One woman’s struggles to become legitimate: Langley Equine Studies Massage College in WA

Langley Equine Studies is a state approved equine massage college that offers a full 300 hour on-campus, supervised one on one class in Eastern Washington. There is also an on-line and long distance study for out of State residents at LangleyEquineStudies.com.

Mary Lou Langley is a legally blind woman in Washington State and prefers working over being disabled. She was raised with horses and continued on when married with children.

She built a business sewing girls rodeo costumes, for 15 years with macular degeneration. Later she had to have cataract surgery causing further loss of vision. Sewing was no longer feasible.

I met Mary Lou when seeking Microcurrent Therapy to help a senior barrel horse, in turn this therapy helped her eyes and grew her interest in adjunct and alternative therapies.

Mary Lou Langley

In 2004 Mary Lou was awarded a grant from the Department of Services for the Blind to start a massage and therapy business for treating horses. After her business was established a WA state law was passed requiring a human massage therapy license to offer services to animals. She went back to school and obtained her human massage license.

The law changed again dropping the human degree element. The current laws dictates that in order to be a therapist in animal massage you have to attend a State approved school, minimum of 300 hour curriculum or with a human license add additional 100 hours.

Mary Lou taught part-time at a human massage school for a couple of years and teaching several clinics from WA to New York State, she decided to open her own school.

Mary Lou asked her WSU SBA advocate and Board of Massage to help her with animal massage curriculum guidelines. The Board replied that they had not accredited a school before, even though Northwest School of Massage for animals had approval status. Starting from scratch the long process ended in 2014 with Langley Equine Studies being officially approved as a vocational college specializing in equine massage therapy.

Many people attend various therapy courses offered for animal application and think getting a completion certificate makes them legal when in fact it often does not. Certificates are provided for the purpose showing completion in a particular training. Many are provided for attendance and not proof of ability or skill. As in the question of animal massage practice the laws are a state by state situation. Other states cover the gambit of allowed, veterinarian referral, veterinarian only, veterinarian or direct supervision, and unknown as per the IAAMB at IAAMB.org.

For Washington schools and license fees: Animal Massage FAQ on WA.gov.

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