Tallgrass welcomes everyone interested in Animal Acupressure whether you want to help All participants receive a Certificate of Completion after successfully finishing the requirements for any of the courses listed and described below. Courses are held in the United States, England, and Australia. The courses entail both hands-on and online study as explained in detail below. The Online courses are available in a correspondence course format upon request at an additional cost. |
Introductory Courses - We suggest that participants take the Overview of Traditional Chinese Medicine Online Course before coming to the Hands-On Introductory Courses. |
| Online Introductory Courses |
Online - Overview of Traditional Chinese Medicine – Equine or Small Animal |
|
Online - Introduction to the Five-Element Theory – Equine or Small Animal |
| Hands-On Introductory Courses |
Hands-On - Introduction to Acupressure – Equine or Small Animal
2 Days / 30 LUs or 16 CE hours/ No prerequisite NOTE: This course is required for the Practitioner Certificate Program. This course offers you the ability to perform a complete acupressure treatment protocol and an understanding of the Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) concepts and theories underlying acupressure. Since Acupressure is based on TCM, we will explore this ancient science and guide you in learning how to help your animals feel their best. There are no prerequisites to this course. The Introduction to TCM & Acupressure covers:
A Certificate of Completion for 30 LUs or 16 CE hours is available after successfully passing an open book, take-home examination plus 2 Case Studies. Hands-On - Introduction to Five-Element Theory – Equine or Small Animal Acupressure
A Certificate of Completion for 30 LUs or 16 CE hours is available after successfully passing an Open-Book, Take-Home Examination and 2 case studies. |
Intermediate Level Courses for Equine & Small Animal  There are three required Intermediate Level courses for a total of 120 LUs or 64 CE Hours required for the Practitioner Certificate. These courses are available to everyone whether or not they are in the Practitioner Certificate Program. Learning Unit or Continuing Education credits will be given to people completing the entire course work including examinations and case studies. |
| Hands-On Intermediate Courses |
Hands-On - Meridians & Specific Conditions |
| Online Intermediate Courses |
Online - Meridian Theory – Equine or Small Animal 8 Units / 6 week completion/ 30 LUs or 6 CE hours/ Prerequisite: 1 Introductory Course NOTE: This course is required for the Practitioner Certificate Program. The Meridian Theory courses offer an in-depth understanding of how the meridians function within the animal’s body. As it was written in the Spiritual Pivot: “The meridians are where the beginners begin and masters end.” The more you learn about the meridian system and their location, the better your working knowledge of acupressure -- your assessment skills and point selection for treatments will be more effective. The course covers the 12 major meridians and 2 extraordinary vessels. This course includes:
Fees: SmAn & Equine - $260.00 _______________________________________ Online - Acupoint Classification – Equine or Small Animal
|
Advanced Level Courses |
| Hands-On Advanced Course |
| Hands-On - Introduction to Indicators & Assessment – Equine or Small Animal 2 Days / 30 LUs or 16 CE hours/ Prerequisite: 1 Introductory Course NOTE: This course is required for the Practitioner Certificate Program. Participants learn the basics of how to identify imbalances of yin and yang in an animal and understand how Chi functions along with how exogenous, emotional and other pathogenic factors that can cause imbalances. The course offers an overview of methods used to assess patterns of disharmony including the Yin-Yang Theory, Four Examinations, Eight Principles, and Zang-Fu Theory, Pulses, and Tongue Assessment. This course requires reading assigned texts prior to attending the course and successful completion of an introductory course. A Certificate of Completion for 30 LUs or 16 CE hours is available after successfully passing an Open-Book, Take-Home Examination. Fees: SmAn & Equine - $350.00 |
| Online and/or Hands-On Advanced Course |
| Acupressure Landmark Anatomy and Point Energetics – Equine or Canine Equine - 10 Units/Canine - 9 Units / 6 weeks to complete 2 Days / 30 LUs or 20 CE hours/ Prerequisite: 1 Introductory Course NOTE: The Equine or Canine Acupressure Landmark Anatomy & Point Energetics Course is offered both online and hands-on. Participants taking both the online and hands-on lab courses will have the opportunity to reinforce their knowledge of meridian and point locations and a review of Acupoint Classifications. The lab and online courses are designed to complement each other. Participants in the Certificate Program are required to complete the online course. This course presents a systematic approach to learning the anatomical landmarks necessary for locating acupressure points on horses, or dogs (cats will be added in the future). Emphasis is placed on the location of major  bones, joints, tendons, muscles, and ligaments. Upon completion, participants are able to use anatomical language, locate points using anatomical landmarks and know the function and energetics of specific acupoints. Participants receive the On-line Course, a published manual, and a DVD accompanying the program. A Certificate of Completion for 30 LUs or 20 CE hours is available after successfully passing the unit quizzes and final examination online. Fees: Online Course – $365.00 / Hands-on Course – With the Online Course only $145.00 additional / Without taking the Online course - $385.00. |
| Electives |
Two Elective courses are required to complete the Practitioner Certification Program. Participants will receive 20 LUs for each Elective. It is not required that these courses be taken through Tallgrass though we suggest people check our course schedule for some of these electives. Electives are available through Tallgrass Animal Acupresure Institute which are listed in the menu under Training Program - Electives. Examples of elective courses are: Spirits in Transistion, Tui Na/Chinese Massage, Essential Oils, Reiki, Kinesiology, etc. |
| Practicum – Equine or Small Animal 1/2 Day / Hands-on & Written Exam Prerequisite: 270 LUs or 148 CE hours of course work The Practicum is the culmination of the Practitioner Certification Program. It is an opportunity to integrate all that has been learned in the previous courses and demonstrate a level of competency in: assessmen  t of animal issues and conditions; developing a treatment plan based on knowledge and understanding of Traditional Chinese Medicine theory and application; and, performance of acupressure treatments on either horses or dogs. The intent is to have participants continue to learn and share knowledge with other participants and the instructors. The instructors will evaluate each participant individually regarding theoretical knowledge and direct application of acupressure. The instructors are responsible for determining the participant’s competency level and designation of a Practitioner Certification.Upon successful completion, participants receive their Tallgrass Equine or Small Animal Practitioner Certification, which qualifies as a certificate of achievement in the field of animal acupressure. Fees: $260.00 |
| *Please see the Training Schedule to check locations and dates when courses are offered.
|
your own animal or become a Certified Practitioner or Instructor. The Tallgrass training program offers highly interactive courses in acupressure for animals. The introductory level courses in Equine and Small Animal Acupressure are designed to give you the basics so that you can help your own animals or add to your bodywork practice. 
Tallgrass offers a Practitioner Certificate Program curriculum available to people interested in fulfilling all the requirements of the 270 Learning Unit (LUs) program or 148 Continuing Education Units (CE Hours) program approved by the National Certification Board for Theraputic Massage and Bodywork.
.jpg)
Introductory Course
