Human-animal interaction with regards to horses encompasses the various ways in which humans and horses engage and communicate with each other. This field of study examines the behavioral, psychological, and physiological responses that occur during these interactions. Researchers investigate aspects such as the impact of human presence on horse behavior, the effects of different training methods, and the mutual benefits of human-horse relationships. Studies often focus on how these interactions influence equine welfare, training outcomes, and human psychological well-being. This page compiles peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that explore the dynamics, outcomes, and implications of human-animal interactions involving horses.
Potvin-Bélanger A, Vincent C, Freeman A, Flamand VH.The aim was to document the effects of hippotherapy on the 12 life habits of children with various disabilities. A systematic review using PRISMA guidelines was conducted to identify relevant studies. Five databases were consulted. Inclusion criteria were: 2-to-18 years old; therapy provided by a PT, OT or SLP/SLT; variables relevant to life habits as defined by the Human Development Model - Disability Creation Process. Quality was analyzed using a quantitative studies critical review form developed by the McMaster University Occupational Therapy Evidence-Based Practice Research Group. Level...
Cheng X, Kong X, Fan Y, Wang X, Li Z, Wu H.Generally, adequate motor coordination (MC) ability is one among the critical factors for the overall development of children. In this paper, we have thoroughly analyzed the effects of equine-assistant activity (EAA) training on MC in children. For this purpose, MC test, specifically for children, was used to the Körperkoordinationstest für Kinder (KTK), and a total of 100 children, particularly those in 8 to 10 age, were equally separated into equine-assistant activity group (EAAG) and control group (CG), respectively. The EAAG group has attended a 14-week EAA training program, while the CG...
Almasloukh KB.The purpose of this paper is to explore what is known about equine-assisted activities and therapies based on Roy's adaptation model. Quality of life for vulnerable populations who engage with equine-assisted activities and therapies is considered the main concept here. This state-of-the-art review was conducted from four databases ranging from January 2019 to February 2020. Limited studies examined the effect of equine-assisted activities and therapies on cancer survivors, although preliminary data were promising. The rural context was not extensively examined. Thus, equine-assisted activitie...
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...
Sabiniewicz A, Białek M, Tarnowska K, Świątek R, Dobrowolska M, Sorokowski P.Mammalian body odour conveys cues about an individual's emotional state that can be recognised by conspecifics. Thus far, little attention has been paid to interspecific odour communication of emotions, and no studies have examined whether humans are able to recognise animal emotions from body odour. Thus, the aim of the present study was to address this question. Body odour samples were collected from 16 two-year-old thoroughbred horses in fear and non-fear situations, respectively. The horse odour samples were then assessed by 73 human odour raters. We found that humans, as a group, were abl...
Amado-Fuentes M, Gozalo M, Garcia-Gomez A, Barrios-Fernandez S.People with disabilities due to genetic origin often present high levels of stress: non-pharmacological interventions such as Equine-Assisted Interventions (EAI) may be a useful strategy. The objective of this pilot study was to evaluate stress levels in two participants with 22q11.2 deletion syndrome diagnosis, immediately after carrying out the EAI. A single case experimental design methodology was chosen due to the small sample size. Two participants with 22q11.2 Deletion Syndrome, a rare disease, with different comorbidities were included. The present study considered the EAI as the indepe...
Stolz I, Tillmann V, Anneken V, Froboese I.Scientific investigation and documentation of equine-assisted therapy has increased over the past several years. Yet there are no standardized and validated tools for evidence-based measurement of processes and outcomes to assess equine-assisted interventions. Objective: The objective of this cross-sectional survey study was to develop a standardized assessment tool for the effective measurement of equine-assisted therapy based on the common language of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) framework of the World Health Organization (WHO). Methods: Cross-...
Li HP, Wang NP, Dai YT.Human activity intensity is mostly used to quantify the degree of human influence on natural systems, with obvious spatial variability. With Lashihai watershed in Yunnan Province as an example, we used SPOT remote sensing images to update land use data, and obtained a comprehensive index of land use intensity after gridding by assigning weights to different land types, which was considered as the basic human activity intensity. The local tourism activities (horseback riding and boating) were also included. The horseback riding and boating were spatially quantified according to the location of ...
The American surgeonOctober 13, 2021
Volume 89, Issue 4 875-880 doi: 10.1177/00031348211048836
Bhade P, Parsons A, Smiley A, Shreffler J, Nash N, Baker J, Harbrecht B, Huecker M.The potential for significant traumatic injury to individuals who interact with horses remains high due to animal size, forces applied, and unpredictability. Despite an estimated 30 million riders in the United States annually, few recent publications have addressed this patient population. Objective: This study describes characteristics of patients injured in interactions with horses, focusing on mechanism of injury and use of protective equipment. Methods: We queried our institution's trauma registry for all patients admitted for equine-related injuries (ERI) between January 1, 2013 and Dece...
Tumlin K, Liu S, Park JH.The foundation of healthy workplace design is an understanding of work practices. Volunteers comprise the majority of the workforce in care centers using horses to address human health issues. Documentation is lacking on protections for worker well-being in equestrian microenvironments which are known to have the potential for dust exposures. Climate acts as a master variable in equestrian facility design and ventilation usage to address dust and temperature concerns. Using climate as an independent variable, our objective was to characterize space usage, safety, environmental control, and org...
Nieforth LO, Schwichtenberg AJ, O'Haire ME.In the last five years, the literature on animal-assisted intervention (AAI) for Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) has doubled in size from 42 studies prior to 2015 to 85 studies (cumulative total assessed in 2020). Horses remain the most commonly researched animal for AAI, followed by dogs. The most commonly researched outcome was social interaction, across 21 studies. Though the quantity of studies has increased, issues with methodological rigor remain. Results highlight the need for a continued focus on methodological rigor as well as refining the structure of animal-assisted interventions, ad...
Kelly KJ, McD￮ LA, Mears K.Human-horse interactions (HHIs) are diverse and prominent in the equine industry. Stakeholders have an invested interest in making sure that HHIs are humane. Assessment of equine welfare goes beyond physical health and includes assessment of the emotional state of the animal. HHIs can have a permanent effect on human-horse relationships, thereby influencing welfare. Therefore, an understanding of the horse's affective state during HHIs is necessary. A scoping review was conducted to: (1) map current practices related to the measurement of HHIs; (2) explore the known effects of HHIs on horse be...
Baldwin AL, Rector BK, Alden AC.Assisted living is a fast-growing living option for seniors who require residence-based activities for maintaining mental and physical health. Guided equine interactions may benefit seniors, so an on-site equine program was started at Hacienda at the River senior living community. For research purposes, twenty-four residents and associates, aged fifty-five or over, consented to physiological measurements before, during and after four guided sessions of stroking one of three horses for 10 min over 4-6 weeks. Heart rate variability (HRV) was measured simultaneously in humans and horses during in...
Peters BC, Wood W, Hepburn S, Moody EJ.The purpose of this study was to identify appropriate outcome measures and assess preliminary efficacy of occupational therapy in an equine environment (OT HORSPLAY) for youth with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Twenty-four youth with ASD aged 6-13 were randomized to 10 weeks of OT HORSPLAY or to a waitlist control condition, occupational therapy in a garden. Youth demonstrated significantly improved goal attainment and social motivation, and decreased irritability after OT HORSPLAY. When compared to the subset of participants who completed the waitlist control condition, the OT HORSPLAY gro...
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...
Lightsey P, Lee Y, Krenek N, Hur P.Physical therapy treatments incorporating equine movement are recognized as an effective tool to treat functional mobility and balance in children with cerebral palsy (CP). To date, only a few studies examined kinematic outputs of the horses and children when mounted. In this pilot study, to better understand the effectiveness of this type of treatment, we examined the interaction between the horses and children with CP during physical therapy sessions where equine movement was utilized. Four children with CP participated in eight physical therapy sessions incorporating hippotherapy as a treat...
Jardat P, Lansade L.In the past 20 years, research focusing on interspecific sociocognitive abilities of animals toward humans has been growing, allowing a better understanding of the interactions between humans and animals. This review focuses on five sociocognitive abilities of domestic mammals in relation to humans as follows: discriminating and recognizing individual humans; perceiving human emotions; interpreting our attentional states and goals; using referential communication (perceiving human signals or sending signals to humans); and engaging in social learning with humans (e.g., local enhancement, demo...
Fisher PW, Lazarov A, Lowell A, Arnon S, Turner JB, Bergman M, Ryba M, Such S, Marohasy C, Zhu X, Suarez-Jimenez B, Markowitz JC, Neria Y. As veterans have high rates of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and historically poor treatment outcomes and high attrition, alternative treatments have gained much popularity despite lack of rigorous research. In this study, a recently developed and manualized 8-session group Equine-Assisted Therapy for PTSD (EAT-PTSD) was tested in an open trial to assess its preliminary feasibility, acceptability, and outcomes for military veterans. The study was conducted from July 2016 to July 2019. Sixty-three treatment-seeking veterans with PTSD enrolled. PTSD diagnosis was ascertained using the S...
Lerch N, Cirulli F, Rochais C, Lesimple C, Guilbaud E, Contalbrigo L, Borgi M, Grandgeorge M, Hausberger M.Little is known about the impact of equine-assisted interventions (EAI) on equids' perception of humans. In this study 172 equids, living in 12 riding centres, were submitted to a standardised human-horse relationship test: the motionless person test. Age, sex, type (horse/pony), housing, and feeding conditions of subjects were recorded. Overall, 17 equids worked in EAI, 95 in riding school lessons (RS), and 60 in both (EAI-RS). There were high inter-individual variations in the number of interactive behaviours directed towards the experimenter: negative binomial general linear models showed t...
Derrick D, Gick B.During locomotion, humans switch gaits from walking to running, and horses from walking to trotting to cantering to galloping, as they increase their movement rate. It is unknown whether gait change leading to a wider movement rate range is limited to locomotive-type behaviours, or instead is a general property of any rate-varying motor system. The tongue during speech provides a motor system that can address this gap. In controlled speech experiments, using phrases containing complex tongue-movement sequences, we demonstrate distinct gaits in tongue movement at different speech rates. As spea...
Brubaker L, Schroeder K, Sherwood D, Stroud D, Udell MAR.While human benefits of animal-assisted therapy programs have been documented, relatively little research has been conducted on behavioral factors that predict a successful equine-assisted services (EAS) horse. This study compares the behavior of experienced and non-experienced EAS horses as well as horses selected for future EAS work in a series of sociability and temperament tests. No significant differences were found between experienced and non-experienced horses in the sociability measures or for most of the temperament tests; however, significant differences were found between groups in ...
Ringhofer M, Trösch M, Lansade L, Yamamoto S.When interacting with humans, domesticated species may respond to communicative gestures, such as pointing. However, it is currently unknown, except for in dogs, if species comprehend the communicative nature of such cues. Here, we investigated whether horses could follow the pointing of a human informant by evaluating the credibility of the information about the food-hiding place provided by the pointing of two informants. Using an object-choice task, we manipulated the attentional state of the two informants during food-hiding events and differentiated their knowledge about the location of t...
Prieto AV, Ayupe KMA, Abreu ACA, Filho PJBG.Improvement in rider mobility represents an important functional gain for people with disabilities undergoing hippotherapy. However, there is no validated measuring instrument to track and document the rider's progress in riding activities. In this study, we aimed to develop and establish validity evidence for an instrument to assess hippotherapy participants' mobility on horseback. We report on this development through the stages of: (a) content validation, (b) construct validation, (c) inter- and intra-rater reliability and (d) internal consistency analysis. We evaluated its factor structure...
Hausberger M, Lesimple C, Henry S.Horses were domesticated for more than 5000 years and have been one of the most emblematic species living alongside humans. This long-shared history would suggest that horses are well known and well understood, but scientific data raise many concerns about the welfare state of most domestic horses suggesting that many aspects have been largely misunderstood. In the present review, we will examine some of the possible human factors that may explain the huge prevalence of welfare problems, despite horses being of special importance to humans. First of all, as horses are non-verbal, current manag...
Artz NL, Robbins J, Millman ST.Objectives of this study were to evaluate an equine assisted learning (EAL) curriculum designed for medical students and resident physicians, and to determine impacts of the curriculum on participant perceptions of burnout and well-being. The EAL curriculum incorporated evidence-based skills and concepts to increase happiness and/or resilience. A pre/post intervention design was used, with 18 EAL participants receiving the curriculum within their month-long community based primary care clerkship elective, and 10 control (CTL) participants who did not receive the curriculum within their clerksh...
Suárez-Iglesias D, Bidaurrazaga-Letona I, Sanchez-Lastra MA, Gil SM, Ayán C.Scientific evidence has shown that equine-assisted therapies (EAT) lead to improvements in the physical function and the quality of life (QoL) of people with disabilities through the practice of hippotherapy or therapeutic riding (TR). There is a need to confirm whether people with multiple sclerosis (PwMS) can also benefit from its practice. This review aimed to systematically evaluate and meta-analyze the available data on the potential health benefits of EAT in PwMS. Methods: Four electronic databases (MEDLINE/PubMed, Web of Science, SPORTDiscus, and Scopus) were searched systematically fro...
Ward A, Stephen K, Argo C, Watson C, Harris P, Neacsu M, Russell W, Grove-White D, Morrison P.During the lockdown phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, equestrian stakeholders faced a dilemma whereby they were required to balance caring for the welfare of horses with adapting to the restrictions imposed to protect public health. The present study investigated the impact of the pandemic on the wellbeing of a sample of industry stakeholders, including horse owners, equine veterinarians, farriers and welfare centre managers ( = 26) using a qualitative methodology. Findings from the interviews indicated that the mental health and wellbeing of veterinarians and horse owners was negatively affecte...
White J, Sims R.This paper explores the potential for interventions to develop pro-animal welfare habitual behaviours (PAWHBs) in people to improve the lives of animals. Human behavioural research indicates that opportunities exist to deliver lasting change through developing positive habitual behaviours. The routine nature of many equine care and management practices lends itself to habit formation and maintenance. This proof-of-concept paper aims to evaluate a theory-based intervention of developing and maintaining a PAWHB in people caring for equines. Qualitative research methods were used. A 30 day PAWHB ...
Goodwin D.Domestication has provided the horse with food, shelter, veterinary care and protection, allowing individuals an increased chance of survival. However, the restriction of movement, limited breeding opportunities and a requirement to expend energy, for the benefit of another species, conflict with the evolutionary processes which shaped the behaviour of its predecessors. The behaviour of the horse is defined by its niche as a social prey species but many of the traits which ensured the survival of its ancestors are difficult to accommodate in the domestic environment. There has been a long asso...
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...
Mueller MK, Sween C, Frank N, Paradis MR.OBJECTIVE To assess relationships between horse owners (or lessees) and geriatric or nongeriatric horses and to investigate factors influencing veterinary care decision-making. DESIGN Descriptive, cross-sectional, survey-based study. SAMPLE 2,879 people who owned or leased ≥ 1 horse. PROCEDURES Participants were recruited through social media and online horse forums to participate in an online survey about their horses, including measures of attachment, veterinary care decision-making, and experiences surrounding the death of a horse. Data were collected for primary horses (those respondents...
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 ...
Baba C, Kawai M, Takimoto-Inose A.Emotions are important for social animals because animals' emotions function as beneficial cues to identify valuable resources such as food or to avoid danger by providing environmental information. Emotions also enable animals to predict individuals' behavior and determine how to behave in a specific context. Recently, several studies have reported that dogs are highly sensitive to not only conspecific but also human emotional cues. These studies suggest that domestication may have affected such sensitivity. However, there are still few studies that examine whether other domesticated animals,...
Ward MP, Scheurmann JA.Cases of human and equine West Nile virus (WNV) disease reported in Texas in 2002 were analyzed to assess their temporal relationship. For each human case with a known residential location, the closest equine case (within a 5 km radius) was selected. A total of 80 human-equine case pairs were identified, 51 (64%) of which were located in urban areas. Dates-of-onset of human and equine cases were positively correlated (r(SP)=0.494, P<0.001). Although overall there was no significant (P=0.207) difference between the dates-of-onset of human and equine cases, in urban areas of Texas equine case...
Elfman L, Brannstrom J, Smedje G.Integrating horse stables with built-up areas may lead to conflicts. Dispersion of horse allergen may become a health risk for allergic people. The aim was to measure the dispersion of horse allergen around a stable, considering wind speed and direction and vegetation. The disturbance of staff at a workplace nearby a stable was investigated. Methods: Air sampling was performed around a stable (32 horses) at distances of 50-500 m in all directions. Sampling was done with a pump and an IOM sampler. Samples were collected at 50 points during all seasons. Horse allergen levels were determined usin...
Sack A, Oladunni FS, Gonchigoo B, Chambers TM, Gray GC. Worldwide, horses play critical roles in recreation, food production, transportation, and as working animals. Horses' roles differ by geographical region and the socioeconomic status of the people, but despite modern advances in transportation, which have in some ways altered humans contact with horses, potential risks for equine zoonotic pathogen transmission to humans occur globally. While previous reports have focused upon individual or groups of equine pathogens, to our knowledge, a systematic review of equine zoonoses has never been performed. Using PRISMA's systematic review guidelines...
Malcolm R, Ecks S, Pickersgill M.Experiences of autism-spectrum disorder are now increasingly studied by social scientists. Human-animal relations have also become a major focus of social inquiry in recent years. Examining horse-assisted therapy for autistic spectrum disorders, this is the first paper that brings these fields together. Drawing on participant observation and interviews at a UK horse therapy Centre, this article examines how staff and the parents of riders account for the successes and limitations of equine therapy. To the respondents, horses 'open up' autistic children and make possible interactions that seeme...
Thorbergson ZW, Nielsen SG, Beaulieu RJ, Doyle RE.Riding is considered to be an arousing activity for horses. It has been suggested that wither scratching may be a more useful tool for relaxation compared with the common practice of neck patting. In the current study, 18 horses were exposed to 3 treatments, including control or no interaction, neck patting, and wither scratching, for 1 min each following a short obstacle course. Heart rate, heart rate variability, and a variety of behaviors were measured in the horses. Wither scratching produced a significantly longer duration of relaxed-type behaviors. Wither scratching could be a useful to...
Marchand WR.Equine-assisted services (EASs) are being increasingly used as complementary interventions for military veterans who have experienced trauma. However, there is limited evidence of benefit for this population and almost no literature describing the desired potential outcomes and possible mechanisms of action. The aim of this article is to address these gaps by reviewing the extant literature of animal-assisted interventions in general, and equine-assisted services in particular, with the goal of providing guidance for future investigations in the field. Currently, the field is in the early stag...
Jardat P, Destrez A, Damon F, Menard-Peroy Z, Parias C, Barrière P, Keller M, Calandreau L, Lansade L.Animals are widely believed to sense human emotions through smell. Chemoreception is the most primitive and ubiquitous sense, and brain regions responsible for processing smells are among the oldest structures in mammalian evolution. Thus, chemosignals might be involved in interspecies communication. The communication of emotions is essential for social interactions, but very few studies have clearly shown that animals can sense human emotions through smell. We used a habituation-discrimination protocol to test whether horses can discriminate between human odors produced while feeling fear vs....
Lessick M, Shinaver R, Post KM, Rivera JE, Lemon B.The horse has been used as a therapeutic agent since the time of the ancient Greeks, and Hippocrates once spoke of “riding's healing rhythm” Early Greeks were reported to offer horseback rides to raise the spirits of people who had incurable illnesses. Therapeutic riding refers to the use of the horse and equine‐oriented activities to achieve a variety of therapeutic goals, including physical, emotional, social, cognitive, behavioral and educational goals. An important area of concern for women with disabilities is achieving the highest level of wellness possible. Because of their holist...
Carroll SL, Sykes BW, Mills PC.Husbandry and veterinary procedures have the potential to generate fear and stress in animals. In horses, the associated responses can pose a significant safety risk to the human personnel involved in the procedure, as well as to the animal itself. Traditionally, physical restraint, punishment, and/or threat of an aversive, have been the most common strategies used to achieve compliance from the horse. However, from a welfare perspective, this is less than ideal. This approach also has the potential for creating a more dangerous response from the horse in future similar situations. When caring...
Sankey C, Henry S, Górecka-Bruzda A, Richard-Yris MA, Hausberger M.How do we bond to one another? While in some species, like humans, physical contact plays a role in the process of attachment, it has been suggested that tactile contact's value may greatly differ according to the species considered. Nevertheless, grooming is often considered as a pleasurable experience for domestic animals, even though scientific data is lacking. On another hand, food seems to be involved in the creation of most relationships in a variety of species. Results: In this study, we used the horse training context to test the effects of food versus grooming during repeated human-ho...
Bartolomé E, Menéndez-Buxadera A, Molina A, Valera M.To obtain a sport horse that excels in the highest levels of competition, breeders must take into account certain genetic and environmental factors that could influence the sport horse's performance, such as the rider-horse interaction (RHI). The main aim of this study was to describe this interaction in a genetic model by modelling it in relation to the horse's age. A total of 31,129 sport results from Spanish Sport Horses were used from a total of 1,101 animals evaluated, and these were grouped in three age levels and had been ridden by 606 different riders. Only riders who had ridden more t...
Bornmann T, Randle H, Williams J.Happiness is a subjective feeling and associated with positive affective states that can indicate good welfare. It is becoming increasingly agreed that equestrians' ability to recognize indicators of positive emotions has the potential to enhance overall horse wellbeing, but research in this area is limited. Therefore, this study investigated equestrians' perceptions of horse happiness. A survey comprising 25 questions was distributed through equestrian-related social media (internationally) and yielded 332 valid responses. Frequency analysis was conducted within each factor category (e.g., ri...
Padalino B, Rogers CW, Guiver D, Thompson KR, Riley CB.Injuries resulting from road transport are common in horses and are a potential welfare concern, as well as, a source of economic loss. An online cross sectional survey was used to determine the prevalence of road transport related injuries to horses in New Zealand and the association of human factors including demographics, industry background, training and the horse handling experience of the respondents with transport related injury. The survey generated 1133 valid responses that were analyzed using descriptive statistics, univariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis. At least o...
Vidrine M, Owen-Smith P, Faulkner P.In this day of high-tech, managed-care service delivery with an emphasis on medication and brief treatment, it is important for nurses to be aware of nontraditional treatment options that may be uniquely beneficial for some clients. Although it may still be considered a novelty, including animals in the healing milieu is not a new idea. Florence Nightingale herself suggested that "a small pet animal is often an excellent companion for the sick, for long chronic cases especially" (Nightingale, 1969, p. 102). Healing, according to one recent nursing article, can be seen as "a gradual awakening t...
Zoccante L, Marconi M, Ciceri ML, Gagliardoni S, Gozzi LA, Sabaini S, Di Gennaro G, Colizzi M.Equine-assisted activities and therapies (EAAT) have been suggested to improve adaptive behavior, and possibly motor function, in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This study investigated the effects of EAAT on adaptive behavior and motor function in 15 children with ASD (13 males) aged 7-15 years as well as the impact of EAAT on the magnitude of stress in the parent-child system and the evolution in the child interaction with both the trained therapist and the therapeutic animal through the 20 weekly sessions of EAAT. EAAT were associated with greater adaptive behavior and coordination (all ...
Lerch N, Cirulli F, Rochais C, Lesimple C, Guilbaud E, Contalbrigo L, Borgi M, Grandgeorge M, Hausberger M.Little is known about the impact of equine-assisted interventions (EAI) on equids' perception of humans. In this study 172 equids, living in 12 riding centres, were submitted to a standardised human-horse relationship test: the motionless person test. Age, sex, type (horse/pony), housing, and feeding conditions of subjects were recorded. Overall, 17 equids worked in EAI, 95 in riding school lessons (RS), and 60 in both (EAI-RS). There were high inter-individual variations in the number of interactive behaviours directed towards the experimenter: negative binomial general linear models showed t...
Lansade L, Colson V, Parias C, Reigner F, Bertin A, Calandreau L.Recent studies have demonstrated that horses can recognize humans based simply on visual information. However, none of these studies have investigated whether this involves the recognition of the face itself, or simply identifying people from non-complex external clues, such as hair color. To go beyond this we wanted to know whether certain features of the face were indispensable for this recognition (e.g., colors, hair or eyes). The 11 horses in this study had previously learned to identify four unfamiliar faces (portrait view and in color) presented repeatedly on a screen. We thus assessed w...
Chapman M, Thompson K.It has been suggested that one in five riders will be injured due to a fall from a horse, resulting in severe head or torso injuries. Attempts to reduce injury have primarily focussed on low level risk controls, such as helmets. In comparison, risk mitigation in high risk workplaces and sports is directed at more effective and preventative controls like training, consultation, safe work procedures, fit for purpose equipment and regular Workplace Health and Safety (WHS) monitoring. However, there has been no systematic consideration of the risk-reduction benefits of applying a WHS framework to ...
Pan Z, Granger DA, Guérin NA, Shoffner A, Gabriels RL.We aimed to determine whether results of our prior randomized control trial [RCT; NCT02301195, (1)] of Therapeutic Horseback Riding (THR) for children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) could be at a different riding center and if treatment effects also included differences in the expression of associations between problem behavior and the activity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. Participants with ASD ( = 16) ages 6-16 years were randomized by nonverbal intelligence quotient to either a 10-week THR group ( = 8) or no horse interaction barn activity (BA) cont...
Aranda-García S, Iricibar A, Planas A, Prat-Subiran JA, Angulo-Barroso RM.This study evaluates the separate effect and retention of 12-week traditional (TE) and horse (HE) exercise programs on physical function in healthy older participants (61 to 87 years old). Thirty-eight participants were randomly assigned to three groups: TE (n = 17), HE (n = 10), and control group (n = 11). TE and HE underwent a supervised exercise program (3 day/week). Maximal gait speed, muscle strength, and body balance were assessed at weeks 0, 12, and 16. Only TE and HE displayed significant improvements (P < .05) in knee extensor strength, and only HE had faster gait speed. Marginal b...
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 ...
Human movement scienceNovember 28, 2014
Volume 39 121-137 doi: 10.1016/j.humov.2014.06.011
Garner BA, Rigby BR.A prevailing rationale for equine assisted therapies is that the motion of a horse can provide sensory stimulus and movement patterns that mimic those of natural human activities such as walking. The purpose of this study was to quantitatively measure and compare human pelvis motions when walking to those when riding a horse. Six able-bodied children (inexperienced riders, 8-12years old) participated in over-ground trials of self-paced walking and leader-paced riding on four different horses. Five kinematic measures were extracted from three-dimensional pelvis motion data: anteroposterior, sup...
Nevins R, Finch S, Hickling EJ, Barnett SD.We theorized that ability to direct and control a horse will lead to a sense of empowerment, facilitate a relationship between horse and veteran, lead to a decrease in anxiety, and improve physical and social functioning. Methods: This case study utilizes the Connection methodology: nonverbal language of the horse in a predictable, sequential, and repeatable method. Psychological testing occurred immediately pre- and post-Connection with follow-up occurring at 2, 4, 6, and 12 wks post-Connection. Methods: Twice-deployed combat medic who served in Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF). Methods: Saratog...
Fungwithaya P, Boonchuay K, Narinthorn R, Sontigun N, Sansamur C, Petcharat Y, Thomrongsuwannakij T, Wongtawan T.Staphylococci are commensal bacteria and opportunistic pathogens found on the skin and mucosa. Sports animals are more prone to injury and illness, and we believe that antimicrobial agents might be extensively used for the treatment and cause the existence of antimicrobial-resistant (AMR) bacteria. This study aimed to investigate the diversity and AMR profile of staphylococci in sports animals (riding horses, fighting bulls, and fighting cocks) in South Thailand. Unassigned: Nasal (57 fighting bulls and 33 riding horses) and skin swabs (32 fighting cocks) were taken from 122 animals. Staphyloc...
