Help: NH small and equine massage laws/regulations, etc.???

[Britta]

Hello. I just joined the board. I have just been accepted to a school in MA to get my small animal massage certification. After that, I am going to take the equine one. I have searched ALL over the web trying to find out what the laws/regulations, etc., are to practice animal massage in NH. Can anyone help with this? I live in NH. I have 15+ years of Veterinary assisting experience but would like to start up my own business once I get my certifications. Thanks.

DeAnne

 

[snowbunny]

Hi...welcome!

I practice both equine & canine massage in NH...I also live in NH. It has been my understanding that animal massage was NOT considered to be the practice of Vet Med. I have only gone by a couple published lists where the data was compiled from contacting the Board of Vet Med for each state. I was recently enlightened by a client's Veterinarian that I needed a Vet referral to work on dogs. There was no mention of horses. Supposedly, according to this Vet, it's a new law that just passed in NH. I have consulted the usual places for tracking such legislative updates and have not found anything. I have even done an extensive online search and found nothing...but that doesn't mean that the new law doesn't exist, or that I didn't miss something. I looked at the NH Vet Board's website and could not find any reference to animal massage in general. I guess the NH Vet Board would be the best resource to obtain correct information in regard to a specific NH law or statute.

A few resources are in this thread (pet massage ethics/laws): http://www.massageplanet.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3028

If I find anything concrete, I'll be back to post!

 

[dragnei]

Hello! Very nice to meet you. t006

Thank you so much for replying. I read through several posts on here before joining and posting myself and saw your replies on many of them. I figured that you were in New England somewhere. It's nice to know that you are actually a fellow Granite stater! t038

I know, I have been searching and searching online trying to find this info. with zero luck at all. The only thing that I keep finding is a chart of state laws for animal massage which says that under NH law, it is allowed and that specifically, equine massage is not practicing Vet. Med. Nothing mentions small animals in regards to NH at all. This chart is on the IAAMB website. It's very frustrating. I want to focus on small animals but add in some equine work as well. I'm so afraid that I'll do all of the work, pay all of the money, get my certifications and then find some law that says, "Sorry, you can't do that in NH!" t018

I'll check out the thread that you posted. Thanks. t024

If I find out anything at all, I will post it here as well. I really appreciate your help. Thank you again. Take care. :massage:

:cat: DeAnne. :dogrun:

 

[Salerio]

Okay. I contacted the NH Vet. Board last night via e-mail. They replied this A.M. IT IS NOT GOOD NEWS!!! I am EXTREMELY upset by their reply. ANYONE practicing animal massage in NH needs to read this. It's so unfair! t013 Please read below:


"Hello DeAnne,

Currently, animal massage therapy (diagnosis and/or treatment of a medical condition) is considered the practice of veterinary medicine whereby only a licensed veterinarian or his/her employee, working under his/her direct supervision, would provide the therapy.

Sincerely,

Patricia Duncklee, Administrative Secretary
NH Board of Veterinary Medicine

See Law below:
NH Veterinary Practice Act

332-B:1 Definitions

III. "Practice of veterinary medicine" means:

(a) To diagnose, treat, correct, change, relieve, or prevent animal disease, lameness, deformity, defect, injury, or other physical or mental conditions: including the prescription or administration of any drug, medicine, biologic, apparatus, application, anesthetic, or other therapeutic or diagnostic substance or technique, and the use of any manual or mechanical procedure for testing for pregnancy, or for correcting sterility, or infertility, or to render advice or recommendation with regard to any of the above."


Now, I assume that this applies to ALL animals, including horses, but I'm not certain. t102 I also believe that since the law says that you must work under the "DIRECT SUPERVISION" of a Vet, that means that you cannot just accept referrals, you MUST have a Vet on the premises to supervise you while you are working. It is also my understanding that it is a FELONY to do so otherwise, as it then becomes the practice of Vet. Med. WITHOUT a license. t018

This is very upsetting and I suggest that anyone who isn't sure of their state's laws on the subject of animal massage, check with their state Vet. Board ASAP! You may be committing a crime and not even realize it! Now, I don't know if I should start school next month after all since I can't actually practice here in NH unless I am working for a Vet again. My heart is broken!!! t022

Peace!

DeAnne. :dogrun: :cat:

 

[ideal22us]

I'm on the run at the moment but wanted to quickly reply to your post...notice this email is also from Patricia Duncklee. Cross-referenced from the Equinolgy site - USA Animal Massage Laws:

_____________________________________________

NEW HAMPSHIRE : ALLOWED

Vet Board Response: E-mail response from Ms. Patricia Duncklee dated May 8, 2003, she writes:

“Our administrative rule Vet 101.02 (b) states:

(b) The following shall be deemed by the board, pursuant to RSA 332-B:2, to be accepted livestock management practices and not the practice of veterinary medicine:

(1) Equine farrier services;

(2) Bovine hoof trimming;

(3) Equine massage; and

(4) Equine filing or "floating" of teeth.



Of course, diagnosing, prescribing, etc. (as in the board's practice

Act 332-B:1, III) is considered the practice of veterinary medicine.

______________________________________________________________

***I want to check and see if this Administrative Rule has been changed and/or updated recently.

In this email she does not reference the definition of Vet Med (332-B:1 Definitions). And, no where in the definition does it reference massage therapy, chiropractic, acupuncture, acupressure, etc.

 

[sunshine_honey69]

:?: Hmmm. That's interesting because the way that the act reads now, which I found on their website, reads as follows:

"CHAPTER 332-B
NEW HAMPSHIRE VETERINARY PRACTICE ACT

Section 332-B:1

332-B:1 Definitions. – When used in this chapter, these words and phrases shall be defined as follows:
I. ""Animal'' means any animal other than man and includes fowl, birds, fish, and reptiles, wild or domestic, living or dead.
I-a. ""AVMA'' means the American Veterinary Medical Association.
II. ""Veterinary medicine'' means and includes veterinary surgery, obstetrics, dentistry, and all other branches or specialties of veterinary medicine.
III. ""Practice of veterinary medicine'' means:
(a) To diagnose, treat, correct, change, relieve, or prevent animal disease, lameness, deformity, defect, injury, or other physical or mental conditions: including the prescription or administration of any drug, medicine, biologic, apparatus, application, anesthetic, or other therapeutic or diagnostic substance or technique, and the use of any manual or mechanical procedure for testing for pregnancy, or for correcting sterility, or infertility, or to render advice or recommendation with regard to any of the above.
(b) To represent directly or indirectly, publicly or privately, an ability and willingness to do any act described in subparagraph (a).
(c) To use any title, words, abbreviation, or letters in a manner or under circumstances which induce the belief that the person using them is qualified to do any act described in subparagraph (a), except where such person is a veterinarian.
IV. ""Veterinarian'' means a person who has received a doctor's degree in veterinary medicine from an accredited school of veterinary medicine or other veterinary school approved by the board, or a person from a foreign veterinary school holding an ECFVG certificate.
V. ""Licensed veterinarian'' means a person who is validly and currently licensed to practice veterinary medicine in this state.
VI. ""School of veterinary medicine'' means any veterinary college or division of a university or college that offers the degree of doctor of veterinary medicine or its equivalent and that conforms to the standards required for accreditation by the AVMA.
VII. ""Person'' means any individual, firm, partnership, association, joint venture, cooperative, and corporation, or any other group or combination acting in concert; and whether or not acting as a principal, trustee, fiduciary, receiver, or as any other kind of legal or personal representative, or as the successor in interest, assignee, agent, factor, servant, employee, director, officer, or any other representative of such person.
VIII. ""Board'' means the board of veterinary medicine established in RSA 332-B:3.
IX. ""ECFVG certificate'' means a certificate issued by the AVMA educational commission for foreign veterinary graduates indicating that the holder has demonstrated knowledge and skill equivalent to that possessed by a graduate of an accredited or approved college of veterinary medicine."

So you can see that ANIMAL here means ANY non-human animal, which I see as being horses too. But I'm just not certain. t102

I did check to see if one could have a practice based solely on Vet referrals, where the Vets make the diagnoses and treatment plans, but the massage therapist does the treatment at their own practice and here is her reply:

"Direct supervision would be in the veterinarian's clinic/hospital while the vet. is on the premises." t086

Therefore, if one does animals ANYWHERE except at a Vet's office with the Vet on the premises, it is breaking the law. t018

But as I've said, she addressed animals in general. She didn't specify small vs. large, etc. I've written her again to see what the equine rules are.

I don't think that any of this is fair in the least bit. If the Vet board has the safety of the animals in mind here, then they need to set guidelines for animal massage therapists like the Medical board has for humans. I'm not against setting up regulations for training and certification, etc. I'm all for that actually. In most cases, I do not feel that strictly home study massage courses can prepare someone to go out and start working on animals. So I think that regulations need to be put in place. Vet Techs have that. So why not MT's in the field? I'm just very frustrated. t044

Please post when you find out something and I'll do the same. t024

DeAnne. :dogrun:

 

[Double Trouble]

Okay. Here is the reply from Patricia on the issues of horses:

"Massage and massage therapy are separate issues. Therapy is considered treatment of a medical problem (lameness, etc). Following you will see that equine massage is not considered the practice of veterinary medicine. A person other than a veterinarian may do equine massage but must be very careful to make it clear they do not do therapy.

New Hampshire Code of Administrative Rules

Board of Veterinary Medicine

Vet 101.02 Scope.

(b) The following shall be deemed by the board, pursuant to RSA 332-B:2, to be accepted livestock management practices and not the practice of veterinary medicine:

(1) Equine farrier services;

(2) Bovine hoof trimming;

(3) Equine massage; and

(4) Equine filing or "floating" of teeth."

So you are correct about that. However, one has to be SURE that it is NOT therapeutic to TREAT ANY KIND OF LAMENESS, etc.

I just got a final reply to a question about small animal massage vs. small animal massage therapy. Here it is:

"Anyone can do simple massage (small animal or large) as long as they are not diagnosing or treating medical problems (injury/illness)."

So, I guess that you can do animal massage as long as it is for PLEASURE only. It CANNOT be to TREAT or RELIEVE ANY KIND of medical problems. It took me this long to ask the right questions to get these answers. It's such a game. So this is where things stand as far as I have been able to figure out. I'll post again if I find out anything else.

DeAnne. :cat: :dogrun:

 

[Sourkandy19]

I understand your frustration. I was exactly where you're at 7 years ago in Florida. My inquiries were not met with open arms. I have had heated exchanges with individuals in high places and with schools that teach animal massage. I've since come to understand that the lines are very blurred. And, the law in Florida has changed to the allowing of massage therapy under animal husbandry or something along those lines, after I relocated north.

There are only two states (that I'm aware of) that license the practice of animal massage: Washington and Utah. A practitioner must be a human massage therapist with 100 extra hours of animal studies, and the other 60 hours.

There is a school here in NH that just rolled out an equine massage program in June or July of this year. It is a technical college, with programs like massage therapy and veterinary technician. I don't know if the program is a separate certificate or an elective for massage students only. I doubt an accredited technical college would be allowed to run an equine massage certificate program if it were considered a felony for a graduate to practice it.

I recently taught equine & canine massage workshops to VT students and faculty earlier this year through another technical college.

I don't think things are as cut & dry as interperting the Vet Practice Act Definition as the practice of massage therapy. And, unfortunately, I think there's a good chance that the Vet Board is going to give out stock answers to general inquiries.

It's probably a good idea to get affiliated with a Veterinarian anyway, kind of like an endorsment of your work. I have only had great experiences with local Veterinarians (FL & NH). The Vet Board is another story.

I'm going to go and check that Administrative Rule now 101.02 (b) (not the practice act 332-B), to see if anything has changed.

EDIT: Ooops, I see you've already got it!

 

[Morgan Babes :P]

Thanks for all of your input. I'm sure that the Vet board is making it all seem much stricter then it actually is. It is impossible to NOT give some sort of relief to an animal when you do massage on them! If they expect things to be done under their laws and guidelines, then they need to clarify the act so that it explains, in detail, what one can and cannot do. They can make additions to it to clear things up. It's ridiculous!

I have, since my earlier post on the subject, found some sites stating that it's a felony in NH and some stating that it's a $2000 fine per violation. I'm not sure if it's one, the other or both now.

After many hours of discussion with my husband and hours of weighing the pros and cons of this, I have decided to just go ahead and continue on with my studies. The program that I am taking is about 200+ hours for each program (small and equine) and includes internships at the end for both. I know some Vets in my area, having worked for one of them in the past, so I can definitely make some connections there, which I also feel is a very good idea.

I'm really sorry that you have already been through this before. Hopefully NH will follow the lead of some other states and get this settled, in our favor, once and for all. I don't think that anyone except a Vet should be doing surgery or prescribing medications, etc. But I think that things like massage, Reiki, hydrotherapy, etc., should be allowed to be performed by properly trained, certified and licensed MT's. It should not be a crime if we put in the work and time!

Anyway, thanks again. I really appreciate your help. It sounds like you are doing a great job getting people trained. That's wonderful! Please keep me posted if you hear anything else. I'll do so as well. Take care.

DeAnne. :cat: :dogrun:

 

[Pompal 09.]

You're welcome, anytime.

Are you taking Bancroft's programs?

Thanks for your kind words. The workshops I teach are comprehensive but not for professional certification or credit (although I'm sure the VT students received some kind of school credit, they didn't receive it from me).

Keep in touch and many good luck wishes to you on your animal massage journey! For me, it would be very nice to network with others in the field...and to be able to refer out to other areas of NH (occasionally, I have requests for work outside of my area). Let me know if you ever want to get together to support and chat about our profession.

 

[Pocket Protecktor]

Yes, I am taking Bancroft's programs! They just started an Equine one this year. I begin the Small Animal program on 8/7 and I'm hoping to take the Spring Equine program beginning in 4/08. Of the programs that I have looked into, theirs seems to be very well put together and has ample classroom time, as well as the internships. The one with the most hours that I have run across thus far, is Lang in Colorado. It has about 650+ hours. But I'd have to do most of it at home and it's a lot more expensive as a result of the additional hours. I may think about doing it in the future though. It comes pretty highly recommended by people in the animal field.

I agree, networking would be great! I'd like to do the same. I'm in the Lakes Region. Where are you? Being able to refer out to practitioners in other areas in the state would be very helpful. I'd definitely like to get together to support and chat about our profession. That sounds great! However, I'd probably be of more help once I actually get some class time in. : Currently, I have only read a variety of books on animal massage and energy work, watched a DVD course on it and taken 2 short courses (equaling about 10 hours total) on small animal massage for your own pets. I also have my Reiki I and plan to get my Reiki II soon. My work in the Vet field has been my main source of animal experience, having been in the profession for 15+ years as an assistant. I'm also very involved with Australian Cattle Dog rescue right now and have 2 rescued blue heelers myself. I also have a BA in Anthropology (Primate Behavior) and Minors in Zoology and Psychology (both Animal Behavior), from Ohio State.

Anyway, I will keep in touch. Please do the same. Take care. t006

DeAnne. :cat: :dogrun:

 

[szamora1227]

I'm in the Lakes Region. Where are you?

About 45 min northwest of Portsmouth, NH.

 

[Blinkie]

Help: NH small and equine massage laws/regulations, etc.???

Hello there,
I see this thread is a coupld of years old but I have an interest in this topic and I'm hoping for more information. I am a Natural Hoof Care Practitioner out of Barnstead, NH. At this time I'm considering a course in equine massage because it would be a great compliment to my trimming practice. Beside, my back would really like working a little higher off the ground! :altsmile:

If anyone has an update on the laws would you please let me know. Also, one of the most frustrating things is affects both dentistry and massage. The vets want to control it but most of them either don't want to do it or can't support the need in the state. They simply don't have the time. The bottom line is that this should be about what is best for the horses.

Thank you.
Lisa

 

[Anony Moose]

Help: NH small and equine massage laws/regulations, etc.???

Hi Lisa - I wonder if we've ever crossed paths with the horses. I am right around the corner from Barnstead. I still feel, if an individual does not have any formal massage background, that Bancroft in Worcester, MA is the best option for an equine massage education. Equine massage is allowed in NH.

 

[Motherhood is cool!]

Help: NH small and equine massage laws/regulations, etc.???

Hi Lisa. Yes, Bancroft is an excellent school and they have a great Equine program. :massage: The laws for massage in NH are much stricter for small animals. I am certified in both now. :grin: The thing is to never use the term "therapy" or "therapist". :lipsaresealed: My certificates both say Massage Practitioner. Horses are still viewed as "property" and basically "livestock" so the laws are more lax. Plus, most Vets do not want to do large animals so their focus is on the small animal sector. Bancroft and most of the other big animal massage schools in the country are trying to get standardized exams set up so that like human massage therapists, everyone will receive the same training and then take a National Board Exam to be "legit". :mrgreen: I am all for this because I believe it will get the Vets off of our backs and see that everyone gets the same training and education so that the animals are getting the best and safest care possible. Like human massage, there would be CE's required to keep current, etc. Theses schools have set up NBCAAM. Here is the link to the group's website: http://www.nbcaam.org/ They are doing it for animal acupressure too. Their Equine tests are up and running already. I hope this helps. I have not taken the Equine one yet as I have not had time but I will be within the next few months. t023 Good luck! t109

:cat: DeAnne. :dogrun:
Owner "Twisted Whiskers & Knotted Manes"~Small Animal & Equine Massage Services.

 

[Its her]

Help: NH small and equine massage laws/regulations, etc.???

I have noticed all this legal stuff here in MA. also. Which Doesn't make sence to me bc it is Bancroft offers the program and it is not legal to practice equine massage in MA. t017