The Open College of Equine Studies

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Horse_Lover21

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I'm looking into studying a course through The Open College of Equine Studies and wondered if anyone has studied with them before and would be willing to share their experiences please? I emailed the college a while ago with some questions about the course I would like to study but haven't received a response from them and I haven't been able to find any reviews online from people who have studied with them previously.

I'm considering the 4 year Equine Physiotherapy Diploma Course which involves 14x 4-day study blocks at their college in Suffolk. I'm based in the far North of Scotland and would be relying on public transport to get there so I would be particularly interested to hear if anyone has done this previously and if they found it easy to access via public transport.

Thanks in advance.
 
I have never heard about this course but if they aren’t answering emails then that should tell you all you need to know! You need to be a qualified chartered physiotherapist before moving to Equine physio proper. There are lots of diploma courses about some are useful for people who have already some qualifications and an interest in further research development, many are a waste of money. If you look l’m sure there are opportunities which wouldn’t involve as much travel / time away / expense.
 
I've done a level 3 diploma with them & never had any problem with emails etc - quite the opposite - so worth giving them a ring in case your message went AWOL

I didn't do my equine massage course with them but if you want to do vet physio then its worth looking closer to home IMO (plus Suffolk is a PITA for public transport). Was TOCE attractive because it's distance learning?
 
Thank you for your replies.

There are a few reasons why TOCES course is appealing to me. Distance learning is one of them as I can study whilst continuing my current full-time job and there are no universities offering a Vet Physio course in Scotland so whichever course I choose will involve a lot of travel. It's also the only physio course I can find where I wouldn't be required to also treat dogs as part of the course (I am scared of dogs having been bitten badly in the past). The course is also accredited and allows registration onto the RAMP, IRVAP or IAAT registers on completion.

I'll try giving them a call on Monday to check if they received my email.
 
Horse_Lover21 said:
Thank you for your replies.

There are a few reasons why TOCES course is appealing to me. Distance learning is one of them as I can study whilst continuing my current full-time job and there are no universities offering a Vet Physio course in Scotland so whichever course I choose will involve a lot of travel. It's also the only physio course I can find where I wouldn't be required to also treat dogs as part of the course (I am scared of dogs having been bitten badly in the past). The course is also accredited and allows registration onto the RAMP, IRVAP or IAAT registers on completion.

I'll try giving them a call on Monday to check if they received my email.
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That makes sense. My diploma was distance learning and it was well set out and structured. I suspect with public transport you'd be looking at a horrible train journey but the network rail website would probably show you options
 
As someone who works at a university I would say don’t be surprised if you don’t get a reply this time of year! When did you send it? Who to?? Admissions or the course team? Be mindful that a lot of people take leave at universities over summer as we can’t take it much during the teaching weeks…so if it was a specific lecturer or someone then that may be why. Admissions will be there but again may be thin on the ground. Or they may be waiting for answers from lecturers who are on leave.

You’d be better to email or ring a lecturer or course leader for the programme for course specific questions. I’ve never heard of them but they are accredited (it could be a new course also, they pop up all then time!) so they must be ok to have those accreditations!
 
gallopingby said:
You need to be a qualified chartered physiotherapist before moving to Equine physio proper.
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Vet physios are proper physios, ACPAT is indeed a lengthy human qualification first, and I think a couple of years' practice, but Vet Physio isn't and clearly allows the appropriate registrations. I know some excellent Vet Physios.

Public transport in East Anglia is pretty poor, I would expect you'd need to change at Birmingham, Peteborough or London, and then you'll need a taxi to the college as I presume it's not in the town.
 
Bobthecob15 said:
As someone who works at a university I would say don’t be surprised if you don’t get a reply this time of year! When did you send it? Who to?? Admissions or the course team? Be mindful that a lot of people take leave at universities over summer as we can’t take it much during the teaching weeks…so if it was a specific lecturer or someone then that may be why. Admissions will be there but again may be thin on the ground. Or they may be waiting for answers from lecturers who are on leave.

You’d be better to email or ring a lecturer or course leader for the programme for course specific questions. I’ve never heard of them but they are accredited (it could be a new course also, they pop up all then time!) so they must be ok to have those accreditations!
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100% this. I am an academic director and my admissions team sends a million and one emails with queries they (the admissions team) really SHOULD be able to to answer. Added to the million and noe other emails I get every day = very slow response at the best of times. Once I am on leave, my lovely admissions team keep on sending me these queries, where sadly they do sometimes fall into a big black hole. Def get a phone call organised!
 
sbloom said:
Vet physios are proper physios, ACPAT is indeed a lengthy human qualification first, and I think a couple of years' practice, but Vet Physio isn't and clearly allows the appropriate registrations. I know some excellent Vet Physios
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Vet or equine physio is not a protected title. I could set myself up as one tomorrow with zero qualifications.

‘Chartered physiotherapist’ is the protected title and qualification. Not the same.
 
Horse_Lover21 said:
I'm looking into studying a course through The Open College of Equine Studies and wondered if anyone has studied with them before and would be willing to share their experiences please? I emailed the college a while ago with some questions about the course I would like to study but haven't received a response from them and I haven't been able to find any reviews online from people who have studied with them previously.

I'm considering the 4 year Equine Physiotherapy Diploma Course which involves 14x 4-day study blocks at their college in Suffolk. I'm based in the far North of Scotland and would be relying on public transport to get there so I would be particularly interested to hear if anyone has done this previously and if they found it easy to access via public transport.

Thanks in advance.
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On the location, public transport front - Bury St Edmunds would be the nearest train station. Google shows bus options from Bury SE bus station to the office locale, so may well be doable! Be a question to ask of the college themselves.
 
Hi, I haven't studied there so I can't give any advice. However, I am looking to study equine physiotherapy (I'm a human physio now) and I am considering them too.
As you say, they are RAMP accredited (https://www.rampregister.org/accredited-educational-providers), and I think they have to be very robust to get that- it might be worth emailing RAMP though, but I would assume they are legit. Liverpool uni might be an easier option for you though?

Just to clarify for previous posters (to the best of my knowledge): You no longer need to be a human physio to study to be an equine physio. ACPAT is just an association you can join when you are both a chartered human physio AND a vet physio (optional membership). There is no such thing as a chartered vet/ equine physio, only humans can be chartered- but vet/equine physios can be RAMP accredited which is recognised gold standard training. The title isn't protected though so anyone can use it, unlike the human physio title.

Good luck, I would really like to know how you get on, I would love it if you could pm me as I won't be able to start for a few years and would be interested in what you decide to do!
 
Candid8 said:
Hi, I haven't studied there so I can't give any advice. However, I am looking to study equine physiotherapy (I'm a human physio now) and I am considering them too.
As you say, they are RAMP accredited (https://www.rampregister.org/accredited-educational-providers), and I think they have to be very robust to get that- it might be worth emailing RAMP though, but I would assume they are legit. Liverpool uni might be an easier option for you though?

Just to clarify for previous posters (to the best of my knowledge): You no longer need to be a human physio to study to be an equine physio. ACPAT is just an association you can join when you are both a chartered human physio AND a vet physio (optional membership). There is no such thing as a chartered vet/ equine physio, only humans can be chartered- but vet/equine physios can be RAMP accredited which is recognised gold standard training. The title isn't protected though so anyone can use it, unlike the human physio title.

Good luck, I would really like to know how you get on, I would love it if you could pm me as I won't be able to start for a few years and would be interested in what you decide to do!
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You are correct. Whilst @Tiddlypom is correct that “veterinary physio” is not a protected title so anyone could use it, its also true that there are now veterinary physio degrees which give you all the requisite skills to be an actual physio..: and a vet would recognise it as so.

ETA - it used to be that ACPAT physios were the only vet physios but that is no longer the case. There is still a degree of snobbery against other routes to qualification in the ACPAT community, but other vet physios (who have done a degree) are just as qualified
 
Abi90 said:
You are correct. Whilst @Tiddlypom is correct that “veterinary physio” is not a protected title so anyone could use it, its also true that there are now veterinary physio degrees which give you all the requisite skills to be an actual physio..: and a vet would recognise it as so.

ETA - it used to be that ACPAT physios were the only vet physios but that is no longer the case. There is still a degree of snobbery against other routes to qualification in the ACPAT community, but other vet physios (who have done a degree) are just as qualified
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this is correct, you no longer need to be a human physios to train to be an equine physio. Just make sure you pick one which is accredited so that vets will refer to you etc!

OP I’m a human physio who almost did my equine physio degree, had a place to start it etc but ended up not doing it as I was just too busy with life and it was taught at weekends which would have been tricky with my kids. I know a few people who have gone onto do the vet physio course, some have continued to work as a vet physio but others haven’t. It really depends how good you are at networking, who your contacts are etc as to whether you can make a go of it or not. Need a decent and regular client base to be successful and not too much local competition. I didn’t fancy it in the end and stuck to what I was doing already x
 
Horse_Lover21 said:
Thank you for your replies.

There are a few reasons why TOCES course is appealing to me. Distance learning is one of them as I can study whilst continuing my current full-time job and there are no universities offering a Vet Physio course in Scotland so whichever course I choose will involve a lot of travel. It's also the only physio course I can find where I wouldn't be required to also treat dogs as part of the course (I am scared of dogs having been bitten badly in the past). The course is also accredited and allows registration onto the RAMP, IRVAP or IAAT registers on completion.

I'll try giving them a call on Monday to check if they received my email.
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Just had a nosey. Interesting course. Looks like they've taken 2 of their current diplomas and built them up with a level 6 into a full undergraduate course to get RAMP approval.

Chartered physio is only for humans BTW.
 
I have done a few of the Level 3 courses with TOCES and although I’ve enjoyed them I’ve found the course materials quite poor e.g. no references and at times very outdated. Fine if you’re used to doing your own research and have the ability to access scientific journals. I also found some of the assessment feedback rather odd, but I’m not sure what qualifications some of the assessors have. It’s not sour grapes - I got distinctions in all.

It will be very different for accredited courses though as they will surely be strictly regulated and overseen.
 
Interesting, over here “veterinary” and “physio” are both protected terms so only someone who was both a physio and a vet could call themselves a vet physio. I use the term “rehab”. Rather spins me out to see vet physio being used over there who is neither a physio (undertaken the human degree) or a vet😂
 
rhino said:
I have done a few of the Level 3 courses with TOCES and although I’ve enjoyed them I’ve found the course materials quite poor e.g. no references and at times very outdated. Fine if you’re used to doing your own research and have the ability to access scientific journals. I also found some of the assessment feedback rather odd, but I’m not sure what qualifications some of the assessors have. It’s not sour grapes - I got distinctions in all.

It will be very different for accredited courses though as they will surely be strictly regulated and overseen.
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That's interesting. I was planning on doing the Level 5 Nutrition diploma which is accredited with Pearson.
 
sollimum said:
That's interesting. I was planning on doing the Level 5 Nutrition diploma which is accredited with Pearson.
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I’ve actually just checked and it was level 4 and 5 I did; biomechanics, equine exercise physiology and advances in equine nutrition. Think I started the therapeutics one but life got in the way!
 
rhino said:
I’ve actually just checked and it was level 4 and 5 I did; biomechanics, equine exercise physiology and advances in equine nutrition. Think I started the therapeutics one but life got in the way!
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Thank you for the feedback. I have found another provider that does an equine nutrition course but it is hard to find feedback.
 
OP - to answer your question about transport, I know a few people doing this course in the NE of Scotland. They all fly or drive down for their practical weeks
 
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