Therapy Niche Uses Horses

By Sue Antinoro PhysicalTherapistSource.com

Last week I accompanied by friend to watch her daughter take riding lessons. As the session ended, I heard her daughter ask why a particular girl, who was riding a few hundred yards over, had so many helpers, while she had only one. Apparently, that girl was not there taking equestrian lessons, but undergoing physical therapy, using a most unusual tool, the horse.

One reason hippotherapy is so effective is that the horse's gait actually mimics the way a human walks, in that a horse takes the same number of steps per minute as a human does and the steps are proportioned similarly. The horse's repetitive, rhythmic movement works to move a patient's trunk and helps to re-train the patient's motor responses. The therapist uses the horse's movement in combination with other treatment strategies to reach their desired therapy goals. Riding also helps to greatly improve posture, strengthen muscle tone and stretch leg muscles, and assists with reducing spastic movements typically associated with patients who have multiple sclerosis or cerebral palsy.

Patients benefit from hippotherapy not only because of the physical integration but they realize the positive emotional and psychological affects as well since horses are well loved animals and successful riding experiences help to build their self confidence while having fun.