Equine-Assisted Therapies (EAT) involve the use of horses in therapeutic settings to support physical, emotional, and psychological well-being. These therapies are implemented in various forms, including therapeutic riding, equine-assisted psychotherapy, and hippotherapy. Horses are integrated into the therapeutic process to facilitate interactions that may promote improvements in motor skills, emotional regulation, and social functioning. The unique characteristics of horses, such as their responsiveness to human behavior and non-verbal communication, are leveraged in these interventions. This page compiles peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that explore the methodologies, outcomes, and applications of equine-assisted therapies in diverse populations.
García-Gómez A, Guerrero-Barona E, García-Peña I, Rodríguez-Jiménez M, Moreno-Manso JM.To examine the effect of equine-assisted therapeutic interventions on users' heart rate variability, using this said variability as an objective biological variable related to stress levels. Methods: A systematic review has been carried out using the methodology suggested in the PRISMA declaration following systematic searches in academic databases. Results: 432 registers were initially identified; however, in the screening and suitability process, nine papers were included in the review. With one exception, all of them reported that equine-assisted therapeutic activities had a favourable effe...
Pálsdóttir AM, Gudmundsson M, Grahn P.People with neurological disorders suffer from poor mobility, poor balance, fatigue, isolation and monotonous everyday activities. Studies show that equine-assisted interventions can improve their mobility and balance, but could these kinds of interventions also increase participants' activity repertoire and self-assessed health, and reduce their fatigue? The study was conducted as a prospective, controlled study with three cohorts followed for one year: intervention group ( = 14), control group Passive ( = 29), and control group Active ( = 147). Participants in the study were affected by neur...
Lovrić R, Farčić N, Mikšić Š, Gvozdanović Debeljak A.Therapeutic horseback riding (THR) has a positive effect on the physical, cognitive, and psychosocial functioning of children with disabilities. Parents' reports of the effects of THR on their children support professionals in individualizing the THR program. With this qualitative study, we aimed to explore parents' perceptions of changes in the basic life needs of their children with disabilities after six months of THR lessons and to survey parents' explanations for the causes of these changes. The study involved parents of 13 children with disabilities who were enrolled in a six-month THR p...
Arnon S, Fisher PW, Pickover A, Lowell A, Turner JB, Hilburn A, Jacob-McVey J, Malajian BE, Farber DG, Hamilton JF, Hamilton A, Markowitz JC, Neria Y.Equine-assisted therapy (EAT) for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has attracted great interest despite lacking empirical support, a manual, and a standardized protocol. Our team of experts in EAT and PTSD developed an eight-session group EAT treatment protocol for PTSD (EAT-PTSD) and administered it to two pilot groups of military veterans to assess initial effects. We describe the development of the treatment manual, which was used with two pilot groups of veterans. Protocol safety, feasibility, and acceptability were assessed by reported adverse events, treatment completion rates, and ...
Chakales PA, Locklear J, Wharton T.This study examined the use of an equine-assisted brief course module on stress and depression among medical students (n = 28), a demographic known to experience high pressure. Evidence supports that animal-assisted therapies can lead to the improvement of health and quality of life, particularly in terms of cognitive, psychological, and physical benefits. This study used the seven-session Kane Medicine and Horsemanship program; students completed pre- and post-measures one week before and after the course. Participation in the course significantly reduced perceived stress (p: 0.001), depressi...
Gatti F, Walderhaug E, Kern-Godal A, Lysell J, Arnevik EA.Treatment completion is the greatest challenge for the treatment of substance use disorders (SUDs). A previous investigation showed that complementary horse-assisted therapy (cHAT) was associated with higher retention in treatment and completion than standard treatment alone. This randomized controlled trial further explored the benefits of cHAT for patients with SUDs. Fifty patients in residential SUD treatment at the Department of Addiction Treatment, Oslo University Hospital, were randomly allocated to either cHAT (cHAT group) or treatment as usual alone (TAU-only group). The primary end-po...
Sylvia L, West E, Blackburn AM, Gupta C, Bui E, Mahoney T, Duncan G, Wright EC, Lejeune S, Spencer TJ.Equine-assisted activities and therapies (EAATs) have been a growing adjunctive integrative health modality, as they allow participants to practice mindfulness, emotional regulation, and self-mastery or self-esteem building skills. Preliminary evidence suggests that these programs may be helpful in reducing posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, and depressive symptoms. The current study examines the acceptability of integrating an EAAT program as part of a two-week, intensive clinical program for veterans with PTSD and/or traumatic brain injury (TBI). Methods: A family member or suppo...
Gilboa Y, Helmer A. Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), characterized by inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity, is currently one of the most common diagnoses given to children. Children with ADHD have a unique cognitive profile that involves difficulties in executive functions (EFs) and in the self-management system of the brain, and are at higher risk for educational failure, social and emotional difficulties, and high risk behavior. The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of self-management intervention for attention and executive functions using equine-assisted occupatio...
Mendizábal Alonso P.Cerebral palsy is produced by nonprogressive injury to the developing brain. This lesion produces life-long motor impairments, disturbances in perception, speech, communication, cognition and competence. Physiotherapy is an important part of treatment, and may include hippotherapy, which uses the movement of the horse to stimulate the sensorial, neuromotor and cognitive systems to obtain functional results. Methods: We performed a literature search using distinct databases and the following Keywords: "hippotherapy"; "cerebral palsy"; "children"; "treatment" and "physiotherapy". After applicati...
Schroeder K, Van Allen J, Dhurandhar E, Lancaster B, Heidari Z, Cazenave K, Boone D, Erdman P.In this article, we present an exploratory case study that describes the initial outcomes of the Equine-Assisted Positively Fit (EAPF) program. Children with obesity and their caregivers were recruited to participate in the eight-session program. Results indicated that treatment completers ( = 2) had a decrease in fat mass and fat mass percentage and an increase in fat-free mass and fat-free mass percentage. Moreover, results from accelerometer measurements of physical activity indicated that participants increased their moderate to vigorous physical activity, as well as reported increased sel...
Equine assisted interventions (EAIs) include all therapeutic interventions aimed at improving human wellbeing through the involvement of horses. Due to the prominent emotional involvement traditionally characterizing their relation with humans, horses developed sophisticated communicative skills, which fostered their ability to respond to human emotional states. In this review, we hypothesize that the proximate causation of successful interventions could be human-animal mutual coordination, through which the subjects bodily and, most importantly, emotionally come into contact. We propose that ...
Yang Q, Lopez MJ.The equine hoof capsule, composed of modified epidermis and dermis, is vital for protecting the third phalanx from forces of locomotion. There are descriptions of laminitis, defined as inflammation of sensitive hoof tissues but recognized as pathologic changes with or without inflammatory mediators, in the earliest records of domesticated horses. Laminitis can range from mild to serious, and signs can be acute, chronic, or transition from acute, severe inflammation to permanently abnormal tissue. Damage within the intricate dermal and epidermal connections of the primary and secondary lamellae...
Garbin LC, Olver CS.Autologous platelet-rich plasma (PRP) is a biological preparation made from the patient's own plasma that contains a platelet concentration above the whole blood baseline. Owing to the release of growth factors and other cytokines after degranulation, platelets have a central role in inflammation and in different stages of the healing process. For this reason, PRP-derived products have been used to enhance healing of musculoskeletal injuries and modulate progression of inflammatory processes, including osteoarthritis (OA). Osteoarthritis is one of the main causes of musculoskeletal disabilitie...
Wang L, Zhang W, Wang C, Meng F, Du W, Wang T.In this study, the configuration of a bionic horse robot for equine-assisted therapy is presented. A single-leg system with two degrees of freedom (DOFs) is driven by a cam-linkage mechanism, and it can adjust the span and height of the leg end-point trajectory. After a brief introduction on the quadruped bionic horse robot, the structure and working principle of a single-leg system are discussed in detail. Kinematic analysis of a single-leg system is conducted, and the relationships between the structural parameters and leg trajectory are obtained. On this basis, the pressure angle characteri...
Coffin J.Background: Recent statistics have painted a grim picture for Australia's Aboriginal youth, with reports of higher levels of almost every health indicator, including depression, sexual and emotional abuse, unemployment, and incarceration. Traditional western based therapies have proven to have limited effectiveness in engaging this group as they can often be culturally inappropriate. International studies have provided promising results using equine assisted learning, with a sound methodological basis underpinned by Indigenous ways of being and doing. In Australia Aboriginal people have strong...
White-Lewis S.A concept analysis was conducted to clarify the attributes, antecedents and meaning of equine-assisted therapy and present an operational definition. Concept analysis. Walker and Avant's concept analysis method was used to analyse equine-assisted therapy, using horses as healers by defining and enumerating the attributes, antecedents, consequences and empirical referents. Example cases are presented. Defining attributes include the following: a human participant with an equine physically present to assist the human participant, a treatment or intervention as a result of the interactions betwee...
Wood WH, Fields BE.Comprehensively and systematically map peer-reviewed studies of hippotherapy published over 30 years, from 1980 through 2018, from the perspective of a phased scientific approach to developing complex interventions as a guide to future research and practice. A systematic mapping review of research of hippotherapy was conducted. Searches of nine databases produced 3,528 unique records; 78 full-text, English-written studies were reviewed, the earliest of which was published in 1998. Data relevant to study aims were extracted electronically from these studies and analyzed using queries and pivot ...
van der Steen S, Heineman MMP, Ernst MJA.Multiple authors have called for strong empirical evaluations to strengthen the foundation of Animal-Assisted Interventions. Carefully choosing the outcome measures of these studies is important, as choosing the wrong outcomes may lead to a failure to detect effects. The current study therefore compares and contrasts the use of several outcome measures, to assess the effect of an equine-assisted intervention for a child with Autism Spectrum Disorder: (1) a semi-structured interview with both parents, specifically designed for children with cognitive disabilities, (2) a general screening instru...
Kinney AR, Eakman AM, Lassell R, Wood W.Evidence-based treatments for service-related health conditions such as posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and traumatic brain injury (TBI) are not effective for all veterans. Equine-assisted interventions are emerging as an additional treatment modality, but little is known regarding the safe and effective delivery of these interventions. This study aimed to describe the following features of the body of literature concerning equine-assisted interventions among veterans: 1) veterans who have participated in equine-assisted interventions; 2) specific characteristics of equine-as...
Carrozzo U, Toniato M, Harrison A.Therapeutic ultrasound is a noninvasive technique, which is well tolerated by horses, does not need sedation, and can easily be performed in a routine clinical setting. Twenty-three client-owned sport horses were recruited at Clinica Equina San Biagio and included in this case study. Treatment of the injured suspensory ligament apparatus was administered using an EQ Pro, low-frequency therapeutic unit (38 kHz). The noninvasive treatment consisted of massaging the injured area in combination with a traditional ultrasound gel while maintaining the head of the device in direct contact with the i...
White-Lewis S, Johnson R, Ye S, Russell C.To compare equine-assisted therapy to exercise education on pain, range of motion, and quality of life in adults and older adults with arthritis. Quality of life for adults and older adults is negatively impacted by arthritis pain, stiffness, and decreased function. Equine-assisted therapy provides unique movements to the rider's joints and muscles improving pain, range of motion, and quality of life and has improved outcomes in balance, gait, strength, functional mobility, and spasticity for older adults, stroke, spinal cord injury, and multiple sclerosis patients. No research has investigate...
Grandin T.I was born in 1947 and had autism with speech delay until age four. I am now a college professor of animal science. Horse activities enabled me to make friends through a shared interest in horses. This paper describes the benefits that I experienced from working with horses and my friendships and work skills. A close friendship developed with another student through both riding and horse craft projects. Keeping employment is a serious problem for many people with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The responsibility of caring for horses and cleaning stalls every day taught me good work skills. My...
Mendonça T, Bienboire-Frosini C, Menuge F, Leclercq J, Lafont-Lecuelle C, Arroub S, Pageat P.Equine-assisted therapies (EATs) have been widely used in the treatment of patients with mental or physical conditions. However, studies on the influence of equine-assisted therapy (EAT) on equine welfare are very recent, and the need for further research is often highlighted. The aim of this study was to investigate whether EAT creates negative or positive emotions in horses, and the influence of patients' expectations (one group of patients had physical and psychological expectations and one group of patients had only psychological expectations) on horses' emotional responses. Fifty-eight pa...
Hemingway A, Carter S, Callaway A, Kavanagh E, Ellis S.Though long alluded to, there is now an accumulation of evidence of the vital contribution that emotion makes to learning. Within this broad advance in understanding is a growing body of research emphasising the embodied nature of this emotion-based learning. The study presented here is a pilot study using a mixed-method approach (combining both physiological and experiential methodologies) to give a picture of the "emotional landscape" of people's learning through the intervention under study. This has allowed researchers to examine mediating pathways that may underlie any effects of an equin...
Mendonça T, Bienboire-Frosini C, Kowalczyk I, Leclercq J, Arroub S, Pageat P.The learning and cognitive challenges that horses may face differ according to the activities in which they are involved. The aim of this investigation was to study the influence of equine activities on the behavioral responses and autonomic nervous system (ANS) activity of adult horses. Forty-one horses were divided into four groups: dressage (9), jumping (10), eventing (13) and equine-assisted activity/therapy (9). A test was created to compare the horses' behavioral and physiological responses to different stimuli. The goal was always to obtain a treat. To study the ANS activity, heart rate...
Moriello G, Terpstra ME, Earl J.: The objective of this case series was to document gross motor function, gait parameter, and bladder control outcomes following physical therapy incorporating hippotherapy in children with Down syndrome (DS). : Four children between three and five years of age received eight-weekly physical therapy sessions incorporating hippotherapy. Outcome measures included the Gross Motor Function Measure-88 (GMFM-88), parental perception of function during every day activities, spatiotemporal parameters of gait and bladder control. : Total change scores on the GMFM-88 exceeded the standardized response m...
Martin RA, Taylor WJ, Surgenor LJ, Graham FP, Levack WMM, Blampied NM. Therapeutic horse riding aims to improve the health of children and young people experiencing disability; however, its benefits across a range of health domains, particularly the impact on participation outcomes, are not well known. This research evaluated to what extent there was a change in riders balance, functional performance, social responsiveness, quality of life and participation outcomes as a result of therapeutic horse riding. A multiple-baseline across participants ( = 12) single-case experimental design, with randomly allocated baseline phase lengths, quantitatively evaluated ...
Kim MJ, Kim T, Oh S, Yoon B.Horseback riding is an effective exercise for improving postural control and balance. To reduce costs and improve accessibility, simulated horseback riding has been developed; but no differential effects of simulated and real horseback riding on muscle activation patterns in older adults have been studied. Thus, we compared muscle activation patterns for older and younger adults engaged in real and simulated horseback riding exercises, using surface electromyography recordings of the erector spinae, rectus abdominis, internal oblique abdominis, and rectus femoris muscles. We recorded muscle ac...
Badin L, Alibran É, Pothier K, Bailly N.Equine-assisted interventions (EAI) can improve a variety of health problems in older adults and thus promote their well-being. This systematic review aimed to synthesize studies on EAI to understand better their effects on the health of older adults. Unassigned: A systematic search guided by the PRISMA 2020 approach was performed on specific databases: Medline (PubMed), EMBASE, PsycINFO, and Cochrane Library. Peer-reviewed articles published in the English language from inception to June 2022 were retrieved. Methodological quality was established using the modified version of the Downs and Bl...
Marchand WR, Smith J, Hoopes KH, Osborne M, Andersen SJ, Bell K, Nazarenko E, Macneill R, Joubert K.Pilot assessment of an equine-assisted services intervention for Veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder. Methods: Prospective cohort. Methods: A large Veterans Administration healthcare system. Methods: Two sessions of instruction in horsemanship skills and two sessions of trail rides. Methods: Safety and feasibility of recruitment, retention, providing the intervention, and measuring outcomes, as well as acceptability of the intervention to the population studied were the main outcome measures. Results: There were no injuries among the 18 participants, 6 staff, or 11 equines over the 3 m...
Antunes FN, Pinho ASD, Kleiner AFR, Salazar AP, Eltz GD, de Oliveira Junior AA, Cechetti F, Galli M, Pagnussat AS.Hippotherapy is often carried out for the rehabilitation of children with Cerebral Palsy (CP), with the horse riding at a walking pace. This study aimed to explore the immediate effects of a hippotherapy protocol using a walk-trot pace on spatio-temporal gait parameters and muscle tone in children with Bilateral Spastic CP (BS-CP). Ten children diagnosed with BS-CP and 10 healthy aged-matched children (reference group) took part in this study. The children with BS-CP underwent two sessions of hippotherapy for one week of washout between them. Two protocols (lasting 30min) were applied on separ...
Kraft KA, Weisberg J, Finch MD, Nickel A, Griffin KH, Barnes TL.This report assesses functional mobility in children with neurological impairments and documented gross motor delays, before and after receiving either hippotherapy or standard outpatient physical therapy (PT). This is a case-series report using data previously collected for a discontinued randomized controlled trial, in which participants received hippotherapy or standard outpatient clinic PT for a 12-week treatment period. Results demonstrated both subjective and objective functional mobility improvements after treatment in participants receiving hippotherapy and standard outpatient PT, as d...
Pohl P, Carlsson G, Bunketorp Käll L, Nilsson M, Blomstrand C.Multimodal rehabilitation interventions delivered in late phase of stroke recovery involve physical (motor and sensory), social, and cognitively challenging activities. Horseback riding can be incorporated within such interventions, leading to meaningful long-term improvements when applied to individuals with moderate levels of disability. There is a lack of research illuminating stroke survivors' experiences and perceptions of horseback riding in the context of multimodal interventions. To explore stroke survivors' experiences of participation in a multimodal group-based intervention that inc...
Cabiddu R, Borghi-Silva A, Trimer R, Trimer V, Ricci PA, Italiano Monteiro C, Camargo Magalhães Maniglia M, Silva Pereira AM, Rodrigues das Chagas G....Neurological disorders are associated with autonomic dysfunction. Hippotherapy (HT) is a therapy treatment strategy that utilizes a horse in an interdisciplinary approach for the physical and mental rehabilitation of people with physical, mental and/or psychological disabilities. However, no studies have been carried out which evaluated the effects of HT on the autonomic control in these patients. Therefore, the objective of the present study was to investigate the effects of a single HT session on cardiovascular autonomic control by time domain and non-linear analysis of heart rate variabilit...
Jung YG, Chang HJ, Jo ES, Kim DH.This study aimed to evaluate the effect of a horse-riding simulator (HRS) with virtual reality (VR) on gross motor function, balance control, and body composition in children with spastic cerebral palsy (CP). Seventeen preschool and school-aged children with spastic CP were included; 10 children in the intervention group (HRS group) received 30 min of HRS with VR training twice a week for a total of 16 sessions in addition to conventional physiotherapy. Seven children in the control group were instructed to perform home-based aerobic exercises twice a week for 8 weeks in addition to convention...
Borges de Araujo T, Martins WR, Freitas MP, Camargos E, Mota J, Safons MP.Alzheimer disease (AD) is a chronic, progressive dementia syndrome that features cognitive and behavioral symptoms, as well as physical and functional limitations that develop over the course of the disease. As an activity that involves physical and cognitive aspects, equine-assisted therapy (EAT) could be a useful therapeutic approach in conditions that involve physical and cognitive decline. However, to date, there are no reports of the use of this therapy in participants with AD. Within this context, the objective of this case series was to describe the effects of EAT on balance, functional...
Siewertsen CM, French ED, Teramoto M.Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) encompasses a wide range of social and mental afflictions that are difficult to treat. Due to a lack of established treatments for ASD, alternative therapies have been the primary form of intervention. One of these alternatives is pet therapy, a field that has experienced growing interest and has recently accumulated studies that investigate its efficacy. This article reviews and summarizes that effectiveness as well as the findings and limitations associated with pet therapy for ASD. The majority of research on ASD and pet therapy has examined children and has p...
Kern-Godal A, Brenna IH, Arnevik EA, Ravndal E.Inclusion of horse-assisted therapy (HAT) in substance use disorder (SUD) treatment is rarely reported. Our previous studies show improved treatment retention and the importance of the patient-horse relationship. This qualitative study used thematic analysis, within a social constructionist framework, to explore how eight patients experienced contextual aspects of HAT's contribution to their SUD treatment. Participants described HAT as a "break from usual treatment". However, four interrelated aspects of this experience, namely "change of focus", "activity", "identity", and "motivation," sugge...
Matusiak-Wieczorek E, Dziankowska-Zaborszczyk E, Synder M, Borowski A.The purpose of this study was to assess the influence of hippotherapy (therapy with horses) on posture and body function among children with cerebral palsy. A case-control study included forty-five children aged 6-12 years, classified as Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS) level I or II, with spastic diplegia or hemiplegia. The participants were randomly divided into three groups: study I (n = 15), study II (n = 15) and control (n = 15). The children from the study groups attended 30min hippotherapy sessions for 12 consecutive weeks, twice (study group I) or once (study group II...
Aho R, Tala M, Kivalo M.The first identified Finnish case of equine mycotic keratitis caused by Aspergillus fumigatus is described. The clinical picture, the sampling method, the macro- and micromorphology of the causative fungus and the therapy applied are reported in detail. Therapy with natamycin (Pimafucin 2.5% eyedrops. Gist-Brocades) was successful. Mykotisk keratit hos häst orsakad av beskrivs första gången i Finland. Klinisk bild, provtagning, makroskopisk och mikroskopisk morfologi av svampen samt terapi rapporteras i detalj. Terapin med natamycin (Pimafucin® 2.5 % ögondroppar, Gist-Brocades) var effek...
Marchand WR, Joubert K, Smith J, Nazarenko E, Klinger W, Sheppard S, Hoopes KH.The aim of this observational pilot study was to assess the safety, feasibility, preliminary outcomes, and predictors of participant response as a result of implementing an equine-assisted intervention within a residential substance abuse treatment program at a large Veterans Administration medical center. A secondary aim was to evaluate psychological instruments for use in future, more rigorous studies. The overarching goal was to complete the necessary work to prepare for a large randomized controlled trial of this intervention for Veterans with addictive disorders. Methods: Participants wer...
Corring D, Lundberg E, Rudnick A.One form of psychiatric leisure rehabilitation which has only recently been explored for individuals with schizophrenia is Therapeutic Horseback Riding (THBR). This study is the first to examine THBR for Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) patients with schizophrenia. A sample of 6 ACT patients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder who reside in the community and 6 mental health care staff participated in 10 weeks of weekly horseback riding sessions with an experienced THBR instructor. Participating patients, staff and the THBR instructor were qualitatively interviewed at the start, ...
Schwesig R, Neumann S, Richter D, Kauert R, Becker S, Esperer HD, Leuchte S.Hippotherapy has become an important therapeutic option in patients suffering from motoric dysfunction. The physiologic basis of this approach is the three-dimensional transmission of the horse's motion onto the patients body. These motion stimuli are believed to exert possitve effects on the patients's postural control systems. Objective: To test the hypothesis that hippotherapy has both positive short- and lang-term effects on gait and posture control of persons suffering from motoric disabilities. Methods: Twenty-two children and adolescents aged 9.69 +/- 4.01 years (range: 9.69 +/- 4.01 ye...
Rankins EM, McKeever KH, Malinowski K.Equid welfare in equine assisted services (EAS) is an area that has received attention, but less attention than the documentation of human outcomes in response to EAS. To safeguard the well-being of equids and minimize human risk of injury, continued research on the effects of EAS programming and participants on equids needs to occur. The aims of this systematic scoping review were to identify the approaches taken for describing and understanding equids in EAS and the methods employed in evaluating equids' responses to EAS programming, participants, or both. Literature searches were performed ...
Murphy D, Kahn-D'Angelo L, Gleason J.The purpose of this study was to measure the effect of hippotherapy on functional outcomes using the Goal Attainment Scale (GAS) for children with physical disabilities. Methods: Participants included 4 children aged 5 to 9 years with physical impairments and/or documented motor delays. Individual measurable objectives were developed using the GAS for each child. Data were collected on each child every other week throughout the baseline and intervention phase over 1 year using a multiple single case experimental A-B design. Results: Three of the 4 children had a significant improvement in func...
Ayala MD, Carrillo A, Iniesta P, Ferrer P.Different welfare indicators were studied in three patients with psychomotor alterations and in two horses throughout 9-10 equine assisted therapy sessions in each patient. In horses, heart and respiratory rates, blood pressure, temperature and behavioral signs were studied. In patients, heart rate, oxygen saturation, temperature, sleep quality, psychomotor and emotional parameters were analyzed. Data collection was recorded in the anticipatory phase (15 min before the start of the session), two interaction phases (after 30 min of horse-patient interaction on the ground and on horseback, respe...
Žalienė L, Mockevičienė D, Kreivinienė B, Razbadauskas A, Kleiva Ž, Kirkutis A.. To evaluate the effects of riding for beginners (short-term) and advanced (long-term) riders with cerebral palsy on their whole mobility. The study involved 15 subjects (two girls and eleven boys). The subjects were aged from 3 to 19 years (8.73 years ± 5.85). All of the subjects had been diagnosed with a spastic form of cerebral palsy. The duration of the participation differed as follows: the advanced subjects had been riding for 1-4 years (2.66 years ± 1.16), while the beginners have been riding for two weeks (10 sessions). Group I (advanced riders) consisted of eight subjects (7 boys a...
Homnick TD, Henning KM, Swain CV, Homnick DN.Equine assisted activities (hippotherapy and therapeutic riding) improve balance in patients with disabilities such as cerebral palsy, but have not been systematically studied in older adults, at risk of falls due to balance deficits. We conducted a 10-week, single blind, controlled trial of the effect of a therapeutic horseback riding course on measures of balance in community-dwelling adults 65 years and older. Nine riders and six controls completed the trial. Controls were age matched to riders and all participants were recruited from the local community. Both groups showed improvements in ...
Rankins EM, Wickens CL, McKeever KH, Malinowski K.Little published information exists on the horses in equine-assisted services (EAS), particularly their selection, longevity, and retirement. The purpose of this study was to characterize horses and procedures used in EAS. A pilot survey was developed using focus group discussions and distributed to Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship, International (PATH Intl) centers in Florida ( = 45, Part I) before further modification and distribution to members of PATH Intl., American Hippotherapy Association (AHA), eagala, and Certified Horsemanship Association (CHA) ( = 26,000, Part II...
Dirienzo LN, Dirienzo LT, Baceski DA.The study was designed to document the heart rate response to therapeutic riding in children with cerebral palsy having mild-to-severe disability. Methods: Participants consisted of eight youth riders with cerebral palsy, divided into two groups: ambulatory and wheelchair dependent. The riders received continuous digital heart rate monitoring during 10 weekly 20-minute therapeutic horseback riding sessions. Results: The averaged resting, median, and peak heart rate values, as well as the peak percentage heart rate reserve values, were significantly higher in the wheelchair-dependent group. Con...
Hemingway A, Carter S, Callaway A, Kavanagh E, Ellis S.Though long alluded to, there is now an accumulation of evidence of the vital contribution that emotion makes to learning. Within this broad advance in understanding is a growing body of research emphasising the embodied nature of this emotion-based learning. The study presented here is a pilot study using a mixed-method approach (combining both physiological and experiential methodologies) to give a picture of the "emotional landscape" of people's learning through the intervention under study. This has allowed researchers to examine mediating pathways that may underlie any effects of an equin...
Del Rosario-Montejo O, Molina-Rueda F, Muñoz-Lasa S, Alguacil-Diego IM.Equine therapy, an intervention method that has been practiced for decades around the world, is used to treat patients susceptible to psychomotor delays. Objective: We examine development of gross motor function compared to other psychomotor skills in patients undergoing this therapy, and analyse how this improvement affects general health status and quality of life. Methods: The study includes 11 children with delayed psychomotor development (aged 8.82 ± 3.89; 6 boys, 5 girls). The main study variables were gross motor function (GMFM-88) and perceived quality of life (Pediatric Quality of ...
Kloock T, Hellige M, Kloock A, Feige K, Niebuhr T.Most horses affected by headshaking (HS) are diagnosed with idiopathic trigeminal-mediated headshaking (i-TMHS) when no underlying disease is found. Diagnosis is made by the exclusion of differentials considering history, clinical signs, and diagnostic investigations. Therefore, in horses presented with headshaking, many diagnostic procedures and therapies are conducted. Retrospectively, the digital patient records of 240 horses with HS were analysed regarding the impact of diagnostic procedures on diagnosis, therapy, and outcome. Horses were extensively examined using a standardised protocol ...
Asselin G, Penning JH, Ramanujam S, Neri R, Ward C.To determine an incomplete spinal cord injured veteran's experience following participation in a therapeutic horseback riding program. Methods: Following the establishment of a nationwide therapeutic riding program for America's wounded service veterans in 2007, a Certified Rehabilitation Registered Nurse from the Michael E. DeBakey Veteran Affairs Medical Center worked with an incomplete spinal cord injured veteran who participated in the Horses for Heroes program. Results: This program resulted in many benefits for the veteran, including an increase in balance, muscle strength, and self-este...
Morgan RA, Keen JA, Homer N, Nixon M, McKinnon-Garvin AM, Moses-Williams JA, Davis SR, Hadoke PWF, Walker BR.Equine Cushing disease [pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction (PPID)] is a common condition of older horses, but its pathophysiology is complex and poorly understood. In contrast to pituitary-dependent hyperadrenocorticism in other species, PPID is characterized by elevated plasma ACTH but not elevated plasma cortisol. In this study, we address this paradox and the hypothesis that PPID is a syndrome of ACTH excess in which there is dysregulation of peripheral glucocorticoid metabolism and binding. In 14 horses with PPID compared with 15 healthy controls, we show that in plasma, cortisol levels...
Schroeder K, Van Allen J, Dhurandhar E, Lancaster B, Heidari Z, Cazenave K, Boone D, Erdman P.In this article, we present an exploratory case study that describes the initial outcomes of the Equine-Assisted Positively Fit (EAPF) program. Children with obesity and their caregivers were recruited to participate in the eight-session program. Results indicated that treatment completers ( = 2) had a decrease in fat mass and fat mass percentage and an increase in fat-free mass and fat-free mass percentage. Moreover, results from accelerometer measurements of physical activity indicated that participants increased their moderate to vigorous physical activity, as well as reported increased sel...
