ACPAT - The Association of Chartered Physiotherapists in Animal Therapy

📣 𝐁𝐮𝐲𝐞𝐫 𝐁𝐞𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐞 🤔

I recently saw a Facebook advert for a short online course offering the chance to become a “certified animal therapist” — and hey presto, you’re free to assess and treat animals.

Honestly, this terrifies me.

It’s exactly why I believe the animal therapy industry needs greater regulation and protection of professional titles.

There is a 𝐇𝐔𝐆𝐄 difference between completing a short course and becoming a 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐏𝐡𝐲𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐩𝐢𝐬𝐭, followed by specialist training as an 𝐀𝐂𝐏𝐀𝐓 Physiotherapist.

My route involved a degree in human physiotherapy, qualifying as a 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐄𝐃 𝐏𝐇𝐘𝐒𝐈𝐎𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐀𝐏𝐈𝐒𝐓 (a protected title), followed by a Master’s degree in Veterinary Physiotherapy and registration as an 𝐀𝐂𝐏𝐀𝐓 Physiotherapist.

That’s 𝐬𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐞𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐜𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐲, covering anatomy, physiology, biomechanics, pathology, assessment, clinical reasoning and rehabilitation — alongside extensive clinical experience.

It means understanding 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 you are treating, 𝐰𝐡𝐲 you are treating it, 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 treatment is appropriate, and 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 something needs veterinary investigation or referral.

That is not comparable to a short online course with no clinical hours, hands-on training or direct supervision.

𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐪𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬.

And yet, to the average horse or dog owner, the difference may not be obvious.

A professional-sounding title.
A certificate on the wall.
A smart website.
A page.

𝐍𝐨𝐧𝐞 of these tell you what level of education or clinical competence sits behind the person treating your animal.

This is where 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐥𝐞 matters.

“Physiotherapist” and “Chartered Physiotherapist” are protected titles and can 𝐥𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 only be used by professionals who meet the required standards and are registered with the HCPC.

By contrast, titles such as “animal therapist”, “veterinary physiotherapist”, “equine physiotherapist” and “canine physiotherapist” are 𝐍𝐎𝐓 protected in the same way.

This means 𝐀𝐍𝐘𝐎𝐍𝐄 can use these titles and have 𝐯𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐝𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐥𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐞𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞


A certificate does not automatically equal clinical expertise.

“𝐂𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐞𝐝” 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧 “𝐪𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥.”

And here’s the really important bit:

🐴 Your horse can’t tell you where it hurts.
🐶 Your dog can’t explain its symptoms.
🩺 They rely on the person assessing them to recognise when something isn’t or is right.

So before booking an animal therapist, ask:

❓ What is their underlying professional qualification?
❓ How many years of education and clinical training have they completed?
❓ Is their professional title protected or not?
❓ Are they registered and regulated with a recognised professional body?
❓ How much supervised clinical experience do they have?
❓ Do they work appropriately alongside veterinary professionals?
❓ What happens if they identify something outside their scope of practice?

This isn’t about attacking people who have completed animal therapy courses. Many are passionate, dedicated and genuinely want to help animals.

It’s about making sure owners can make informed choices and understand the 𝐝𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐪𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬, that 𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧’𝐭 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐚𝐬 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐚 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞 𝐬𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐲 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐛𝐨𝐭𝐡 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐦 “𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐩𝐢𝐬𝐭.”

This is why regulation matters.
This is why protection of professional titles matters.

And ultimately, 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐪𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐥.

Don’t just ask:

“Are they certified?”

Ask:

“𝐂𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭, 𝐛𝐲 𝐰𝐡𝐨𝐦, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐦𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠?”

Because when it comes to your horse or dog, a certificate isn’t necessarily the same thing as regulated clinical expertise. 🐴🐶

BEVA set up complete!!
We can be found on stand A12. Please come and say hello!🐶🐈‍⬛🩺🐴🐾

🎙️ Something exciting is coming…

ACPAT is proud to present our brand-new podcast, bringing together knowledge and expertise from the veterinary and human healthcare professions. 🐾🩺

Stay tuned for more details! 🎧

Happy World Physiotherapy Day! 🩺🐶🐴🐈‍⬛

A huge thanks to Lucy Mills, South West Vet Physio and the canine models for a fantastic Canine Conditioning Course held yesterday at Charastmatic Pets in Warminster. It was a fun and educational day of practical learning. Looking forward to the next one in November!

Booking closes for seminar midnight tonight!

📍 Woodland Grange, Leamington Spa, CV32 6RN

📅 Saturday 19th and Sunday 20th September

All bookings to be made at https://acpat.org/events/127/acpat_seminar_2026

Booking closes for seminar on the 5th September 2026!

📍 Woodland Grange, Leamington Spa, CV32 6RN

📅 Saturday 19th and Sunday 20th September

All bookings to be made at https://acpat.org/events/127/acpat_seminar_2026

Equilibrium Products has exciting news! Get in touch and email [email protected] to find out more!