Equine Dry Needling

The Equine Dry Needling - Hybrid (EQ-DN) course is designed for veterinarians, physical therapists, occupational therapists, and chiropractors interested in equine myofascial pain management. The 1+2-day Equine Dry Needling hybrid online and in-person course includes a 1-day online section that students must complete before the course's live section. This course will introduce health professionals to the management of equine myofascial pain using dry needling therapies. The EQ-DN course includes the management of 20 equine muscles. Future advanced-level equine dry needling courses will expand upon the treatment options dependent upon interest.

NOTE: In the US, Canada, and other countries, physical therapists and occupational therapists may not be unable to use equine dry needling without a veterinarian. Before using equine dry needling in clinical practice, please check your national, state, and provincial laws and regulations.

The class size is limited to 24 students.

The course instructors are Dr. María Resano and Maria Calatayud, two Spanish clinicians and researchers who specialize in equine physiotherapy and rehabilitation. 

There are no required textbooks for this course, but we recommend

Dommerholt, J & Fernández De Las Peñas, C 2018. Trigger point dry needling; an evidenced and clinical-based approach. Edinburgh, Elsevier/Churchill Livingstone.  Available at checkout.

Pauli Gronberg 2015. ABC of the Horse Atlas. 6th edition. Otava Book Printing Ltd.

None

The live part of the course consists of 2 days focused on the practical aspects of equine dry needling working with horses. Each day starts at 8:00 am until 5:30 pm. The live course will include brief summaries and highlights of the theoretical classes that students completed in the online section of the course before the live course. Each day will have two 15-minute Q&A sessions and one hour for lunch.

Note: Actual times may vary with each program at the discretion of the instructors. Coffee breaks are provided; meals are on your own.

Day 1 

07:30-08:00      Registration

08:00-08:30      Welcome Lecture: Brief review of the online course

08:30-09:00      Lecture: Anatomy and Dry Needling Techniques of the Neck

09:00-09:30      Lecture: Anatomy and Dry Needling Techniques of the Back

09:30-09:45      Questions & Answers                  

09:45-10:30      Clinical Cases

<10:30-11:00      Lab: Dry Needling - Students

11:00-01:00      Lab: Dry Needling - the Back

01;00-02:00      Lunch

02:10-02:30      Lab/Demonstration: Dynamic assessment (arena)

02:30-04:30      Lab: Dry Needling - the Neck

04:30-05:30      Lab: Dry Needling Review plus Q&A

Day 2 

08:00-08:30       Lecture: Anatomy and Dry Needling Techniques of the Forelimbs

08:30-09:00       Lecture: Anatomy and Dry Needling Techniques of the Hindlimbs

09:00-09:30       Clinical Cases

09:30-09:45       Questions & Answers

09:45-12:00       Lab: Dry Needling - Forelimb Muscles

12:00-01:00       Lunch

01:00-03:00       Lab: Dry Needling - Hindlimb Muscles

03:00-04:00       Lab: Dry Needling Review plus Q&A

04:00-05:00       Practical Exam

05:00-05:30       Summary & Conclusions

Veterinarians

Residents of the American College of Veterinary Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation

Physical Therapists

Occupational Therapists

Chiropractors

Familiarity with or a strong interest in equine therapy is required.

The Equine Dry Needling course has been approved by the American Association of Veterinary State Boards RACE committee for 25 hours (Veterinary - Medical). CE Broker Tracking #: 20-921121.

The course instructors have also been approved by the American Association of Veterinary State Boards RACE committee.

Residents of the American College of Veterinary Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation receive a $200 discount. Please check the box at checkout confirming that you are a resident. We may ask for verification of residence status.

In the US, physical Therapists and occupational therapists receive a $200 discount. Please check the box at checkout confirming that you are a physical therapist or occupational therapist. We may ask for verification. Note that this discount is only available in the US!

Participants should dress casually and comfortably. Proper shoes are recommended. Although this is an equine course program, course participants will practice a few basic dry needling treatment techniques on each other prior to working with the horses.

At the conclusion of this course, students will be able to:

• Describe all studied muscles in the course: origin and insertion, innervation, function, and dry needling precautions
• Describe three aspects of the contribution of myofascial trigger points to soft tissue pain and dysfunction
• Describe the key components of the Integrated Trigger Point Hypothesis
• Demonstrate proper identification of all the muscles studied in the course
• Demonstrate high standards of palpation of the muscles studied in the course: applicable to most soft tissue abnormalities
• Demonstrate proper identification of the three key features of a trigger point
• Describe three basic principles (technique, indications/contraindications,  hygiene and safety) of dry needling
• Demonstrate safe and accurate dry needling of each included muscle