Loving horses is obviously a great place to start, but working professionally with them requires much more than that.

As a therapist, you need a good working knowledge of anatomy, physiology and biomechanics, but you also need practical hands-on skills, good observation and palpation skills, confidence around different horses and, importantly, the ability to communicate well with owners and other professionals.

No two horses that you meet will be the same.

One day you may be working with a competition horse that has regular maintenance massage. The next might be an older horse that needs a gentler approach, a leisure horse that has become a little stiff, or a horse gradually returning to work following veterinary treatment and rehabilitation.

This is why I always stress to our students that we don't want to simply learn a massage "routine".

You need to be able to look at the horse in front of you, think about what you are seeing and feeling, and adapt your session accordingly.

A good training course should give you the theory behind what you are doing, but there also needs to be plenty of opportunity to get your hands on horses and put that knowledge into practice.

You need to understand why you are using a technique, not simply how to perform it.

Training should include areas such as:

• Equine skeletal and muscular anatomy

• Muscle function and movement

• Posture, conformation and basic biomechanics

• Static and dynamic observation

• Palpation and tissue assessment

• A good range of massage techniques

• Safe horse handling

• Recognising muscular tension, discomfort and changes in the horse

• Contraindications and when massage may not be appropriate

• Knowing when something needs veterinary input

• Planning an individual massage session

• Record keeping and aftercare

The theory gives you the foundations, but there really is no substitute for practical experience.

The more horses you work with, the more you begin to appreciate just how different they all feel. Different breeds, ages, workloads, previous injuries, conformation and lifestyles can all influence what you find underneath your hands.

That experience takes time to develop, which is why practical training and tutor support are so important.

This is a really important part of becoming a professional therapist.

An Equine Massage Therapist is one part of a much bigger team surrounding the horse. Depending on the horse, that team might include the owner, rider, trainer, vet, farrier, saddle fitter and other appropriately qualified therapists and professionals.

Our job is not to diagnose veterinary conditions.

It is about recognising what we are seeing and feeling, working safely within our professional scope and, just as importantly, knowing when not to treat.

Sometimes the best decision you can make for a horse is to alter what you had planned, stop the session altogether or advise the owner that veterinary advice is needed first.

Good therapists don't need to have all the answers. They need to recognise when something is outside their professional remit.

Ultimately, the welfare of the horse has to come before everything else.

It can be a really rewarding job.

There is something incredibly satisfying about feeling a horse gradually relax underneath your hands, seeing an improvement in the way they use themselves or helping an owner understand a little more about what their horse may be finding difficult.

But there is also a practical side to the career that is worth being realistic about.

You are likely to spend plenty of time outside in all sorts of weather! There can be lots of driving between yards, early starts, muddy boots and physically demanding days.

And the massage appointment itself is only part of running a successful business.

There are bookings to organise, client records to maintain, messages to answer, accounts and expenses to manage, insurance to arrange and probably some social media and marketing thrown in too.

If you are self-employed, you are not only becoming a therapist. You are also running a small business.

A good client base doesn't usually appear overnight. It develops through consistency, professionalism, word of mouth and, most importantly, doing a good job and treating both horses and their owners well.

Absolutely not.

You don't need to be a high-level rider or competition rider to become a good Equine Massage Therapist.

What is much more important is that you are confident and safe handling horses, have empathy for them, are genuinely interested in learning and are prepared to keep developing your eye.

In fact, people come into this career from all sorts of backgrounds.

Some have owned horses for years. Others have worked on yards, groomed, coached or competed. Some are already working within the equestrian industry and want to add another qualification, while others are looking for a complete career change.

We also have students returning to study after many years away from education.

There really isn't one set route into the profession.

Practical horse experience is incredibly valuable because so much of the job involves being able to read the horse in front of you, notice small changes and work calmly and confidently around different personalities.

One thing I always encourage is continued learning.

You don't qualify and suddenly know everything there is to know about horses, muscles and rehabilitation. None of us do!

Our understanding of equine health, welfare, performance and rehabilitation continues to develop, and CPD is an important part of being a professional therapist.

It might mean learning more about fascia, stretching and mobilisation, rehabilitation exercises, different clinical presentations, wound healing, laminitis, discipline-specific muscular demands or simply refreshing anatomy and practical techniques.

The more horses you work with, the more questions you will probably have, and I actually think that is a good thing.

Experience teaches you that horses don't always follow the textbook.

If you find yourself constantly wanting to know why a horse is moving or behaving in a particular way, if you love learning about anatomy and movement, and if horse welfare genuinely matters to you, it can be an incredibly interesting career.

It can also offer a lot of flexibility. Some therapists build a full-time business, while others work part-time alongside another job, family commitments or another equestrian career.

But it does require commitment.

You need to be prepared to study, practise, keep learning, work professionally and understand the boundaries of your role.

At Wolds Equine Rehabilitation & Training, our Professional Equine Sports & Rehabilitation Massage Diploma combines detailed theory with supportive, small-group practical training.

Our aim isn't simply to teach students a collection of massage strokes. We want them to understand the horse underneath their hands, develop their observation and clinical reasoning skills and gradually build the confidence to adapt what they do to the individual horse.

For me, that is where becoming a good therapist really begins.

Whether you are considering a completely new career, would like to add another skill to an existing equestrian role, or your interest has simply grown from wanting to understand your own horse better, it can be a fascinating journey.

And quite often, that journey starts with something very simple: