Trying to navigate the world of equine behaviour consulting can be extremely confusing. To help you, we’ve created a list of common acronyms and their meanings.

ABTC – Animal Behaviour and Training Council

APBC – Association of Pet Behaviour Counsellors

ASAB – Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour

RCVS – Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons

FABC – Fellowship of Animal Behaviour Clinicians

AAB – Accredited Animal Behaviourist

ABT – Animal Behaviour Technician

CAB – Clinical Animal Behaviourist

CCAB – (ASAB Accredited) Certificated Clinical Animal Behaviourist

At the moment anyone in the UK can call themselves a behaviourist and go out and practice. This makes it difficult for vets and owners to know which behaviourists have the knowledge and practical skills required to deal safely, effectively and humanely with horse behaviour problems, and which ones don’t.

The Animal Behaviour and Training Council (ABTC) was set up in 2010 to help address this problem. The ABTC is the regulatory body that represents animal trainers, training instructors and animal behaviour therapists to the public and legislative bodies. It sets and maintains the standards of knowledge and practical skills needed to be an animal trainer, training instructor or animal behaviour therapist, and it maintains the national registers of appropriately qualified animal trainers and animal behaviourists. ABTC registered behaviourists use science-led, compassionate methods that are not be based on positive punishment or the creation of anxiety or fear. This helps to safeguard the welfare of the horses they work with.

A registered equine behaviourist is someone who is registered with the ABTC. You can check whether someone is registered with the ABTC on their website:

https://www.abtc.org.uk/practitioner-directory/

There are people practicing as equine behaviourists who are not members of a practitioner organisation or who are members of a practitioner organisation that itself is not registered with the ABTC. It may be that the practitioner is a member of an organisation that is in the process of applying to the ABTC to have their members included on the ABTC’S register; however, until this has occurred there is no guarantee that the practitioner has met the required knowledge and skills requirements, or that they adhere to a suitable code of conduct.

Everyone interested in practicing as an equine behaviourist should aim to be registered with the ABTC. Being ABTC registered gives veterinary surgeons the confidence to work with you/refer clients to you, and ensures that clients know you have the knowledge and practical skills to help them with their horse.

In January 2019, The Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) approved a pathway for paraprofessionals to become associates of or be accredited by the RCVS, which would mean they fall under the regulatory umbrella of the RCVS. The ABTC has applied to the RCVS for accreditation, which would mean that animal trainers and behaviourists registered with the ABTC would fall under the regulatory remit of the RCVS. The RCVS news article on the new regulatory pathways can be accessed here

Further information can be found here

To stay up-to-date with where the ABTC is with RCVS Accreditation, it is worth reading the twice yearly ABTC newsletters. The newsletters can be accessed here

RCVS regulation will benefit vets and owners by giving them increased confidence that the behaviourist they are referring to/using has the required knowledge and practical skills, that they behave professionally, and that their practice complies with the required code(s) of conduct. It will also help to ensure that animal welfare is safeguarded during training and behaviour modification.

It is likely to be several years before the accreditation process is finalised as Brexit and the Covid-19 outbreak have significantly hindered progress. However, once the ABTC is accredited by the RCVS it is unlikely that vets will refer cases to equine behaviourists who are not ABTC registered, and clients may be reluctant to use them. It should be the aim of every behaviourist or aspiring behaviourist to become ABTC registered.

Clinical Animal Behaviourist (CAB):

• The Association of Pet Behaviour Counsellor (APBC) – https://www.apbc.org.uk/
• The Fellowship of Animal Behaviour Clinicians (FABC) – https://fabclinicians.org/

Animal Behaviour Technician (ABT):

• The Association of Pet Behaviour Counsellor (APBC) – https://www.apbc.org.uk/

Accredited Animal Behaviourist (AAB):

• The International Association for Animal Behaviour Consultants (IAABC) – https://m.iaabc.org/

Clinical Animal Behaviourist (CAB):

• The Association of Pet Behaviour Counsellor (APBC) – https://www.apbc.org.uk/
• Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour (ASAB) Accreditation – https://www.asab.org/ccab

Animal Behaviour Technician (ABT):

• The Association of Pet Behaviour Counsellor (APBC) – https://www.apbc.org.uk/

Accredited Animal Behaviourist (AAB):

• The International Association for Animal Behaviour Consultants (IAABC) – https://m.iaabc.org/

Below is a brief summary of what someone working at each standard can do.

Accredited Animal Behaviourist

The Accredited Animal Behaviourist (AAB) category was created as a temporary register for existing behaviour practitioners who meet many, but not all, of the knowledge and skills requirements for clinical animal behaviourist. This register is open to new equine practitioners until December 2021, when it will close. AAB who join the register before the end of December 2021, can remain on it until they retire, stop practising or no longer hold their practitioner membership with the Practitioner Organisation who has placed them there. However, AAB practitioners are encouraged to work towards becoming a CAB or ABT.

Animal Behaviour Technician

Animal Behaviour Technicians (ABTs) design programmes to provide prophylactic and first-aid behavioural advice for animals. They also implement behaviour modification and/or environmental modification plans, following an assessment/evaluation by a CAB or veterinary behaviourist. They understand how to prevent and address inappropriate or problematic behaviours, through the development of suitable environments and training regimes that are likely to be effective, based on best practice and scientific evidence.

Those working as ABTs may include veterinary nurses and rehabilitation trainers working under the supervision of an on-site or external CAB or veterinary behaviourist.

Clinical Animal Behaviourist

Clinical Animal Behaviourists (CABs) use animal behaviour science to modify the behaviour of animals that are demonstrating all types of undesirable, inappropriate, problematic or dangerous behaviour, including those linked to pathologies that require diagnosis in collaboration with a vet. CABs understand how to evaluate, prevent or address inappropriate or problematic behaviours through the development of suitable environments and management/treatment regimes that are likely to be effective, based on best practice and scientific evidence.

All practitioners must work within the constraints of the Veterinary Surgeons Act. The ABTC website provides more detail about what AABs, ABTs and CABs can do. Click here for more information.

None! They have all met the ATBC standard for Clinical Animal Behaviourist, they have just gone through different assessment pathways in order to get there. Once you have met the ABTC standard for Clinical Animal Behaviourist, either through the APBC’s new assessment pathway or ASABs accreditation pathway, you can become a full member of the APBC and/or a certificated member of the FABC, and then apply to go on the ABTC register.

The APBC has recently developed its own internal assessment process for provisional members. Information on the process can be found here

Candidate members of the FABC members are assessed via ASABs independent assessment process. Information on the process can be found here