Each state has a veterinary practice act, which is a legal interpretation of what constitutes veterinary practice in that state on all species. For example, chiropractic or acupuncture might be considered veterinarian-only skills in some states, while in other states they can be performed by a skilled lay person under a licensed veterinarian’s direction.

The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) has begun the complex process of revising the organization’s model veterinary practice act (MVPA), a document that serves as a resource tool for states that are rewriting or revising practice acts. Wording in the MVPA could affect future revisions of state veterinary practice acts.

Medical practice acts (human and veterinary) are intended to protect the patient by limiting intervention, both physical and pharmacologic, to trained and licensed individuals. The difficulty occurs when the line of definition needs to be drawn. The difference between oral supplements and oral medications is hard to draw. If the compound is intended to produce a pharmacological effect and it is usually considered a medication, it should be prescribed by a government licensee to protect the patient. Similarly care of hair and horn (feet) in the horse is considered husbandry, but intervention below the skin requires credentials and a license.

The draft revision is not a final document, nor is it a legal document, and its intent is just to give state veterinary practice boards guidelines for regulating veterinary medicine to protect horses and their owners