Hippotherapy

How it Works
Other Uses of Hippotherapy
Back in the Saddle Hippotherapy Program

With any loved activity, fun and health benefits are enjoyed on many levels. When it comes to hippotherapy, a type of therapeutic horseback riding, the number and range of benefits to be realized is surprising.

Hippotherapy is not therapy for hippopotami! The word "hippos" is Greek for horse. Hippotherapy is therapy that utilizes a horse as a treatment tool. It is typically used by physical therapists to improve posture, balance, mobility and function—to name a few. During treatment, the therapist positions the patient on the therapy horse and directs the horse's movements. Physical therapists integrate principles of medical and psychological treatment in various uses of the horse to produce specific outcomes.

A therapist is aided by horse handlers or side-walkers. Occasionally an assistant must sit behind a patient to keep him or her from falling off, but usually the patient learns to balance. Team members control the therapy tool (the horse), as well as the safety of the patient. They allow the therapist to focus attention on the patient and facilitate normal movement or interactions. Only carefully trained, mature horses are used for hippotherapy.

How it Works

One reason hippotherapy is such an effective physical therapy method is that a horse's gait actually mimics the human gait. Humans take the same number of steps per minute as a horse does and they proportion their steps similarly. That movement passively moves a patient's trunk and the rhythmic movement of a live animal re-trains the patient's motor responses. Riding also stretches leg muscles, which in turn normalizes the muscle tone, reducing spasticity typically associated with cerebral palsy and multiple sclerosis. Hippotherapy also measurably improves posture.

Benefits of hippotherapy abound on many levels: physical, psychological and emotional. As far as boosting one's emotional well-being, people enjoy being around the horses. They're nice creatures and they're fun! Emotional bonding with a horse is gratifying to both children and adults, so patients are motivated to do well. Their successes in riding builds self-confidence and their dreams are realized far beyond the confines of a disability.

Other Uses of Hippotherapy

Hippotherapy is also considered an effective treatment method by speech-language pathologists, occupational therapists, psychologists and psychiatrists. Hippotherapy is used to treat children and adults with everything from cerebral palsy to learning disabilities. The list includes: multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy, spina bifida, amputations, brain injuries, Down's Syndrome, visual and hearing impairments, attention deficit disorder, emotional disturbances and learning disorders.

The National Center for Equine Facilitated Therapy (NCEFT)
http://www.nceft.com/pp_programs.shtml
NCEFT provides equine-assisted activity and therapeutic programs for people with neuromuscular and sensory disabilities.