The intersection of psychiatry and horses involves the study of equine-assisted therapy and its potential applications in mental health treatment. This area of research explores how interactions with horses may influence psychological well-being and therapeutic outcomes for individuals with various mental health conditions. The field examines the mechanisms by which equine-assisted activities may affect emotional regulation, stress reduction, and social skills development. It also investigates the roles of horses in therapeutic settings, including their behavior, training, and welfare. This page compiles peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that analyze the methodologies, effectiveness, and ethical considerations of incorporating horses into psychiatric treatment and therapy.
Machová K, Juríčková V, Kasparová A, Petrová K, Sládková B, Svobodová I.Equine Facilitated Psychiatry and Psychology (EFPP) is a supportive non-pharmacological treatment program used in the treatment of patients with substance use disorder. The aim of this study was to evaluate a possible change in patient's health and health-related quality of life between the first and fourth session of the EFPP program using the Assessment of Quality of Life (AQoL) and the Health of the Nation Outcome Scales (HoNOS). The Human-Animal Interaction Scale (HAIS) and a 5-point Likert-type scale was used for an assessment of patient's mood in the experimental group. The study sample ...
Peric T, Ellero L, Comin A, Pividori I, Prandi A.In humans, allopregnanolone plays important roles in a number of different neurodegenerative disorders, and it has been proposed for use in some therapies. Horses are commonly used as animal models for human neurodegenerative diseases, mental and behavioral disorders, and neuropsychiatric disorders, and there is interest in using hair as a biological sample to study hormones in these conditions. We validated the use of a commercial ELISA kit (DetectX allopregnanolone kit; Arbor Assays), which was designed for serum, plasma, feces, urine, and tissue samples, to assess allopregnanolone in hair s...
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.
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...
Zhu X, Suarez-Jimenez B, Zilcha-Mano S, Lazarov A, Arnon S, Lowell AL, Bergman M, Ryba M, Hamilton AJ, Hamilton JF, Turner JB, Markowitz JC....While effective treatments for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) exist, many individuals, including military personnel and veterans fail to respond to them. Equine-assisted therapy (EAT), a novel PTSD treatment, may complement existing PTSD interventions. This study employs longitudinal neuro-imaging, including structural magnetic resonance imaging (sMRI), resting state-fMRI (rs-fMRI), and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), to determine mechanisms and predictors of EAT outcomes for PTSD. Nineteen veterans with PTSD completed eight weekly group sessions of EAT undergoing multimodal MRI assessme...
Pérez-Gómez J, Amigo-Gamero H, Collado-Mateo D, Barrios-Fernandez S, Muñoz-Bermejo L, Garcia-Gordillo MÁ, Carlos-Vivas J, Adsuar JC.WHAT IS KNOWN ON THE SUBJECT?: Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is characterized by problems of inattention and impulsive hyperactivity in children. Equine-assisted activities and therapies (EAATs) have been used as alternative non-pharmacological intervention option in patients with ADHD. WHAT DOES THIS PAPER ADDS TO EXISTING KNOWLEDGE?: Nowadays, more studies of high methodological quality are needed to determine whether EAAT is an effective intervention for the treatment in children with ADHD. WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE?: Between 15 and 40 min of rising horses, 8...
Shelef A, Brafman D, Rosing T, Weizman A, Stryjer R, Barak Y.Equine assisted therapy (EAT) which includes therapeutic horseback riding (THR), grooming, horsemanship and ground level work with horses, has been studied as treatment for children with special needs and/or autistic spectrum disorder. Preliminary evidence indicates that EAT is also effective for improving self-efficacy and self-esteem in adults with psychiatric disorders. Empowerment, bonding and building trust with the horses, may promote functioning of patients struggling with post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).The authors performed a prospective, pilot open case series study to assess t...
Kang KD, Jung TW, Park IH, Han DH.Internet gaming disorder (IGD) has been suggested to be a mental health disorder. Attachment and emotional status in IGD patients are important for understanding the etiology and progression of IGD because both parameters are considered to be associated with the affective network. Equine-assisted activities and therapies (EAAT) have been reported to improve emotional status and attachment in subjects. We hypothesized that EAAT would improve attachment in IGD adolescents with insecure attachment issues and increase functional connectivity (FC) within the affective network. Methods: Subjects com...
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...
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.
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, ...
Vahlenkamp TW, Enbergs HK, Müller H.Cells of the peripheral blood of experimentally and naturally borna disease virus (BDV)-infected animals and of human psychiatric patients and healthy individuals were analyzed for the presence of viral RNA using a BDV-p40-specific nested reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The assay proved to be highly sensitive as 10 RNA molecules were reproducibly amplified. BDV RNA was detected in blood cells of experimentally infected immunocompetent mice and rats. Mice were persistently infected without showing clinical signs of borna disease (BD), whereas the rats suffered from acu...
Taylor D.Narrative format, in the form of an invented short story, is used to convey several essential truths in a didactic essay in Neuropsychiatry. Messages, in memorable form, emerge at several levels. Narrative format is essential in biographical medicine and it could be attractive to students at various levels of learning. There are great values and some dangers in biographical science.
Yamaguchi K, Sawada T, Naraki T, Igata-Yi R, Shiraki H, Horii Y, Ishii T, Ikeda K, Asou N, Okabe H, Mochizuki M, Takahashi K, Yamada S, Kubo K....The prevalence of Borna disease virus (BDV)-specific antibodies among patients with psychiatric disorders and healthy individuals has varied in several reports using several different serological assay methods. A reliable and specific method for anti-BDV antibodies needs to be developed to clarify the pathological significance of BDV infections in humans. We developed a new electrochemiluminescence immunoassay (ECLIA) for the antibody to BDV that uses two recombinant proteins of BDV, p40 and p24 (full length). Using this ECLIA, we examined 3,476 serum samples from humans with various diseases ...
Richt JA, Pfeuffer I, Christ M, Frese K, Bechter K, Herzog S.The geographic distribution and host range of Borna disease (BD), a fatal neurologic disease of horses and sheep, are larger than previously thought. The etiologic agent, Borna disease virus (BDV), has been identified as an enveloped nonsegmented negative-strand RNA virus with unique properties of replication. Data indicate a high degree of genetic stability of BDV in its natural host, the horse. Studies in the Lewis rat have shown that BDV replication does not directly influence vital functions; rather, the disease is caused by a virus-induced T-cell mediated immune reaction. Because antibodi...
Christensen LS.Borna disease virus has long been recognized as a cause of sporadic cases and epidemics of meningoencephalomyelitis in horses and sheep in southern parts of Germany. however, sero-epidemiological surveillances indicate that Borna disease virus has a global distribution in horses, without the recognition of clinical manifestations associated with the infection, in other parts of the world. During the past five years evidence has been presented suggesting that humans also can become infected with this virus or a closely related virus. A significantly increased sero-prevalence is seen in patient ...
Nurnberg HG, Keith SJ, Paxton DM.Treatment successes of various stereotyped behaviors in animals and humans has renewed interest in ethologic animal models for the study of psychiatric disorders. This report presents another such behavior occurring in horses to weaving. This anomalous, repetitive, and purposeless behavior draws analogies to human compulsive spectrum behaviors. A "weaver" provided an opportunity to evaluate serotonin, dopamine, and opioid neurotransmitter system contributions by probing each with a selective agent in A-B-A-C-A-D design. The horse was treated in sequential 1-month periods separated by 1-month w...
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.
Richt JA, Pfeuffer I, Christ M, Frese K, Bechter K, Herzog S.The geographic distribution and host range of Borna disease (BD), a fatal neurologic disease of horses and sheep, are larger than previously thought. The etiologic agent, Borna disease virus (BDV), has been identified as an enveloped nonsegmented negative-strand RNA virus with unique properties of replication. Data indicate a high degree of genetic stability of BDV in its natural host, the horse. Studies in the Lewis rat have shown that BDV replication does not directly influence vital functions; rather, the disease is caused by a virus-induced T-cell mediated immune reaction. Because antibodi...
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...
Shelef A, Brafman D, Rosing T, Weizman A, Stryjer R, Barak Y.Equine assisted therapy (EAT) which includes therapeutic horseback riding (THR), grooming, horsemanship and ground level work with horses, has been studied as treatment for children with special needs and/or autistic spectrum disorder. Preliminary evidence indicates that EAT is also effective for improving self-efficacy and self-esteem in adults with psychiatric disorders. Empowerment, bonding and building trust with the horses, may promote functioning of patients struggling with post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).The authors performed a prospective, pilot open case series study to assess t...
Zhu X, Suarez-Jimenez B, Zilcha-Mano S, Lazarov A, Arnon S, Lowell AL, Bergman M, Ryba M, Hamilton AJ, Hamilton JF, Turner JB, Markowitz JC....While effective treatments for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) exist, many individuals, including military personnel and veterans fail to respond to them. Equine-assisted therapy (EAT), a novel PTSD treatment, may complement existing PTSD interventions. This study employs longitudinal neuro-imaging, including structural magnetic resonance imaging (sMRI), resting state-fMRI (rs-fMRI), and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), to determine mechanisms and predictors of EAT outcomes for PTSD. Nineteen veterans with PTSD completed eight weekly group sessions of EAT undergoing multimodal MRI assessme...
Yamaguchi K, Sawada T, Naraki T, Igata-Yi R, Shiraki H, Horii Y, Ishii T, Ikeda K, Asou N, Okabe H, Mochizuki M, Takahashi K, Yamada S, Kubo K....The prevalence of Borna disease virus (BDV)-specific antibodies among patients with psychiatric disorders and healthy individuals has varied in several reports using several different serological assay methods. A reliable and specific method for anti-BDV antibodies needs to be developed to clarify the pathological significance of BDV infections in humans. We developed a new electrochemiluminescence immunoassay (ECLIA) for the antibody to BDV that uses two recombinant proteins of BDV, p40 and p24 (full length). Using this ECLIA, we examined 3,476 serum samples from humans with various diseases ...
Kang KD, Jung TW, Park IH, Han DH.Internet gaming disorder (IGD) has been suggested to be a mental health disorder. Attachment and emotional status in IGD patients are important for understanding the etiology and progression of IGD because both parameters are considered to be associated with the affective network. Equine-assisted activities and therapies (EAAT) have been reported to improve emotional status and attachment in subjects. We hypothesized that EAAT would improve attachment in IGD adolescents with insecure attachment issues and increase functional connectivity (FC) within the affective network. Methods: Subjects com...
Vahlenkamp TW, Enbergs HK, Müller H.Cells of the peripheral blood of experimentally and naturally borna disease virus (BDV)-infected animals and of human psychiatric patients and healthy individuals were analyzed for the presence of viral RNA using a BDV-p40-specific nested reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The assay proved to be highly sensitive as 10 RNA molecules were reproducibly amplified. BDV RNA was detected in blood cells of experimentally infected immunocompetent mice and rats. Mice were persistently infected without showing clinical signs of borna disease (BD), whereas the rats suffered from acu...
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, ...
Pérez-Gómez J, Amigo-Gamero H, Collado-Mateo D, Barrios-Fernandez S, Muñoz-Bermejo L, Garcia-Gordillo MÁ, Carlos-Vivas J, Adsuar JC.WHAT IS KNOWN ON THE SUBJECT?: Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is characterized by problems of inattention and impulsive hyperactivity in children. Equine-assisted activities and therapies (EAATs) have been used as alternative non-pharmacological intervention option in patients with ADHD. WHAT DOES THIS PAPER ADDS TO EXISTING KNOWLEDGE?: Nowadays, more studies of high methodological quality are needed to determine whether EAAT is an effective intervention for the treatment in children with ADHD. WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE?: Between 15 and 40 min of rising horses, 8...
Nurnberg HG, Keith SJ, Paxton DM.Treatment successes of various stereotyped behaviors in animals and humans has renewed interest in ethologic animal models for the study of psychiatric disorders. This report presents another such behavior occurring in horses to weaving. This anomalous, repetitive, and purposeless behavior draws analogies to human compulsive spectrum behaviors. A "weaver" provided an opportunity to evaluate serotonin, dopamine, and opioid neurotransmitter system contributions by probing each with a selective agent in A-B-A-C-A-D design. The horse was treated in sequential 1-month periods separated by 1-month w...
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.
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...
Machová K, Juríčková V, Kasparová A, Petrová K, Sládková B, Svobodová I.Equine Facilitated Psychiatry and Psychology (EFPP) is a supportive non-pharmacological treatment program used in the treatment of patients with substance use disorder. The aim of this study was to evaluate a possible change in patient's health and health-related quality of life between the first and fourth session of the EFPP program using the Assessment of Quality of Life (AQoL) and the Health of the Nation Outcome Scales (HoNOS). The Human-Animal Interaction Scale (HAIS) and a 5-point Likert-type scale was used for an assessment of patient's mood in the experimental group. The study sample ...
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.
Christensen LS.Borna disease virus has long been recognized as a cause of sporadic cases and epidemics of meningoencephalomyelitis in horses and sheep in southern parts of Germany. however, sero-epidemiological surveillances indicate that Borna disease virus has a global distribution in horses, without the recognition of clinical manifestations associated with the infection, in other parts of the world. During the past five years evidence has been presented suggesting that humans also can become infected with this virus or a closely related virus. A significantly increased sero-prevalence is seen in patient ...
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.
Taylor D.Narrative format, in the form of an invented short story, is used to convey several essential truths in a didactic essay in Neuropsychiatry. Messages, in memorable form, emerge at several levels. Narrative format is essential in biographical medicine and it could be attractive to students at various levels of learning. There are great values and some dangers in biographical science.
Peric T, Ellero L, Comin A, Pividori I, Prandi A.In humans, allopregnanolone plays important roles in a number of different neurodegenerative disorders, and it has been proposed for use in some therapies. Horses are commonly used as animal models for human neurodegenerative diseases, mental and behavioral disorders, and neuropsychiatric disorders, and there is interest in using hair as a biological sample to study hormones in these conditions. We validated the use of a commercial ELISA kit (DetectX allopregnanolone kit; Arbor Assays), which was designed for serum, plasma, feces, urine, and tissue samples, to assess allopregnanolone in hair s...
