Meet the Chirovet Team

Julia Ledger-Muennich, Holistic Veterinary Surgeon in Kent

(Owner and Founder)

As a fully qualified veterinary surgeon and member of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, I have spent over fifteen years practicing holistic and integrative medicine as a frontline approach to animal health. From my practice in Great Chart, near Ashford, Kent, I treat dogs, cats, and horses by leading with advanced alternative modalities—including acupuncture, Chinese and Western herbal medicine, food therapy, chiropractic care, Tui-Na, and homeopathy where appropriate.

My mission is to bring integrative medicine to the forefront of your animal’s healthcare strategy. While I work in close communication and partnership with your conventional veterinary surgeon, my treatments are not merely supportive add-ons to Western medicine. Instead, they form a primary pathway designed to optimize vitality and healing from a holistic perspective.

Learn a little more about me…

Dr. med. vet. Julia Ledger-Muennich Veterinary Surgeon, MRCVS

Graduating as a veterinary practitioner from the Justus Liebig University in Giessen, Germany, I completed the practical examinations for my thesis ´Ultrasonograhic examination of the equine mammary gland, a contribution to improving the examination of the mare’s udder’ in the Clinic for Horses in Kerken, Wachtendonk. This is a 46-box clinic with outstanding surgical facilities, specialising in colic surgery and orthopaedics. Here I worked exclusively on night duties looking after the inpatients, particularly the intensive care stable, involving both post surgical care as well as conservative treatment.

I gained broad experience in general equine practice where my case load was mostly first opinion ambulatory work but included lameness workups with nerve and intra-articular blocks, gastroscopies, bronchoscopies as well as anaesthetics for the hospitalised patients.

Over the years I found that traditional veterinary practice did not always improve the patients to my satisfaction, leading me further afield to explore acupuncture and chiropractic practice. I was looking for treatments not to replace, but to actively complement, the traditional veterinary methods. I subsequently found that a more comprehensive and wide-ranging approach to animal wellbeing was providing better results for my patients, so I opened up my own practice to include equine and canine chiropractic and veterinary acupuncture treatment. This soon led me to explore the Traditional Chinese Medicine more in depth as I was looking to treat the root not just the symptom of a problem. The practice created a happy medium offering a holistic approach to animal wellbeing backed up by my veterinary qualification and broad experience. It proved to be such a successful tool that I now solely focus on Traditional Chinese Herbs, Food therapy, Acupuncture and homeopathic treatment where I find appropriate, while keeping up to date with the latest developments in conventional medicine. 

How I work with dogs and cats

While my professional journey began in the equine world, the heart of my practice now focuses on caring for dogs and cats. Many owners seek my support when conventional veterinary treatments have achieved all they can, or when they are looking for a gentle, complementary therapy to run in harmony with their primary vet’s care. 

I frequently support animals managing chronic conditions such as arthritis, back pain, mobility issues, and epilepsy, as well as providing specialized skin care, cancer support, and compassionate comfort for senior pets. Whether visiting horses at their yards or treating companions at the practice, my goal is always to enhance their quality of life.

Further Qualifications

I have undergone extensive training to offer a comprehensive solution to my patients in terms of holistic animal care, whether it is small animal or equine patients. My Federation Equestre Internationale (FEI) accredited work at four-star events allows me to support my patients up to Olympic standard.

• I have been certified in animal chiropractic since 2008, following a one-year course.
• I studied acupuncture and traditional Chinese medicine in some depth, qualifying as a veterinary acupuncturist in 2011.
• I am a certified Tui Na practitioner in Chinese manipulative therapy, a manual therapy to complement the chiropractic and bodywork. It is one of the four pillars of traditional Chinese Medicine: acupuncture, food therapy, herbs and Tui Na.
• I am a Certified Chinese Veterinary Herbalist, following a two-year course, which is accredited by the World Association of Traditional Veterinary Chinese Medicine (WATCVM).
• I am a Certified Traditional Chinese Veterinary Herbalist accredited by the International Veterinary Acupuncture Society (IVAS). This course has further built on my previously completed Chinese herbal course knowledge.
• Over the years I have also studied Traditional Chinese Veterinary Food Therapy and Myofascial Release Techniques, Veterinary Scalp Acupuncture to name only a few more.
• I hold Federation Equestre Internationale (FEI) veterinary accreditation that allows me to work as an FEI Permitted Treating Veterinarian at FEI events, where I have worked at Badminton Horse Trials, Burghley Horse Trials and the CHIO in Aachen, Germany.
• I have completed Advanced Certification in Neuroacupuncture, which I use with stroke, epilepsy, neurological and geriatric patients.

Tamara, Practice Manager

Tamara joined the practice in 2021 as practice manager. She is Julia’s support in organising the day-to-day schedule and she is the point of contact for all enquiries, diary changes and herbal prescription requests. Tamara has become the backbone of the practice, bringing things together with her attention to detail.

When Tamara is not working for Julia, she looks after her own much-loved animals at home in Great Chart. She is a very experienced rider and a lifelong cat and dog owner, so she can empathise with almost every question that comes into the practice.

Away from the practice, Tamara is a qualified personal trainer, runs her own spin studio in Great Chart and competes in bodybuilding.

Tamara is the person to go to with any question. She will make it happen.

Working with your own vet

Chirovet does not replace your conventional practice. Vaccinations, diagnostics, imaging, surgery and emergency care all stay with them. I work alongside your conventional vet and with your permission I will ask them for the medical history to have all the information. This is a legal requirement. 

Where we are

The practice is at Great Chart, a couple of minutes outside Ashford in Kent, with parking on site. Owners travel to us from across Kent and the wider South East, including London, Ashford, Canterbury, Maidstone, Folkestone and Tenterden. Horses can be seen at the practice or at their own yards by prior arrangement.