It pleases me to know that my own passion and love for my business and this field of work shines through and inspires others to pursue a similar path! Seeing success and growth in the equine manual therapy field is extremely important to me, and I want to see more bodyworkers working and doing well. That would only mean good things for the industry as a whole.
These tips are my top 5 points that you need to consider before you decide to pursue a career in equine therapy. Keep in mind that these are only my opinions based on my own experiences and the area of the world in which I live and work!
You need to be extremely self-motivated and self-reliant. There is no well-worn path to follow for becoming a successful equine therapist.
First, it is a fairly new industry (yes, people have been doing equine bodywork for decades if not hundreds of years - but the professional industry itself is going through major mainstream growth). Second, because of the overall lack of regulation and standardization in the industry, you cannot go to a major college or Google and receive plentiful and reliable information on how to become properly trained in this field. Even the concept of being “properly trained” varies greatly depending on your region and who you are talking to!
Once you are educated you need to start your own business in order to work - there are no companies posting job ads for equine bodyworkers. Along with the challenges of learning new skills, you also need to become well versed in the particulars of running a business; taxes, laws, customer service, scheduling, marketing, and everything else that comes with that. There are no paid sick days, no vacation days, no health coverage, no coworkers to help you. It may take years to build up a clientele to support your financial needs, and there are seasonal variations to plan around. Being your own boss is wonderful in many ways, but it is also all-encompassing and incredibly hard to set boundaries so that you aren’t immersed in your business 7 days a week.
2. A bodywork session fee does not equal a therapist's hourly wage.
Some people see my session fees and assume that I’m making a big salary. What those people don’t see is the number of unpaid hours spent working each week. I work about 40 hours a week, but I receive payment for only a small part of those hours. The other hours are spent in my car (I drive about 45-50 hours per month), scheduling appointments, communicating with clients, updating social media, bookkeeping, record keeping, reading up on challenging cases, and working on continuing education courses. Those are a lot of hours that need to be covered by the session fees! There are also expenses to consider - memberships and insurances, fuel, equipment, subscription fees for websites and online tools, continuing education, travel costs, supporting professionals (accountants, web designers), the list goes on. It is not a bad wage, but it is far from what most people assume when they see my fees.
3. There are opportunities to make more money when you run your own business, but it is not easy.
As your experience and education grows, you can - and should - charge more for your services. You can also develop things like courses, write books, provide mentorship, and sell products. The sky's the limit, but there are two major factors to consider. You need to gain a lot of experience and expertise before you can offer some of these additional services. This takes many years of being in practice, and a lot of additional time and money spent educating yourself. Another limiting factor is time. Ask any busy bodyworker why they haven’t created all of the added services that they would love to do - they have no time! If you have bills to pay, you need to be working, and it is very difficult to find the time, energy and funds to invest into developing these extra services if you’re busy in your day-to-day work as a therapist. It isn’t impossible, but it takes determination and hard work.
4. Due to lack of regulation and standardization, it can be difficult to find quality education.
The number one and incredibly important thing to remember is that your initial education/certification is only a starting point. It is step one to becoming a successful equine therapist, and there is a lifelong journey of steps ahead of you - even if you enroll in a high quality program. You want to make sure that your foundation is as strong as it can possibly be to set you on the right course to pursue continuous learning. You also want to make sure that you’re being properly educated about important topics like contraindications to therapy and scope of practice laws within your region. You may not be able to legally practice the modalities that you wish to pursue without specific qualifications.
My recommendation is to research and contact professional associations that you would like to join (if you want to have legitimacy and affordable insurance, joining an association is a must), and use their education criteria for membership to guide your research of schools and courses. Reach out to working professionals who have attended the programs that you’re interested in and ask them for their feedback about the programs and courses that they’ve completed. Consider becoming educated in human therapies in addition to your equine studies - there are higher standards of education and much more in-depth programs in the human manual therapy industry.
5. Take the time to look inside of yourself and ask the hard questions.
Why do you want to pursue this career? If it’s because you think it’s just a fun or easy way to earn money, or you just like the idea of being around horses all the time, this is likely not the right path for you. If it’s because you have a deep sense of scientific curiosity and desire to help horses, you value passion for your craft and emotional rewards over financial rewards, you are a lifetime student of the horse and are willing to dedicate your life to learning and growing as a therapist, you have a penchant for healing, listening, and bringing comfort to other living beings, and you have the motivation to run your own business - this could be an incredibly fulfilling career for you.
What if you aren’t sure where you fall in those categories? There are options for you to explore equine therapy without the commitment of starting an expensive certification program right away. There are excellent courses, both online and in person, to teach horse owners about equine anatomy, physiology, movement, and bodywork techniques. Owners courses are helpful to dip your toes into the world of equine therapy, and gain some skills to help your own horses. You can also reach out to local equine therapy professionals - they may be willing to allow you to observe them working, or they may even offer mentorship services. This is a valuable way to see firsthand what it’s like working as an equine therapist.
If you’re interested in an in-depth, self-paced, and easy to follow online course about equine manual therapy for horse owners, I highly recommend signing up for this online course from my colleagues at Equilibria Therapeutics.
Are you a current client of mine? I offer a service called Support Sessions. Support Sessions are meant to complement your horse’s bodywork by giving you personalized tools and techniques to work with your own horse between professional therapy sessions. Working with your own horse in this way will not only provide physical support for your equine partner, but strengthen your relationship as you learn to unwind stress and tension together. This is also a great way to dip your toes into the world of equine therapy. Find out more about my service offerings HERE!
I act as teaching assistant for a wonderful series of in-person weekend workshops for horse owners who want to learn about equine therapy. The workshops take place in Langley, BC and you can find more information and upcoming dates HERE!
I hope this article has helped to shed some light on the path to becoming an equine therapist. Remember that “equine therapy” is a massive umbrella encompassing all kinds of modalities and manual therapy services, and can vary greatly between regions. Make sure to do your research carefully and thoroughly!
If you do choose to pursue a career in equine therapy - congratulations on your decision and thank you for being an advocate for the horse. We need more people in the world like you!