21/03/2026
Let’s Talk About Standards 👇
As equine, animal assisted and horticultural practice continues to grow globally so does the confusion.
We keep seeing posts around:
👉 Regulation
👉 Registers
👉 Membership Organisations
👉 Qualifications
They are not the same — and that matters.
🔹 Regulation = Public Protection
In the UK, parts of our work already sits within:
• Health & social care frameworks
• Animal welfare law
• Licensing & safeguarding
Aahep: Association for Animals, Horticultural & Equine Practitioners goes further.
👉 The AAHEP Professional Register is accredited by the Professional Standards Authority (PSA)
That means:
✔ Independent oversight
✔ Clear standards
✔ Accountability to the public
🔹 Registers = NOT all equal
Some organisations offer:
• Membership
• Community
• Guidance
And that’s valuable 👇
But…
👉 Unregulated registers are not the same as a PSA accredited register
AAHEP is built for:
✔ Public protection
✔ Professional accountability
✔ Recognised standards
You can’t compare a regulated register to an unregulated one.
✅ A regulated register operates under independent oversight, with defined standards, accountability, complaints processes, and external scrutiny. It’s about public protection, governance, and verified competence.
An unregulated register is essentially self-defined — it may offer community, networking, or recognition, but it does not carry the same level of independent assurance or enforceable standards.
🤔 so comparing the two is like comparing a licensed profession to a club membership — both may have value, but only one is built on formal regulation, accountability, and public trust.
If it matters who is accountable when things go wrong, the distinction matters.
🔹Membership Organisation
📍AAHEP is a Full Member of Iahaio_official (International Association of Human Animal Interaction Organizations)
What IAHAIO is
• is a global umbrella membership body bringing together organisations involved in:
- animal assisted therapy (which includes equine assisted services):
• education
• research
• practice
It connects associations, universities, charities, and providers working in human animal interaction (HAI)
• It focuses on:
• collaboration and networking
• sharing research and knowledge
• developing guidelines and position statements (e.g. White Papers) 
✅ IAHAIO is a global membership and collaboration network that promotes best practice and knowledge sharing in animal assisted services (that includes ) not a regulatory body or accredited professional register.
🌟IAHAIO brings people together🌟
🔹 Qualifications = Where competence is proven
This is where the gap is biggest.
There’s a huge difference between:
❌ Internal courses
vs
✅ Externally accredited, independently reviewed qualifications
👉 The Athena pathway, externally accredited through AAHEP, ACCPH includes:
✔ Training reviewed and approved by the PSA
✔ Structured, evidence-informed learning
✔ Real credibility for practitioners
✅ with training programmes also recognised for cpd with aahep, iacp, accph and CE accreditation with the NBCC in the US.
Why this matters
This isn’t about politics.
It’s about:
• Safety
• Credibility
• Trust
Across:
🐴 Equine practice
🐾 Animal-assisted work
🌱 Horticultural practice
If standards aren’t clear — the whole sector is at risk.
❓Are we holding ourselves to a high enough standard?
Because:
👉 Passion is not enough
👉 Experience alone is not enough
👉 Good intentions are not enough
💫At AAHEP & Athena as the training and education arm , we stand for:
✔ PSA-recognised professional standards
✔ Credible, accountable registers
✔ Externally validated and accredited qualifications
✔ Ethical, evidence-informed practice
💪Let’s raise the bar — together
🌍 We support open, global conversations.
Because sharing knowledge around:
• Certification
• Insurance
• Safeguarding
• Licensing
• Practice models
…only strengthens the profession.
💡Final thought
This sector is growing fast.
Now is the time to decide:
👉 Do we grow with credibility
or
👉 Do we grow with confusion
.
.
