Physiological demands of therapeutic horseback riding in children with moderate to severe motor impairments: an exploratory study.

The research article investigates the level of physical exertion in children with significant motor impairments during therapeutic horseback riding lessons and concludes that, on average, these sessions are not strenuous enough to increase the children’s cardiovascular and pulmonary fitness effectively.

Research Methodology

• The study included seven children (four boys) with moderate to severe motor impairments. The average age of the children was approximately 12 years old.
• The researchers measured key physiological parameters during a period of rest and during typical therapeutic horseback riding (THR) sessions. The monitored parameters included Heart rate (HR), oxygen uptake (.VO2), and minute ventilation (.VE).
• These measurements were made continuously for 10 minutes while the children were resting, and during their horseback riding sessions.

Findings of the Study

• The study recorded notable increases from the resting values for all parameters, namely heart rate, oxygen uptake, minute ventilation, and energy expenditure, during the THR sessions.
• A closer look at the .VO2 measurements revealed that approximately 43.3% of the THR session consisted of sedentary activity, 44.4% consisted of light activity, and 12.3% accounted for moderate to intense activity. The data showed significant differences between individuals.

Conclusions

• Overall, the study concluded that the exertion caused by THR sessions in children with moderate to severe motor impairments is only moderate.
• Moreover, the study suggested that the brief duration of the moderate to vigorous intense activities during these therapeutic horseback riding sessions and the low frequency of these sessions render them inadequate for improving the cardiopulmonary fitness of these children.