History of Equine Osteopathy
Dominique Giniaux, D.V.M.
Equine osteopathy was founded on the principles and philosophies of human osteopathy. Many have influenced the growth and development of equine osteopathy beginning with Dr. Dominique Giniaux of France in the 1970’s. Dr. Giniaux is considered the founder of equine osteopathy. Another important influence came from Anthony Pusey of the UK in the 1980’s, working hard to place animal osteopathy on firm footing in the scientific world of medicine. Pusey helped develop a Master of Science program in the application of osteopathy in the treatment of animals at the University of Wales.
In the early 2000’s, French Osteopath, Pascal Evrard furthered the development of equine osteopathy by developing more structured and safer manual techniques. Pascal joined forces with fellow classmate Janek Vluggen, D.O., MRO-D, who developed the visceral techniques in relation to the autonomic nervous system of the horse. The two set out to develop a program to teach the principles, philosophies, and techniques of equine osteopathy. The tragic death of Pascal Evrard in a car crash in 2004 delivered a big blow to the equine osteopathy community. Janek Vluggen carried on their dream and founded the Vluggen Institute for Equine Osteopathy and Education in Germany and Texas, USA in 2007. The Vluggen Institute is the only school recognized for its high standards of education by the International Register for Equine Osteopathy (IREO). To the present, Janek Vluggen and others associated with the Vluggen Institute and the IREO, continue to make enormous contributions to the field of Equine Osteopathy.
