ACPAT - The Association of Chartered Physiotherapists in Animal Therapy

📣🐶ACPAT Seminar 2026. Earlybird Tickets🐴📣

A great line up of speakers across 2 whole days of excellent quality in person CPD at Woodland Grange, Leamington Spa.

19th September: Small Animal Day- Canine Neurology

20th September: Equine Day- Thoracic/Thoracolumbar Spine.

Early Bird tickets available now- Members save 30%. Non- members also welcome and save 20% on their standard price before 1st Aug.

Don't forget to book Sat 19th Dinner- fabulous 3 course meal and guest speaker

For all info and speaker topics visit the website.

BOOK NOW: https://acpat.org/events/127/acpat_seminar_2026

📣Seminar Speaker📣

🐴Equine Speaker🐴

Mark Fisher .RVM, MS, MSF, MHM, Master Saddler. Master Saddle Fitter

Mark concluded his 22-year military career in 2004 as the Master Saddler for the King's Troop RHA. Prior to his military service, he was shortlisted for the National Young Riders Event Squad and achieved recognition as the Pony Club National Eventing Champion in 1980.

As a Qualified Master Saddler, Master Saddle Fitter, and Master Harness Maker, Mark frequently lectures and assesses on behalf of the Society of Master Saddlers.

He collaborates with the British Equestrian Federation on the World Class Programme, providing support across all Olympic and Paralympic disciplines. Furthermore, he manages the Pliance saddle pressure mapping system within a research team and has co-authored over 30 scientific papers published in the field of saddlery research.

Mark has also served internationally as a trainer with World Horse Welfare, focusing on improving the welfare of working horses in developing countries. He was appointed the official Master Saddler for the London 2012 Olympics and accompanied the Team GBR Paralympic team to Rio 2016, Tokyo 2020, and Paris 2024.

Title - Practical approaches to Saddle Fit - Influences on the Thoracic Spine.

https://acpat.org/events/127/acpat_seminar_2026

📣Seminar Speaker📣

🐴Equine Speaker🐴

Robyn Dunn. BSc(Hons) Physio, PgDp Vet Physio, MCSP, ACPAT A, RAMP. Chartered Physiotherapist.

Robyn Dunn is a Chartered Physiotherapist and Veterinary Physiotherapist with a specialist interest in rider performance.

Robyn qualified as a Human Physiotherapist from Glasgow Caledonian University in 2011 before going on to complete her Veterinary Physiotherapy training at the University of the West of England, Hartpury.

Following graduation, Robyn established Outline Physio, a physiotherapy practice dedicated to supporting both horses and riders. Her clinical work centres around rider biomechanics, performance, injury prevention and the physical demands of equestrian sport, with a particular focus on how rider function can influence the horse-rider combination.

Robyn has extensive experience working collaboratively within multidisciplinary teams, alongside strength and conditioning coaches, sports psychologists, coaches, vets, farriers and wider athlete support staff in both pathway and high-performance environments.

She has been the Lead Physiotherapist for the Horse Scotland Athlete Development Pathway since 2014, supporting Scottish riders as they progress towards national and international competition. Robyn is also a Physiotherapist within the British Equestrian World Class Programme.

Alongside her rider-focused work, Robyn is a British Equestrian Para Classifier and an FEI Permitted Equine Therapist. She has spent the past 10 years supporting the British Endurance Team at multiple World and European Championships.'

Title - Managing the Rider as an Athlete: Assessment, Profiling and Performance Strategies.

We are very excited to announce this amazing course delivered by Lucy Mills, ACPAT Physio.

The course will be delivered in two-parts. Firstly, a 2-hour webinar on 6th August at 19.30 and a practical workshop on Sunday 6th September 10.00am - 14.00pm at Charismatic Pets in Warminster. Please ensure that you can commit to both dates before booking on this course!

There are only 12 spaces so book now to avoid disappointment!

Course Content:

During the course, Lucy will introduce the principles of canine conditioning for clinical practice, including force-free exercise interventions, practical techniques for teaching and performing exercises, and appropriate progressions and regressions.

The session will also explore adapting conditioning programmes for nervous or over-aroused dogs, the fundamentals of exercise prescription, and practical equipment considerations to support safe and effective implementation.

Presenter: Lucy Mills. Chartered physiotherapist MSc, BSc, ACPAT A.

https://acpat.org/events/129/canine_conditioning_for_clinical_practice

📣Seminar Speaker📣

🐴Equine Speaker🐴

Richard Coomer MA VetMB CertES(Soft Tissue) Diplomate ECVS MRCVS, RCVS & EBVS European Specialist in Equine Surgery.

Richard grew up in the North of England and graduated from Cambridge University in 2001. He completed ECVS residency training at the University of Liverpool in 2006, passing Board examinations in 2008. He settled in West Wales the same year and has worked there ever since. He is head surgeon and director at Cotts Equine Hospital, with bases now in Pembrokeshire and in the Vale of Glamorgan. In April 2009 he carried out the first interspinous ligament desmotomy (ISLD) and the rest, as they say, is history. He has developed a professional interest and expertise in the management of back pain and performance lameness problems, so spends much of his time managing complex poor performance orthopaedic cases.

Title - New perspectives and updated results on Interspinous Surgery for Kissing Spines in Horses.

A significant day for Allied Veterinary Professionals (AVPs)!

Today, the Government published its White Paper, Our Vision for a Thriving Veterinary Sector, outlining plans to modernise veterinary legislation and recognising the important role AVPs play within the future veterinary workforce.

While statutory regulation isn’t here yet, these proposals represent a major step towards greater professional recognition, clearer scopes of practice, increased accountability and a pathway to autonomous practice.

This is an encouraging milestone and reflects years of dedication from everyone who has worked to advance the profession.

Read the White Paper here:

Our vision for a thriving veterinary sector Our proposals for a thriving veterinary sector that enhances animal welfare, supports professionals, builds trust for consumers, and grows the economy.

📣Seminar Speaker📣

🐴Equine Speaker🐴

Dr. Anna Ehrle MSc CertAVP (ESO, ESST, VDI, CP) Dipl ECVS Dipl ECVSMR MRCVS. European Specialist in Equine Surgery and Sports Medicine.

Following graduation in 2010 Anna completed a clinical internship at the equine hospital, Freie Universität Berlin before she moved to North Devon, UK to work in mixed and equine practice. After she finished her residency in equine surgery at Leahurst equine hospital, University of Liverpool in 2017, she moved back to Berlin to take a position as an equine surgeon with a keen interest in equine orthopaedics and sports medicine. Anna became a Diplomate of the European College of Veterinary Surgeon in 2018 and a Diplomate of the European College of Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation in 2021. Her current research is mainly focussed on disorders of the equine thoracolumbar spine as well as structure and innervation of equine tendons and ligaments.

Title - Diagnostic view on the Equine Thoracolumbar Spine.

https://acpat.org/events/127/acpat_seminar_2026

📣Seminar Speaker📣

🐴Equine Speaker🐴

Dr Lesley Goff. PhD, MAnimSt(AnimPhysio), MExSpSc(Research), GDipAppSc(ManipPhysio), BAppSc(Physio) Specialist Physiotherapist.

Dr Lesley Goff is a Musculoskeletal and Animal Physiotherapist, practising in Queensland, Australia and has completed masters in Musculoskeletal Physiotherapy, Exercise and Sports Science and Animal Physiotherapy as well as PhD on the Kinematics and Morphology of the Equine Sacroiliac Joint. She also holds position as Adjunct Research Fellow, School of Veterinary Science, University of Queensland.

Lesley has published her research in scientific journals, contributed to an Equine Sport Medicine and Rehabilitation textbooks, and is co-editor of an Animal Physiotherapy textbook, and is on the editorial board of Journal of Equine Rehabilitation. Lesley’s special areas of interest in clinical practice are the equine lumbo-pelvic region and the integration of horse and rider in performance.

Lesley lectures to animal rehabilitation practitioners within Australia and internationally, and mentors and tutors Australian physiotherapists in musculoskeletal physiotherapy. In addition, she teaches equine physiotherapy into the Veterinary Physiotherapy programme through the University of Liverpool, UK, and is on the board of directors of the International Association of Veterinary Rehabilitation and Physical Therapy (IAVRPT).

Title - Practical Physiotherapy Approaches and Neuromotor Control for Equine Back Pain.

https://acpat.org/events/127/acpat_seminar_2026

📣Seminar Speaker📣

🐶Small Animal Speaker🐶

Sarah Conley - ACPAT Chartered Physiotherapist.

As an MSc Physiotherapy graduate of Manchester Metropolitan 2012 Sarah worked in both acute and primary care settings with predominantly neurological and musculoskeletal patients before later completing a PGDip in Veterinary Physiotherapy at the University of Liverpool. Following this Sarah spent 9 years as a Veterinary Physiotherapist at Davies Veterinary Specialists where her specialist interest in neurological rehabilitation and complex pain presentations supported her leading of inpatient physiotherapy provision & collaboration with chronic pain specialists in the provision of the hospitals pain clinic service. Sarah now manages Wag Rehab, a specialists mobile veterinary physiotherapy service supporting small animals around Staffordshire.

Louise Clark - Specialist in Veterinary Anaesthesia and Analgesia.

Louise is a European and Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons recognised Specialist in Veterinary Anaesthesia and Analgesia. She was awarded her European Diploma in Veterinary Anaesthesia and Analgesia in 2003. In 2014 she was awarded an MSc (Distinction) in the Clinical Management of Pain from Edinburgh University and became a Fellow of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons in 2020. She is a Past President of the Pain Medicine Section Council at the Royal Society of Medicine and President of the Association of Veterinary Anaesthetists.
Her current interests revolve around raising the awareness of chronic pain in domestic species and improving the evidence base for treatment.

Title - From Pain to Function: Collaborative Management of the Chronically Painful Neuro Patient.

https://acpat.org/events/127/acpat_seminar_2026