Australian College of Animal Tactile Therapy

Christine began teaching Equine Sports and Remedial Therapy in 1998, and in 2001 formed the Australian College of Animal Tactile Therapy, the first Australian college to offer expansive, professional, fully supported Equine Therapy qualifications. Christine’s aim was to fill a void in the Australian horse industry, educate equine professionals and ensure help is available for as many horses as possible .

Since initial inception, under the guidance of Christine Scully, ACATT has continuously updated and expanded the professional courses offered, With the ACATT Team, Christine has formulated and now offers the most expansive and detailed professional equine therapy courses in Australia. Fulfilling her desire to see up to date, indepth, expansive courses offered to the people who wish to work in the industry. In this way optimising equine health and performance and fulfilling the needs of the Australian Equine Industry.

So what put Christine on this path?

There was always a desire to complete university and set up business to teach people how to best care for their horses, but not necessarily with massage, nutrition and health. In her research project on Equine Movement and Gait Analysis, Christine set out to prove stretching did not enhance equine length of stride. Her research proved differently, opening the mind just a little. The following year, Christine’s mare fractured her lumbar spine and pelvis, with the veterinary advice being that the mare should be euthanised. Tilly was 15. Christine decided to undertake rehabilitation incorporating stretching, massage and proprioception exercises. Tilly fully recovered, returned to work and was ridden until she was 28, passing away at 36 with no residual issues from her accident.

Early on in Tilly’s recovery a seed was sown for Christine to research and learn physical therapy, incorporate it with structured exercises and fitness training to resolve gait anomalies, maintain and enhance horse movement.

At the time the only Physiotherapy course available was in UK and with a 2 year old child, it was not possible for Christine to relocate. So Christine furthered her study into Massage, Sports Therapy and Naturopathy, Christine then spent 2 years developing these skills with horses, in those 2 years she offered her services for free to a Warmblood breeding and training facility, and an Equestrian Centre that housed horses in dressage, eventing, endurance, and show jumping training, along with a group of school horses that were used both in lessons and on trail rides. Over this time Christine treated, advised, and assessed, observing and measuring the horse response over time. She found that, length of stride increased, exercise tolerance increased, desire to work increased, lameness resolved, cadence increased, performances improved, attitudes improved, bad behaviours like bucking, pig rooting and biting disappeared, and riders began to enjoy their time with their horse again. And so it began.

Christine is committed to
- Community service,
- Providing effective equine treatment, and exercise programs
- Teaching her clients to assist in returning their horse to optimum health and performance.
- Providing in-depth, encompassing Equine Therapy Training
- Professional delivery of quality expansive education and training, - Leading her graduates to take their knowledge and share it with you, those that work and play in the equine industry.


Experience:
Lecturer Charles Sturt University
Lecturer Temora TAFE Outreach program
Founder of the first Holisitic Animal Association of Australia
Equine Sports Massage and Nutrition Therapist. Equine Holisitic Health
Principal Australian College of Animal Tactile Therapy
Equine Rehabilitaiton and Performance Enhancement Specialist ACATT
Guest Speaker at Equitana, Equine Expo, AQHA.
Equine Health writer for Chaff Chat, Small Talk and Horses and People Magazines
Volunteer in Equine Health and Management at PFK Egypt.

Education:
BAppSci Equine Studies. First Class Honours (C.Sturt)
Diploma Equine Acupuncture (Allan Moffat)
Certificate Sports Massage (NMIT)
Certificate of Massage (NMIT)
Certificate of Naturopathy (NMIT)
Cert IV Training and Assessment
Certificate Myofascial Release
Certificate of Chinese Cupping
Certificate of General Nursing (RN)
She has also undertaken studies in Veterinary Botanical Medicine, and has attended many workshops and seminars in Exercise Physiology, Gait Analysis, Hoof Balance, biomechanics and more.

Research Projects:
Equine Feed Digestibility
Equine Gait Analysis
Assessing Performance and Gait Changes in Dressage Training.
Relationship between Blood Line and Performance in the Australian Sports Horse