About Hippotherapy

How Hippotherapy Helps Children

            Hippotherapy is a type of therapy for speech and physical needs or disabilities.

“AHA (American Hippotherapy Association) 2000: Hippotherapy is a term that refers to the use of the movement of the horse as a strategy by Physical Therapists, Occupational Therapists, and Speech-Language Pathologists to address impairments, functional limitations, and disabilities in patients with neuromusculoskeletal dysfunction. This strategy is used as part of an integrated treatment program to achieve functional outcomes.” (Source one).

The movement of the horse while the patient is riding is part of the treatment approach different from balls or swings. It also puts them in a regular outside setting rather than a medical room. Hippotherapy is for adults and children with mild to severe neuromusculoskeletal dysfunction which includes,

·         Autism Spectrum Disorder

·         Cerebral Palsy

·         Developmental Delay

·         Genetic Syndromes

·         Learning Disabilities

·         Sensory Integration Disorders

·         Speech-Language Disorders

·         Traumatic Brain Injury/Stroke

·         Abnormal muscle tone

·         Impaired balance responses

·         Impaired coordination

·         Impaired communication

·         Impaired sensorimotor function

·         Postural asymmetry

·         Poor postural control

·         Decreased mobility

·         Limbic system dysfunction related to arousal and attentional skills

(Source 3)

Hippotherapy helps the individual deal with their impairments or disabilities. The Chastain Horse Park currently has 8 therapeutic riders and in Georgia there are 10 hippotherapy centers in Georgia (if each had on average 8 riders that would be 80 disabled or impaired adults and children). (Source 4)

“The movement of the horse is the strategy that a therapist uses to improve a patient’s neuromotor function. The patient may be positioned astride the horse facing forward or backward, sitting sideways, lying prone or supine. The patient interacts with, and actively responds to, the horse’s movement. The therapist’s responsibility is to continuously analyze the patient’s responses and adjust accordingly the manner in which the horse is moving. For this reason the therapist must have sufficient understanding of the movement of the horse to direct the experienced horse handler/therapeutic riding instructor to alter the tempo and direction of the horse as indicated by the patient’s responses.” (Source two)

Sources:

1.)    http://www.americanhippotherapyassociation.org/hippotherapy/present-use-of-hippotherapy/

2.)    http://www.americanhippotherapyassociation.org/hippotherapy/introduction-to-hippotherapy/

3.)    http://www.americanhippotherapyassociation.org/hippotherapy/hippotherapy-as-a-treatment-strategy/

4.)    http://www.localhorse.com/Directory/Georgia/hippotherapy/