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Home / Equine Research Bank / Front Psychiatry / Ground-based adaptive horsemanship lessons for veterans with...
Frontiers in psychiatry2024; 15; 1390212; doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2024.1390212

Ground-based adaptive horsemanship lessons for veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder: a randomized controlled pilot study.

Abstract: Equine-assisted services (EAS) has received attention as a potential treatment strategy for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), as existing literature indicates that symptoms may decrease following EAS. Relatively little is known about the mechanisms at play during lessons and if physiological measures are impacted. The objectives of this pilot study were to 1) explore the effects of adaptive horsemanship (AH) lessons on symptoms of PTSD, hormone concentrations, and social motor synchrony; 2) determine if physiological changes occur as veterans interact with horses; and 3) explore if the interaction between veteran and horse changes over the 8-week session. Unassigned: Veterans with PTSD were randomly assigned to control (CON, n = 3) or AH (n = 6) groups for an 8-week period (clinical trial; NCT04850573; clinicaltrials.gov). Veterans completed the PTSD Checklist (PCL-5) and Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI) at pre-, post-, and 2- and 6-month follow-up time points. They also completed a social motor synchrony test (pendulum swinging) and blood draw at pre- and post-time points. In weeks 1, 4, and 8, blood samples were drawn at 0 min, 3 min, 5 min, 25 min, and 30 min during the 30-min AH lessons. Veterans completed the Human-Animal Interaction Scale (HAIS) after each lesson. Blood samples were assayed for plasma cortisol, epinephrine, norepinephrine, and oxytocin. Data were analyzed with repeated measure ANOVAs. Changes in PTSD symptoms from pre- to post-time point were analyzed with paired t-tests. Unassigned: Changes in PCL-5 scores tended to differ ( = 0.0989), and global BSI scores differed ( = 0.0266) between AH (-11.5 ± 5.5, mean ± SE; -0.5 ± 0.2) and CON (5.3 ± 5.4; 0.4 ± 0.2) groups. Social motor synchrony and hormone concentrations did not differ between groups or time points ( > 0.05). Cortisol, norepinephrine, and oxytocin concentrations did not differ across sessions ( > 0.05). Epinephrine concentrations tended ( = 0.0744) to decrease from week 1 to 4 of sessions. HAIS scores increased ( ≥ 0.0437) in week 3 and remained elevated as compared to week 1. Unassigned: Participant recruitment was the greatest challenge. These preliminary results agree with the literature suggesting that EAS can reduce symptoms of PTSD.
Copyright © 2024 Rankins, Quinn, McKeever and Malinowski.
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Publication Date: 2024-05-28 PubMed ID: 38863605PubMed Central: PMC11165701DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2024.1390212Google Scholar: Lookup
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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.

Overview

  • This study investigated whether adaptive horsemanship (AH) lessons could reduce PTSD symptoms in veterans and examined underlying physiological and behavioral effects during an 8-week intervention.
  • The research measured changes in PTSD symptoms, hormone levels, social motor synchrony, and human-animal interaction to explore the potential therapeutic mechanisms of equine-assisted services (EAS).

Background and Purpose

  • Equine-assisted services (EAS), including horsemanship lessons, have shown promise in reducing symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), but the biological and behavioral processes behind these effects are not well understood.
  • The study aimed to:
    • Evaluate the impact of adaptive horsemanship lessons on PTSD symptoms.
    • Assess changes in hormone concentrations (cortisol, epinephrine, norepinephrine, oxytocin) associated with veteran-horse interaction.
    • Investigate social motor synchrony—coordination of movement during a pendulum task—as a behavioral marker.
    • Track changes in the interaction dynamics between veterans and horses over 8 weeks.

Study Design and Methods

  • A randomized controlled pilot study was conducted with veterans diagnosed with PTSD.
  • Participants were randomly assigned to:
    • Adaptive Horsemanship (AH) group (n = 6) receiving weekly 30-minute horsemanship lessons for 8 weeks.
    • Control (CON) group (n = 3) with no intervention.
  • Assessment time points included before the intervention (pre-), immediately after (post-), and 2- and 6-month follow-ups.
  • Measures used:
    • PTSD Checklist (PCL-5) for PTSD symptom severity.
    • Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI) for general psychological distress.
    • Social motor synchrony test involving pendulum swinging to assess behavioral coordination.
    • Human-Animal Interaction Scale (HAIS) after each lesson to gauge interaction quality.
    • Blood draws measured concentrations of key hormones linked to stress and bonding at multiple time points during lessons and at pre/post intervention.
  • Statistical analyses included repeated measure ANOVAs and paired t-tests to compare group differences and changes over time.

Key Findings

  • PTSD symptoms:
    • AH participants showed a trend toward reduced PTSD symptoms on the PCL-5 compared to controls, though the difference was marginally significant (p ≈ 0.099).
    • Global psychological distress (BSI scores) significantly decreased in the AH group compared to controls (p = 0.027).
  • Social motor synchrony results did not differ significantly between groups or over time, suggesting no measurable effect on this specific behavioral coordination task.
  • Hormone levels:
    • Cortisol, norepinephrine, and oxytocin levels remained stable across sessions and groups.
    • Epinephrine levels showed a tendency to decrease from week 1 to week 4 during AH lessons (p = 0.074), hinting at reduced stress reactivity early in the intervention.
  • Human-animal interactions, as measured by HAIS scores, improved starting at week 3 and remained elevated through week 8, indicating increased positive bonding between veterans and horses over time.

Challenges and Limitations

  • Recruitment of veterans with PTSD was challenging, limiting sample size and statistical power.
  • The small number of participants, especially in the control group, restricts broad generalization.
  • Physiological measures showed limited significant changes, possibly due to sample size or timing of hormone sampling.

Conclusions and Implications

  • Preliminary evidence supports the therapeutic potential of adaptive horsemanship lessons as a complementary intervention to reduce PTSD symptoms and psychological distress in veterans.
  • Improvements in human-animal interaction quality suggest that building a bond with horses may be an important therapeutic element.
  • The marginal reduction in epinephrine might reflect decreased stress responses during lessons.
  • Further research with larger samples is needed to clarify physiological mechanisms and optimize intervention protocols.
  • This pilot adds to growing evidence that equine-assisted therapies hold promise in mental health treatment for trauma-related disorders.

Cite This Article

APA
Rankins EM, Quinn A, McKeever KH, Malinowski K. (2024). Ground-based adaptive horsemanship lessons for veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder: a randomized controlled pilot study. Front Psychiatry, 15, 1390212. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2024.1390212

Publication

Frontiers in psychiatry
ISSN: 1664-0640
NlmUniqueID: 101545006
Country: Switzerland
Language: English
Volume: 15
Pages: 1390212
PII: 1390212

Researcher Affiliations

Rankins, Ellen M
  • Equine Science Center, Department of Animal Sciences, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, United States.
Quinn, Andrea
  • Center for Psychological Services, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, United States.
McKeever, Kenneth H
  • Equine Science Center, Department of Animal Sciences, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, United States.
Malinowski, Karyn
  • Equine Science Center, Department of Animal Sciences, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, United States.

Conflict of Interest Statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

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Citations

This article has been cited 2 times.
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  2. Rankins EM, Faremi BE, Hartmann K, Quinn A, Posada-Quintero HF, McKeever KH, Malinowski K. Heart rate variability responses of horses and veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder to ground-based adaptive horsemanship lessons: a pilot study.. Transl Anim Sci 2025;9:txaf019.
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