Born in the Netherlands in 1960, and growing up a foster child in a little village in the south, Janek Vluggen grew up with swimming, horse riding, windsurfing, and sailing. At 12 years of age, Vluggen rode his bicycle 40 miles  several times a week to clean stalls so he could ride horses in exchange – horses that nobody liked or wanted to ride as a result of “so called” bad behavior. It was his first encounter with troubled horses. With patience, perseverance, and riding skills, he learned very early in life that most horses were either scared or in pain, and he was able to successfully bring one of these supposedly “bad” horses back to the racetrack. 

After graduating from high school, he studied for 5 years at the Dutch Academy for Physiotherapy (part of the South Netherlands University) with Dr. H. Koolen, one of the early godfathers and founders of the old school physiotherapy in the Netherlands.

After working and gaining experience in an ER station, a geriatric clinic, a revalidation clinic in Switzerland (where he also started several gymnastics and exercise self-aiding groups for the local community, which still exist today) and a neurological and psychiatric hospital in Germany for several years; obtaining a psychology degree; and developing his skills in the neurological concepts of PNF, Janda, Voijta and Bobath; Vluggen started his own private practice for physical therapy in Baesweiler, Germany, where he employed ten employees working in the neurological, post-surgical, post-traumatic, pediatric, and neonatal field for 18 years.

Within a decade, he established the largest existing osteoporosis self-aiding group in Europe, the ‘German Osteoporosis Self-Aiding Groups and Research Association’ (Deutsche Verband der Osteoporose Selbsthilfe Gruppen und Wissenschaftliche Untersuchung) starting out with two of his patients, and by the time he sold his practice, with 200,000 members, trained by 4,000 physical therapists on weekly basis under his responsibility nationwide.

In the same period, he managed and treated many highly ranked athletes from primary league soccer teams (Allemania Aachen, Roda JC Kerkrade, MVV Maastricht). He established a support and training program for and through the ‘Deutsche Volkshochschule’, the German Public University for pregnant women and their newborn babies.

It was in this time period he started studying human osteopathy at the International Academy of Osteopathy in Ghent Belgium as a five years monthly modular study, finalized with an exam before an international committee and a scientific thesis.

Janek graduated with honors with a published thesis about the relation of the mobility of the abdominal diaphragm and the vascularization in the upper limbs.

It was during his osteopathy study that Janek Vluggen met Pascal Evrard and since both therapists were active riders, very soon they both investigated the possibilities with their own horses and reported back to one another, stimulating each other to proceed in their pioneering.

Contacts with the early French school and the University of Liege in Belgium, in particular with Professor Didier Sertain PhD, DVM, supported the two pioneers to research their results.

Time after time it was confirmed that the osteopathic principles were applicable, repeatable, and transferable to the equine, demonstrating favorable long-lasting changes in homeostasis and balance, where long-time veterinary applications were suppressing symptoms and needed continuous repetition. A completely new paradigm in animal science was unveiled.

In order to better understand and be precise and true in their conclusions, both Janek Vluggen as well as Pascal Evrard studied with Professor Didier Sertain the complete anatomy, neurology and physiology curriculum of the Veterinary University of Liege for three years. During this period, osteopathic techniques were adapted and made applicable to the horse.

The equine osteopathic students of FISEO and Pascal’s widow asked Janek to pick up the torch and continue the education of veterinarians in equine osteopathy. He then started teaching simultaneously in San Marcos, Texas and in Europe.

Janek was introduced to Dr. LuAnn Groves, DVM in San Marcos. Dr. Groves, understanding and recognizing the unique importance, art, and significant skills of Janek, offered him to start teaching from her clinic in San Marcos and establish an educational institute.

Janek Vluggen was invited to lecture about equine osteopathy at the annual conference of the AHVMA (the American Holistic Veterinary Medical Association) in Ogden, Utah, and again a year later in Reno; he presented at the largest veterinary student conference in Columbus, Ohio and at the annual Pfizer conference in Oklahoma City, and many national and international conferences in Europe.

In 2005, he was asked to join up and work with the veterinary medical team of the British Olympic dressage team that went on to win the European Championship in Windsor, the World Equestrian Games in Kentucky, and the team gold medal and individual gold, silver, and bronze medals at the Olympic games in London.

Janek has been traveling between the United States, Canada, Australia and Europe ever since and has educated over 500 veterinarians, chiropractors, osteopaths, physical therapists and equine bodyworkers worldwide in the principles of applied Equine Osteopathy through The Vluggen Institute.

International Recognition

In the last decade, the demand for this paradigm has been recognized by the horse community and veterinarians, becoming rather popular. This increased demand and popularity resulted in an unforeseen problem: non-educated individuals were representing themselves as equine osteopaths and were practicing on horses in a manner that did not represent the principles of osteopathy as they were taught at the Vluggen Institute and all the other educational institutes in Europe. There was no legal protection nor recognition of Equine Osteopathy as such anywhere in the world.

Janek Vluggen was asked as the foremost expert, to create transparency and show the veterinarians and horse community who was or who wasn’t educated. After meetings with several veterinary as well as human osteopathic associations and educational institutions in Europe, Janek Vluggen created and trademarked the wordmark “Equine Osteopath EDO”  (Equine Diplomat Osteopath) to only be used by graduates of standardized equine osteopathy educational institutions.

To support this a profession, the International Association for Equine Osteopaths was founded by graduates from the different equine osteopathic educational institutes: ICREO, DIPO, Equi- Libre in Europe and the Vluggen Institute in Europe as well as in the USA.

From the association members, a code of ethics was written and the standards for Equine Osteopathy and the Equine Osteopathy education, according to the internationally accepted CAN-MED model, to develop a standardized high-level equine osteopathy education and profession worldwide. All controlled by the International Register for Equine Osteopaths (IREO) founded in 2011 with committees of complaint, appeal, enforcement and postgraduate educational accreditation.

The rights for using the wordmark “Equine Osteopath EDO”, were transferred in 2026 by notary act to the Registry for Equine Diplomate Osteopaths International (REDOI) and are no longer exclusive for, in the possession of, or under the influence of the Vluggen Institute, as it was meant to be from the start.