for level one but it wouldbe too late to book the course I want and to be honest, If I can save that much cash I should spend it on something sensible like work that desperately needs doing on my car - sooo unfair, but thats my luck

Ive got a poor credit rating too, so im not being too optimistic with being offered the loan tbh :rolleyes:. Like you, if i saved up a couple of 100 pounds for the level one course, it would be money better spent on the mammoth vet bill that has just come through my door in red ink!! or paying off my debts!! even though,doing the course would be an investment for the long term future ahead.:)

[Sam (aka SLW)]

Ive got a poor credit rating too, so im not being too optimistic with being offered the loan tbh :rolleyes:. Like you, if i saved up a couple of 100 pounds for the level one course, it would be money better spent on the mammoth vet bill that has just come through my door in red ink!! or paying off my debts!! even though,doing the course would be an investment for the long term future ahead.:)

Pants aint it!!
I have a massive vets bill is WELL into the 100's. I spoke to the vets and I have set up a direct debit at a tenner a week. It aint much but it gets it down slowly - can your vets not do something like this, make it easier for you??

[Hollymead]

The ICAT course is quite good money-wise. You pay for each section as you attend it, i.e the payments are spread out. The actual figure depends on what level you're at, but it's about £400 per section. I managed to fit this in around my full-time job, and although a struggle to save that much, it was do-able.

[SarahC]

I've been looking at the ICAT courses....for sports massage...
There seem to be 3 courses and then the exam course too....does it really take two years to do all this? they seem to be 3 days courses + homework?

Aagghh...think I'm confused, I've been looking at loads at not really understanding exactly what you need to be able to practice professionally!

[Ginger Thing]

I've been looking at the ICAT courses....for sports massage...
There seem to be 3 courses and then the exam course too....does it really take two years to do all this? they seem to be 3 days courses + homework?


There are 3 levels to the diploma. You go on the level 1 course, then come home and do about 6 or 7 written assignments, and 20 case studies (5 horses, 4 treatments each). Then you send these all off to be marked, and if you pass, you can go and do the level 2 course...etc. And if you've got a full time job, horses, dogs etc it's difficult to squeeze it all in! ;):) I was also doing a human massage course and looking after elderly parents to add to the pressure, but it got done in the end :D

The written assignments are quite detailed, need researching and illustrating, and it can be difficult to fit in case studies when their owners are available - sometimes I was lucky to fit in one a week around other things. And each level course is only run so many times per year so you need to plan around that too.

I now work 2.5 days in my office job and have built up a small but regular human and equine clientele purely through personal recommendation - this year I am about to hit the local horse shows and start marketing my business properly!

[SarahC]

Aah....ok, thanks for that....do you need to do all three courses to become properly qualified??

[Hollymead]

Yeah, you need to pass the three levels, plus the written and practical exams, to get your diploma.

[gill2809]

I thoroughly recommend the Equi-Therapy UK course. It's taught on a one-to-one basis & Gilliyan, the tutor, is excellent! Check out the website for details.

www.equi-therapyuk.com

Another option for you to consider & I'm sure Gill would be happy to chat to you about the courses if you wanted.

[DebO]

Hi there

Are Gill's courses a recognised qualification to enable you to work a professional?

Regards
DebO

[gill2809]

Oh yes, you actually receive 2 qualifications, which is great!

I've been practising for 3 years & now receive regular referrals from vets & other equine professionals as they are so impressed with results from the massage therapy.

[DebO]

Oh that's good.

As you have been doing it for 3 years, have you had any injuries yourself from applying the massage?

Regards
DebO

[*Sez*]

Can I just ask how tough it is on your own body?
I've always been interested in massage, especially for equines, but I've always shied away from studying it because I'm scared that I will spend a lot of money for something that will cripple me. I have a degenerative joint condition that causes a lot of pain in my hands, back and arms. I've had no formal training, but if I ever massage my partner, who has a lower back complaint, I find it painful after only a few minutes, but it may be that I am using too much pressure.
Is it typically something that is quite hard on the hands and shoulders?

[Alibi]

It is quite hard on yourself, I did the Equinenergy / Equinology course and part of the course if how to use your body in order to not sprain / strain or do yourself any damage, but its not always that simple! especially if you have a difficult horse, but I've not had any work-related injuries *rushes to touch lots of wood!!*

I've been massaging for 4.5year roughly and it was such hard work to start with, just doing one horse would knacker me, but you build up slowly, I can do about 10 horses a day now but choose not to do anymore than 5 in one day and its getting even less since I've opened the tack shop.

There is plenty of work out there for a good therapist, word of mouth is the best form of advertising, when starting off I did a couple of freebies for local riding schools, livery yard owners, vets, etc and it paid off I'd much rather be recommended to someone rather than someone just getting my no. off a leaflet. Another good thing I did was set up a little stall at a local show and offer a mini massage for £5 and the owner got a £5 voucher off the first booking, went down a storm as you can effectively say that you are getting your mini massage for free if you make a booking.

[*Sez*]

It is quite hard on yourself, I did the Equinenergy / Equinology course and part of the course if how to use your body in order to not sprain / strain or do yourself any damage, but its not always that simple! especially if you have a difficult horse, but I've not had any work-related injuries *rushes to touch lots of wood!!*
Probably worth a miss for me, then :rolleyes: I already suffer with chronic sprains, so massage will probably just aggrivate the situation.

[DebO]

It is all to do with your body posture and using your body weight. I did swedish massage and ended up with tennis elbow and a sprained thumb which still hurts and I've not done massage for a couple of years now. I tended to feel that I couldn't be too pansy if you like when massaging a man's back, and tried to use more muscle power and to my expense in the end.
A lot of the injuries are repetitive strain. If anyboy needs a good massage then it's a massage therapist lol

As said earlier it's not always easy just to use your body as you should.

I love doing massage and would also love to do equine but have similar worries about my joints, and old injuries, so I'm looking at alternative methods - bowen, equine body touch etc. Still undecided at the moment though

DebO

[gill2809]

It is really how you use your own body weight. I manage to treat 6 horses 4 days a week & have not suffered any work related conditions for several years now. I do use a lot of elbows & forearms in my work which helps take the pressure off your fingers & thumbs. I also use knobblers & other massage tools to help me conserve my energy.

In the beginning like Alibi said, I really did ache, but you just build up slowly & your body gets used to it. I have regular massage & osteo treatments myself as you do sometimes get pulled about by a fidgety horse & it keeps you fir for the job.

The rewards are fantastic & would never go back to an office job again!