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Comparative effects of horse exercise versus traditional exercise programs on gait, muscle strength, and body balance in healthy older adults.
Abstract: 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 balance improvements were found only in HE in the medial-lateral direction. However, TE showed larger improvements in handgrip than HE. The largest retention was in knee extensor strength but most of the exercise effects were lost in the follow-up. Besides TE, exercise with a horse may be an alternative option to older adults, provided that they want to interact with the animal.
Publication Date: 2014-01-14 PubMed ID: 24425454DOI: 10.1123/japa.2012-0326Google Scholar: Lookup The Equine Research Bank provides access to a large database of publicly available scientific literature. Inclusion in the Research Bank does not imply endorsement of study methods or findings by Mad Barn.
- Comparative Study
- Journal Article
- Randomized Controlled Trial
- Research Support
- Non-U.S. Gov't
Summary
This research summary has been generated with artificial intelligence and may contain errors and omissions. Refer to the original study to confirm details provided. Submit correction.
The research investigates the impact of traditional exercise versus horse-related exercise on seniors’ physical faculties including walking speed, muscle power, and bodily balance. The study suggested that exercise, whether conventional or horse-based, improves muscle strength in the knee extensors, but horse-related exercise is correlated with a faster gait speed and minor improvements in balance.
Research Methodology
- The study involved healthy older adults ranging in age from 61 to 87 years, making up a total of 38 participants. These participants were randomly split into three groups:
- Traditional Exercise (TE) group consisting of 17 individuals.
- Horse Exercise (HE) group consisting of 10 individuals.
- Control group consisting of 11 individuals who did not participate in any specific exercise program.
- All the folks in the TE and HE groups partook in a supervised workout regimen three times a week for a span of 12 weeks.
- The impact of these exercises was observed by assessing gait speed, muscular power, and body balance during the 0, 12, and 16-week periods.
Research Findings
- Significant improvements in knee extensor strength were observed in both the traditional (TE) and horse exercise (HE) programs.
- Horse Exercise (HE) group exhibited faster gait speed compared to the traditional exercise group.
- Minor improvements in body balance, specifically in the medial-lateral direction, were noted in the HE group.
- The traditional exercise (TE) group demonstrated enhanced grip strength compared to the horse exercise group.
- The highest retention of physical improvement was found in knee extensor strength despite most effects diminishing in the follow-up phase.
Conclusions
- The results established that both traditional and horse-based exercise can improve knee extensor strength in older adults.
- However, horse-based exercise was found to be slightly more beneficial in boosting gait speed and balance.
- The study suggests that horse-based exercise can be an alternative to traditional exercise for older adults, given that they are comfortable with and interested in interacting with the animal.
Cite This Article
APA
Aranda-García S, Iricibar A, Planas A, Prat-Subiran JA, Angulo-Barroso RM.
(2014).
Comparative effects of horse exercise versus traditional exercise programs on gait, muscle strength, and body balance in healthy older adults.
J Aging Phys Act, 23(1), 78-89.
https://doi.org/10.1123/japa.2012-0326 Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- School of Health and Sports Science, Universitat de Girona, Girona, Spain.
MeSH Terms
- Adult
- Aged
- Aged, 80 and over
- Animals
- Exercise / physiology
- Exercise Therapy / methods
- Female
- Follow-Up Studies
- Gait / physiology
- Horses
- Humans
- Male
- Middle Aged
- Motor Activity / physiology
- Muscle Strength / physiology
- Muscle, Skeletal / physiology
- Postural Balance / physiology
Citations
This article has been cited 13 times.- Kocyigit BF, Adilbekov E, Zharmenov S, Akyol A, Yessirkepov M. Evaluating the efficacy of hippotherapy: a promising ıntervention in rheumatology, pain medicine, and geriatrics. Rheumatol Int 2023 Sep 12;.
- Chen S, Zhang Y, Zhao M, Du X, Wang Y, Liu X. Effects of Therapeutic Horseback-Riding Program on Social and Communication Skills in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Int J Environ Res Public Health 2022 Nov 4;19(21).
- Badin L, Alibran É, Pothier K, Bailly N. Effects of equine-assisted interventions on older adults' health: A systematic review. Int J Nurs Sci 2022 Oct;9(4):542-552.
- Wagner C, Grob C, Hediger K. Specific and Non-specific Factors of Animal-Assisted Interventions Considered in Research: A Systematic Review. Front Psychol 2022;13:931347.
- Luksaite J, Zokaityte E, Starkute V, Sidlauskiene S, Zokaityte G, Bartkiene E. Personalized Strategy for Animal-Assisted Therapy for Individuals Based on the Emotions Induced by the Images of Different Animal Species and Breeds. Animals (Basel) 2022 Feb 27;12(5).
- Abdel-Aziem AA, Abdelraouf OR, Ghally SA, Dahlawi HA, Radwan RE. A 10-Week Program of Combined Hippotherapy and Scroth's Exercises Improves Balance and Postural Asymmetries in Adolescence Idiopathic Scoliosis: A Randomized Controlled Study. Children (Basel) 2021 Dec 30;9(1).
- White-Lewis S. Equine-assisted therapies using horses as healers: A concept analysis. Nurs Open 2020 Jan;7(1):58-67.
- Kim SK, Kim SG, HwangBo G. The effect of horse-riding simulator exercise on the gait, muscle strength and muscle activation in elderly people with knee osteoarthritis. J Phys Ther Sci 2017 Apr;29(4):693-696.
- Ohtani N, Kitagawa K, Mikami K, Kitawaki K, Akiyama J, Fuchikami M, Uchiyama H, Ohta M. Horseback Riding Improves the Ability to Cause the Appropriate Action (Go Reaction) and the Appropriate Self-control (No-Go Reaction) in Children. Front Public Health 2017;5:8.
- Badin L, Pothier K, Agli O, Van Dendaele E, Guillou G, Ventalon G, Bailly N. Equine-Assisted Interventions and Physical Health in Older Adults: A Meta-Analysis. Sage Open Aging 2025 Jan-Dec;11:23337214241298342.
- Yang L, Liu Y, Wu M, Liu X, Zhang L, Yan S. Lower-limb locomotor function studies using walking speed as an assessment indicator: A bibliometric review from 2014 to 2024. Medicine (Baltimore) 2025 Jun 13;104(24):e42756.
- Albishi AM. Balance performance among horseback-rider compared to non-horseback-rider women in Saudi Arabia: A cross-sectional study. Medicine (Baltimore) 2024 May 24;103(21):e38291.
- Li J, Sánchez-García R. Equine-assisted interventions for veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder: a systematic review. Front Psychiatry 2023;14:1277338.
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