Animal-Assisted Therapy (AAT) involving horses, also known as equine-assisted therapy, utilizes the interaction between humans and horses to achieve therapeutic outcomes. This therapeutic approach is employed in various settings, including mental health, physical rehabilitation, and developmental disorders. Horses, due to their size, sensitivity, and social nature, are considered suitable partners in therapeutic interventions. The therapy sessions can involve activities such as grooming, leading, and riding, which are designed to promote physical, emotional, and cognitive benefits. This page compiles peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that explore the methodologies, outcomes, and applications of equine-assisted therapy in diverse populations.
Hoagwood KE, Acri M, Morrissey M, Peth-Pierce R.To systematically review experimental evidence about animal-assisted therapies (AAT) for children or adolescents with or at risk for mental health conditions, we reviewed all experimental AAT studies published between 2000-2015, and compared studies by animal type, intervention, and outcomes. Methods: Studies were included if used therapeutically for children and adolescents (≤21 years) with or at risk for a mental health problem; used random assignment or a waitlist comparison/control group; and included child-specific outcome data. Of 1,535 studies, 24 met inclusion criteria. Results: Of 2...
Adams C, Arratoon C, Boucher J, Cartier G, Chalmers D, Dell CA, Dell D, Dryka D, Duncan R, Dunn K, Hopkins C, Longclaws L, MacKinnon T, Sauve E....There has been recent interest in Canada exploring the benefits of equine assisted interventions in the treatment of First Nations youth who misuse volatile substances. Using the richness of an exploratory case study involving the White Buffalo Youth Inhalant Treatment Centre and the Cartier Equine Learning Center, our community-based study examined the question of how an Equine Assisted Learning (EAL) program contributes to the wellbeing of First Nations female youth who misuse volatile substances. Both programs are grounded in a holistic bio-psycho-social-spiritual framework of healing. Our ...
Borgi M, Loliva D, Cerino S, Chiarotti F, Venerosi A, Bramini M, Nonnis E, Marcelli M, Vinti C, De Santis C, Bisacco F, Fagerlie M, Frascarelli M....In this study the effectiveness of an equine-assisted therapy (EAT) in improving adaptive and executive functioning in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) was examined (children attending EAT, n = 15, control group n = 13; inclusion criteria: IQ > 70). Therapeutic sessions consisted in structured activities involving horses and included both work on the ground and riding. Results indicate an improvement in social functioning in the group attending EAT (compared to the control group) and a milder effect on motor abilities. Improved executive functioning was also observed (i.e. reduc...
Nurenberg JR, Schleifer SJ, Shaffer TM, Yellin M, Desai PJ, Amin R, Bouchard A, Montalvo C.Animal-assisted therapy (AAT), most frequently used with dogs, is being used increasingly as an adjunctive alternative treatment for psychiatric patients. AAT with larger animals, such as horses, may have unique benefits. In this randomized controlled study, equine and canine forms of AAT were compared with standard treatments for hospitalized psychiatric patients to determine AAT effects on violent behavior and related measures. Methods: The study included 90 patients with recent in-hospital violent behavior or highly regressed behavior. Hospitalization at the 500-bed state psychiatric hospit...
Pendry P, Carr AM, Smith AN, Roeter SM.There is growing evidence that promoting social competence in youth is an effective strategy to prevent mental, emotional, and behavioral disorders in adulthood. Research suggests that programs delivered in collaboration with schools are particularly effective when they target social and emotional skill building, utilize an interactive instructional style, provide opportunities for youth participation and self-direction, and include explicit attempts to enhance youth social competence. A relatively new but popular approach that incorporates these characteristics is human animal interaction, wh...
Explore (New York, N.Y.)December 17, 2013
Volume 10, Issue 2 81-87 doi: 10.1016/j.explore.2013.12.001
Kendall E, Maujean A, Pepping CA, Wright JJ.In the last few decades, therapeutic horse-riding has become recognized as a progressive form of therapy, particularly for people with disabilities. Although there is a substantial amount of literature that supports the physical benefit of therapeutic riding, only anecdotal evidence exists in relation to its psychological benefits. Objective: The purpose of this article is to develop hypotheses about the mechanisms by which therapeutic riding might have a beneficial psychological effect. These hypotheses can then be tested, leading to a more detailed knowledge base. Methods: PsychINFO, MEDLINE...
Ansorge J, Sudres JL.The use of a horse or pony as a therapeutic tool is often presented in the media as a recent phenomenon. A survey of 103 institutions shows that it is in fact an approach well rooted in child and adolescent psychiatry. However, professionals who use equine-assisted therapy are calling for an assessment to be carried out enabling them to hone their practices.
Dimitrijević I.Animal-assisted therapy is a familiar method of treatment in the rehabilitation of many illnesses and conditions, but is still not applied sufficiently in our milieu. This paper gives an overview of the available literature and some of the research which demonstrates that the interaction between the patient, animal and therapist provides a context which improves communication, elevates self-confidence, reduces the symptoms of diseases, and improves the quality of life. The dog, cat, horse, birds and toy animals are most often used in therapy. Short-term contacts with animals are used, as well ...
Meinersmann KM, Bradberry J, Roberts FB.This qualitative study examined the stories of 5 women who experienced abuse and participated in equine-facilitated psychotherapy (EFP) as part of their recovery. Anecdotal accounts support the effectiveness of EFP with women who have experienced abuse, but there is a lack of supporting research. This study was designed to examine the effectiveness of EFP in the treatment of women who have experienced abuse. Selection criteria included age, experience of abuse, participation in EFP, and ability to understand English. Data analysis identified four patterns in the participants' stories: I Can Ha...
Explore (New York, N.Y.)June 20, 2006
Volume 2, Issue 3 264-268 doi: 10.1016/j.explore.2006.03.013
Haylock PJ, Cantril CA.Nearly 10 years ago, I looked at a poster exhibit for a nonprofit organization's camping experience for cancer survivors. One of the images in particular remains with me to this day. It was of an elderly man wearing a cowboy hat and the great grin on his wrinkled face as he stood next to a beautiful sorrel horse. The woman at the poster told me the story behind the picture: The man had advanced cancer and had already entered a hospice program, even though he was still physically active. He'd told many people that his biggest regret in life was that he'd never gotten to ride a horse. The photog...
Boldt E.The use of complementary and alternative veterinary medicine continues to grow within the veterinary community. As more clients seek out complementary and alternative medicine for their own health care, they begin to seek out these forms of therapy for their animals. For the equine practitioner, this includes those clients with geriatric animals. It is hoped that this article provides some insight into what conditions may be helped with CVM (complementary veterinary medicine) and when an equine practitioner may want to consider CVM as a form of therapy for the geriatric horse.
Scheidhacker M, Bender W, Vaitl P.After describing horse-riding as a facility in managing mentally ill patients, a program for chronic schizophrenic in-patients is presented. Clinical experience with this program and also results of a controlled study are reported. The therapeutic value and slope for horse-riding are discussed in relation to different diagnoses.
Kovács G, van Dijke A, Enders-Slegers MJ.The growing field of equine-assisted psychotherapy (EAP), a subfield of animal-assisted psychotherapy (AAP), needs theoretically-based clinical studies. This systematic review examines the existing clinical studies in adult populations on psychodynamic psychotherapy combined with equine-assisted psychotherapy. An electronic database search was divided in two studies to identify publications on 1) EAP combined with psychodynamic psychotherapy and 2) EAP combined to personality problems and traumatization in order to compile studies by population, intervention, outcome and therapeutic assets. St...
Hultsjö S, Jormfeldt H.Adopting positive health interventions is necessary to promote self-image, improve well-being, support meaningful social interaction and reduce loneliness, with benefits for psychological and physical health for persons with psychotic conditions. Raised awareness of the potential benefits of involving horses in these kinds of interventions is warranted. Thus, the aim of this study was to explore the role of the horse in equine-assisted interventions (EAI) as conceptualized among persons with psychotic conditions. Interviews were conducted with eight persons with psychotic conditions who had pa...
Ward J, Hovey A, Brownlee K.Across mental health professionals, there is growing interest in the field of Equine-Assisted Therapy (EAT). Preliminary evidence suggests EAT is beneficial for a wide spectrum of client populations. EAT programs may be based on groundwork alone, where participants interact with the horses from the ground only, or they may incorporate mounted activities. It remains unclear whether mounted activities add therapeutic benefits to the EAT experience for participants. This scoping review explored whether mounted activities, specifically where the client rides the horse, contribute to distinct thera...
Fennig MW, Weber E, Santos B, Fitzsimmons-Craft EE, Wilfley DE.Eating disorders (EDs) are deadly illnesses with high relapse rates, highlighting need for better interventions. Animal-assisted therapy (AAT) has been implemented supplementally for EDs, with horses utilized at many residential facilities. AAT shows promise with meta-analyses of randomized control trials (RCTs) showing significant decreases in depression, anxiety, and negative affect; however, no review to date has evaluated efficacy for EDs. Therefore, this study conducted a systematic review of primary literature to investigate the efficacy of AAT for EDs. A systematic review was conducted ...
Peters BC, Pan Z, Christensen H, Gabriels RL.Emerging evidence suggests therapeutic horseback riding improves self-regulation behaviors, social functioning, and language in youth with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). It has been theorized that interacting with horses is calming for youth with ASD, which may influence social and language outcomes. The current study is an exploratory secondary mediation analysis of a previously published randomized controlled trial of therapeutic horseback riding for youth with ASD. We hypothesized that self-regulation would mediate therapeutic horseback riding's effect on social and language outcomes in yo...
Scheidhacker M, Bender W, Vaitl P.After describing horse-riding as a facility in managing mentally ill patients, a program for chronic schizophrenic in-patients is presented. Clinical experience with this program and also results of a controlled study are reported. The therapeutic value and slope for horse-riding are discussed in relation to different diagnoses.
Meinersmann KM, Bradberry J, Roberts FB.This qualitative study examined the stories of 5 women who experienced abuse and participated in equine-facilitated psychotherapy (EFP) as part of their recovery. Anecdotal accounts support the effectiveness of EFP with women who have experienced abuse, but there is a lack of supporting research. This study was designed to examine the effectiveness of EFP in the treatment of women who have experienced abuse. Selection criteria included age, experience of abuse, participation in EFP, and ability to understand English. Data analysis identified four patterns in the participants' stories: I Can Ha...
Using animals for medical care has a long history. Animals have long been recognized for their ability to improve human health and well-being throughout nations and civilizations. Animal-assisted therapy is a concept that incorporates intentional and regulated interactions between individuals and animals to achieve therapeutic aims. Hippotherapy is an animal-assisted therapy consisting of medical procedures and practices that use horses to restore and enhance physical and mental health. The effectiveness of hippotherapy is evidenced by its ability to have a favorable influence on various dom...
Cheng X, Qian L, Fan Y, Tang Q, Wu H.Inhibitory control (IC), an important component of executive function, plays an important role in the overall development of children and has not been better studied in the field of equine-assisted activity (EAA). Therefore, this study investigated the effects of EAA on IC and the underlying brain neural mechanisms in children aged 7-8 years. Conclusions: Collectively, EAA demonstrated a positive impact on IC and could effectively activate R-DLPFC in children aged 7-8 years. Furthermore, it enhanced the activation of the brain regions related to IC and increased cognitive ability in children a...
Carillon B, Jarzebowski W, Fulpin B, Miliotis A, Bernadac A, Saint-Georges Chaumet Y, Belmin J.Experienced in psychomotricity in two nursing homes, pony-assisted therapy shows first positive effects on psycho-behavioral symptoms. Recognized in the field of disability and psychiatry, this form of therapy is not developed in gerontology. To measure the effects of this therapy on the behavior of elderly people with neurocognitive disorders living in long-term care and especially on the involvement in this activity. Anxiety and apathy were chosen as the measurement criteria. An intervention study with an experimental cross-study design was conducted over two months for 23 subjects. An inter...
Boldt E.The use of complementary and alternative veterinary medicine continues to grow within the veterinary community. As more clients seek out complementary and alternative medicine for their own health care, they begin to seek out these forms of therapy for their animals. For the equine practitioner, this includes those clients with geriatric animals. It is hoped that this article provides some insight into what conditions may be helped with CVM (complementary veterinary medicine) and when an equine practitioner may want to consider CVM as a form of therapy for the geriatric horse.
Ansorge J, Sudres JL.The use of a horse or pony as a therapeutic tool is often presented in the media as a recent phenomenon. A survey of 103 institutions shows that it is in fact an approach well rooted in child and adolescent psychiatry. However, professionals who use equine-assisted therapy are calling for an assessment to be carried out enabling them to hone their practices.
Chalvignac L, Galia P, Faure P, Prieto N.For several years, animal-mediated therapies have been used in the treatment of psychiatric patients. Post-traumatic stress disorder has the particularity of being generated by an external event in a person a priori free of mental pathology. In this disorder, various so-called targeted psychotherapies have proven to be effective, including equine therapy.
