Aahep: Association for Animals, Horticultural & Equine Practitioners

30/01/2026

✅If you work in equine, animal, nature and/or horticulture assisted practice, being good at what you do matters but being recognised, credible, and accountable matters just as much.

🌟Joining Aahep: Association for Animals, Horticultural & Equine Practitioners is more than a badge. It’s about public protection, professional standing, and the future of our sector.

Here’s why practitioners from accross the market and disciplines are choosing to join 👇

✨ Independent credibility
AAHEP is the first and currently only UK national register for this field operating under independent oversight (or international equivalent). That means your practice is benchmarked against clear standards not self-declared claims.

🛡 Public protection & trust
Clients, funders, commissioners and referrers can see that you meet defined requirements around training, ethics, safeguarding, insurance, and ongoing professional development through use of the recognised PSA Quality Mark.

📍Trust isn’t assumed — it’s demonstrated.

📋 Clear professional standards
This accredited register sets out what “good practice” looks like across disciplines, helping protect both practitioners and the people (and animals) they work with.

🌍 Recognition beyond one training provider
AAHEP is practitioner focused, not course exclusive. Your place on this register reflects your competence and accountability, not just where you trained.

💬 A collective professional voice
By joining, you’re helping to shape a growing, internationally connected profession — one that can engage meaningfully with funders, policymakers, insurers and regulators.

🔄 Future-proofing your work
As scrutiny, commissioning requirements and funding expectations increase, being on an independently governed register puts you ahead of the curve.

This is about raising standards without gatekeeping, and protecting a field we all care deeply about.

If you believe in ethical, accountable, client-led practice — the AAHEP Accredited Register is where you belong.

👉 Find out more or apply to join via aahep.uk

26/01/2026

💜 Partnerships built with purpose 💚

Behind the scenes Aahep: Association for Animals, Horticultural & Equine Practitioners has been carefully working on a number of strategic partnerships.

These aren’t partnerships for visibility or convenience — they are being developed with organisations and individuals who share our values, understand the importance of professional standards, public protection, and ethical practice, and genuinely want to work together.

Our focus has been clear:
• to offer more for our members
• to strengthen collaboration across animals, horticulture and equine based practice
• and to ensure partnerships add real value, not noise

🥁We’re now reaching the stage where some of this work can begin to be shared — and we are excited to start announcing partnerships soon that reflect who AAHEP is and where it is going 🗣️

🙏Thank you to our members for your trust while this work has been happening in the background. We’re building carefully, intentionally, and for the long term🙏

🤝More soon🤝✨

26/01/2026

Equine Assisted Health webinar Horses and Humans Research Foundation

Happening this Wednesday!

25/01/2026

Aahep: Association for Animals, Horticultural & Equine Practitioners is very pleased to welcome Tracie J Faa-thompson to the Governing Board of the Accredited Practitioner Register. Her appointment is an important recognition of the growing spread of disciplines that are now supported by the Register.

Tracie brings significant personal knowledge and experience to the Governing Board. Alongside her extensive work in Equine Assisted Play Therapy®, as the founder of Turn about Pegasus, she has over 30 years experience as a specialist social worker in adoption working with traumatized children, birth parents and their adoptive and foster families, supported by Masters qualifications in Social Work and Non-directive Play Therapy.

Tracie is an experienced public speaker and author of numerous manuals, articles, and training programmes, and along with Dr Risë VanFleet, is the co-founder of the field of Animal Assisted Play Therapy® in which they have been collaborating since 2004.

She is also a clinical Hypnotherapist, and a Certified in as a Filial Therapist.

This is complemented by her important ethical personal engagement in animal wellbeing, with certifications and practice in the areas of Applied Herbal Choices Animal Health and Animal Ethology and Behaviour instruction.

12/01/2026

🌟Huge thanks to Pauline Lusby from the City of Derry Equestrian Centre for delivering such a fantastic webinar recently on her journey for One Equine 🌟

Insightful, engaging, and grounded in real-world practice and experience 💕

💜 thank you also for touching on the importance of being in the Aahep: Accredited Practitioner Register.

Thank you, Pauline 🐴💚 and One Equine🐴💚
👉 https://youtu.be/0fsDaMMonWU 👈

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

10/01/2026

We are pleased to announce that AAHEP® and aahep® are now registered trademarks in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧

This milestone:
- Protects the integrity of the AAHEP® Accredited Registers
- Safeguards learners, practitioners, and the public
- Confirms AAHEP® as the recognised professional standards body underpinning our work

Athena continues to operate as the training and education arm of AAHEP®, aligned to robust governance, transparency, and professional standards.

👉aahep.uk👈

07/01/2026

Right touch regulation 🙏 Professional Standards Authority

💭Updating Right-touch regulation for today’s challenges 💭

Right-touch regulation helps regulators act proportionately, once the level of risk has been considered. Last year, we refreshed the framework for the first time since 2015, ensuring it reflects the challenges ad opportunities faced today. We highlight that agility and collaboration are more important than ever in addressing these issues.

Discover what’s new and why it matters: www.professionalstandards.org.uk/news-and-updates/news/updated-version-right-touch-regulation-responds-current-challenges?fbclid=IwY2xjawOyTz1leHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETA4VURqT2FBTmlkQ3JqbXBOc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHqN8FiegkgH97X3mW8Rc9oGYjTFD5Sp0WIHmYDyq-fr4Q1_zyi7pHonllj_g_aem_UxlU9IqFeuWd5T7RKHCRpQ

05/01/2026

Really proud that Pauline Lusby who is an Aahep: Accredited Practitioner Register Member is speaking at the upcoming One Equine Webinar.

See the joining instructions below

🎉 Happy New Year! We’re kicking off 2026 with the first One Equine Webinar of the year!

📅 Wednesday, January 7th
🕖 7:00 PM

Shared Journeys in EAL: Insights with Pauline Lusby
Exploring collaboration, growth, and real-world experiences in Equine Assisted Learning.

Starting out, growing your practice, or just looking to connect? Our next webinar is packed with practical tips, inspiration, and real-world insights for your EAL journey.

Join us for an engaging session with Pauline Lusby, experienced EAL practitioner and founder of City of Derry Equestrian Centre.

✅ What you’ll learn:
The breadth of Pauline’s work and its impact
Key lessons from her journey so far
How collaboration has shaped a sustainable EAL practice

Don’t miss out—register now, connect with fellow practitioners, and share in the learning experience!

Register Here: 3d2cde6e-fd45-4792-8946-f691b61af14c@6a283ab1-c6f5-4b0a-86f1-f501173a168b" rel="ugc" target="_blank">https://events.teams.microsoft.com/event/3d2cde6e-fd45-4792-8946-f691b61af14c@6a283ab1-c6f5-4b0a-86f1-f501173a168b

equineassistedlearning equineassistedtherapy equinefacilitatedlearning equinefacilitatedtherapy equineassistedpsychotherapy equineassistedcounselling professionalstandardsauthority equineprofessional equinepractitionergrowth

04/01/2026

Thank you LiveryList and the Yard Owner Hub.

Thoughts?

🐴The UK Government has published its Animal Welfare Strategy for England, described by ministers as the most ambitious set of reforms for animal welfare in a generation. The strategy sets out a long‑term vision for improving welfare standards across all types of animals — from pets and farmed livestock to wildlife — with the goal of delivering lasting change by 2030.

While not horse‑specific, the strategy includes measures that could have important implications for equestrian organisations, businesses, and welfare practices.

THIS ARTICLE DISCUSSES EQUESTRIAN RELATED CHANGES ONLY. It does not discuss wider changes to animal welfare regulations or practices

Read more here...
https://yardownerhub.co.uk/uk-governments-new-animal-welfare-strategy-what-it-means-for-the-equestrian-world/

02/01/2026

New for 2026!

AAHEP is pleased to announce new membership options for practitioners. These include organisational and student options, higher levels of professional practice, and individual qualification.

Please visit the website to find out more information.



https://aahep.uk/membership-options