How Horses Heal

Courtesy of PATH International

With only a couple of weeks until the official beginning of spring, many of us are raring to get outside. And when the weather’s fine, indoor therapy sessions may be the last thing you, your child or your clients want to do. Fortunately, some types of therapy are meant to take place out of doors. In fact, early spring is a great time to saddle up. For children and adults with special needs, spending time on and around horses can be great fun, as well as therapeutic.

There are two types of horseback riding especially for people with disabilities—hippotherapy and therapeutic or adaptive horseback riding. One of these therapeutic activities may be right for you, your child or a client.

Hippotherapy

Derived from the Greek word for horse “hippo,” hippotherapy is a medical treatment modality that utilizes the natural movements and unique qualities of horses to produce neurological changes that may result in improved posture, increased strength and coordination and sensory integration. Hippotherapy can be beneficial to individuals with neuro-musculoskeletal disabilities such as cerebral palsy, spina bifida, neuromuscular disorders, post-traumatic brain injury, autism, ADHD and cognitive disorders. The therapy is prescribed by a physician and conducted by an occupational, physical or speech and language therapist who has received training and is certified in hippotherapy.

According to Barbara Smith, writing for Parents, “Hippotherapy provides different types of sensory stimulation -- muscles and joints receive deep pressure stimulation from bouncing and holding positions (like kneeling or standing on the horse), and the brain receives vestibular stimulation (to sense movement and balance) as the horse moves (in circles, up and down hills) and changes speeds.”

A 2016 study in the Physical & Occupational Therapy in Pediatrics journal found that “Hippotherapy provided by a trained therapist who applies an intense and graded session for 10 weeks can improve body functions and performance of gross motor and fine motor activities in children with cerebral palsy.”

Therapeutic Riding (also known as Adapted Riding)

According to PATH International (The Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship International) “therapeutic riding is an equine-assisted activity for the purpose of contributing positively to the cognitive, physical, emotional and social well-being of individuals with special needs.”

Therapeutic riding is similar to recreational horseback riding lessons but it’s adapted for people with disabilities and taught by an instructor who is either certified as a therapeutic riding instructor or has experience working with people with disabilities. Horses used in therapeutic riding programs are screened to ensure that they are calm, gentle and predictable enough to keep riders with special needs safe.

A recent study on the effects of therapeutic horseback riding on children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorders published in the journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry found that therapeutic riding decreased irritability and hyperactivity and improved social cognition and language skills beginning in week five of the lessons.

Interested in learning more?

Check out the American Hippotherapy Association, Inc. and Path International.