Alternative animal therapy buffs say their trade is here to stay as the first class in a new equine therapy college in British Columbia graduates this week.
Students in the two-year course, the first of its kind in North America, learn massage therapy, tissue management and range-of-motion techniques.
The course stresses that alternative animal therapy should be used to complement, not replace, traditional veterinary medicine.
“It’s about the good of the animal, not who gets the glory,” said David Collins, an instructor and pioneer of the new course.
The college is pushing for the creation of an association and lobbying the provincial government for a system of registration.
