On the 22nd of November 2011, in an official meeting with the representatives of the IAEO ( The International Association of Equine Osteopaths ) and the IREO® (The International Registry for Equine Osteopaths ), the code of ethics, the competency profile and the standards for equine osteopaths and educational institutions were submitted and approved by a majority of the members present.

Following this approval the Vluggen Institute handed over all the rights to the IREO® (International Registry for Equine Osteopaths) for the registered wordmark Equine osteopath EDO®.

Upon completion of the full courses and exams, standing before an international commitee of veterinarians and equine osteopaths, the graduate receives a certificate of completion.

The graduate can choose to submit this certificate to the International Registry of Equine Osteopaths to obtain a ID number and be granted the use of the registered wordmark Equine Osteopath EDO®.

Founder and principal instructor of The Vluggen Institute: 

Born and raised in the Netherlands and since twenty-five years living and practicing in Germany.

Janek Vluggen DO, MRO, EDO® is  recognized as the leading expert in the field of modern Equine Osteopathy.

Graduated as a human osteopath DO, from the International Academy of Osteopathy in Ghent Belgium, he was trained and taught extensively in the importance of the visceral system in relation to the skeleton system according the visceral concepts of Jean Pierre Barral DO.

His fellow student Pascal Evrard DO. author of the book:’Introduction á l’osteopathie structurelle appliquée au chevall’, at that time was developing and modifying the structural techniques  from the early equine osteopathy into safer and more applicable techniques.

The two innovators made a pact to bring the equine osteopathy to the highest possible standards considering all pilars of the modern osteopathy: the parietal system, the cranio sacral system, and as it was longtime thought impossible on the equine, the visceral system.

It was Janek Vluggen’s merit to develop the modern visceral concept as a methodical application to the horse in relation to the autonomic nervous system, and the cranial sacral system.

As a researcher, thought-after therapist and popular lecturer in the United States as well as Europe for over two decades, he has built a significant following worldwide.

It was Dr. Luann Groves DVM. EDO® that recognized the importance of his expertise and convinced him to educate the veterinary and horse community in the equine osteopathy, and hostes The Vluggen Institute at her veterinary clinic in San Marcos Texas till today.

Janek Vluggen still runs a succesfull human osteopathy practice in Germany.