Pathology

This programme can be taught as a standalone certificate, or as a module included within other subjects listed below.

An overview of common conditions effecting equines, enabling students to recognize clinical signs of injury and develop and awareness of treatment approaches from different perspectives and understand the potential role of other equine paraprofessionals and practitioners in the care and management of horses.

When working as a holistic therapist in the equine industry, it is essential to have an understanding of clinical disease, dysfunction, injury and illness in order to ensure that the horse gets the correct care and attention from the relevant professionals at any given time. It is also important to have an understanding of how other practitioners and professionals approach certain conditions, so that we can speak a common language. This understanding allows the practitioner to apply their particular therapies and skill set in an appropriate way in the animals’ best interests and develop real credibility with other professionals working in the industry. It is also important that practitioners and therapists recognize hen an issue is out of their scope of practice and/or requires the care of other professionals.

This programme will introduce the student to key concepts relating to pain, explore the mechanisms of pain and how pain is manifested and experienced within the body. Students will gain an understanding of the various mechanism the body employs to manage pain and the effect the various types of pain medication have on the body.

This understanding enables the student to evaluate the efficacy and appropriateness of their therapies in certain situations and to confidently apply appropriate therapies to support the management of pain in a given situation.

Similarly, tissue healing will be explored in detail, in particular the process and importance of inflammation and the important role it plays in tissue healing, and how our interventions either support this natural cascade process to successful resolution, or how our interventions or other outside influences can hinder this process, delaying or compromising healing. Students will develop an understanding of what interventions, modalities and therapies may be appropriate to use at any given stage in the tissue healing process including at the acute, sub-acute and chronic phases of healing, leading to the most effective repair of those tissues. This understanding should enable to student to act confidently and effectively when dealing with injury.

This programme will look at function and dysfunction by tissue type including bones, joins, muscles, tendons and ligaments, looking at the causes and process of disease, why these structures potentially fail and how they can potentially be protected.

The programme will then explore in detail a wide range of conditions effecting the horse, both neurological and orthopedic conditions: what the condition is, the aetiology, pathogenesis and clinical signs, how we might recognize the condition in practice and a range of both veterinary and supporting holistic approached to treatment of those conditions.