A Commentary on the Contemporary Issues Confronting Animal Assisted and Equine Assisted Interactions

Fine, Aubrey H.; Andersen, Sarah

doi:10.1016/j.jevs.2021.103436

Cited by 23 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…Because there is increasing attention to the bi-directionality of protections for human subjects as well as animal participants in research, particularly in studies of animal-assisted interactions, a secondary goal of the research was to examine whether horses experienced an increase in stress due to their participation in the study [ 29 , 30 ]. This is in ethical obligation in alignment with the call for equine welfare assurances in research and practice [ 37 , 38 , 39 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reducing Anxiety and Stress among Youth in a CBT-Based Equine-Assisted Adaptive Riding Program

Vincent

Acri

Morrissey

et al. 2022

Animals

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Reining in Anxiety (RiA) is a therapeutic program for youth with mild to moderate anxiety delivered in a therapeutic riding setting by Certified Therapeutic Riding Instructors. RiA was developed after a review of the evidence base for youth anxiety, is manualized, and includes five core CBT components: in vivo exposure, cognitive restructuring, youth psychoeducation, relaxation, and caregiver psychoeducation about anxiety. This study extended findings from a prior RCT that examined (1) the feasibility of collecting saliva samples from horses and children to measure stress (cortisol) and relaxation (oxytocin); (2) whether changes in stress and relaxation occurred both during each lesson and over the course of the 10-week intervention for horses and youth; (3) whether changes in anxiety symptoms, emotional regulation, and self-efficacy found in the first trial were comparable; and (4) if fidelity to the program was reliable. Youth participants (n = 39) ages 6–17 with caregiver-identified mild-to-moderate anxiety participated in a ten-week therapeutic intervention (RiA), which combined adaptive riding and components of CBT. Physiological data and self-report measures were taken at weeks one, four, seven, and ten for the youth and horses. Saliva assays assessed cortisol as a physiological marker of stress and anxiety, and oxytocin as a measure of relaxation. Fidelity data were recorded per session. Anxiety, as measured by caregiver self-reporting, significantly decreased from pre- to post-test, while emotional regulation scores increased. No significant changes in self-efficacy from pre- to post-test were observed. Saliva samples obtained from participants before and after riding sessions showed a consistent decrease in cortisol and a significant increase in oxytocin at two of the four timepoints (Week 1 and Week 7), but no overall pre- to post-test changes. Horse saliva data were collected using a modified bit; there were no significant changes in oxytocin or cortisol, suggesting that the horses did not have an increase in stress from the intervention. RiA may be a promising approach for reducing anxiety and stress among youth, as measured both by self-reported and by physiological measures. Collection of salivary assays for both youth and horses is feasible, and the intervention does not increase stress in the horses. Importantly, RiA can be delivered by adaptive/therapeutic horseback riding instructors in naturalistic (e.g., non-clinic-based) settings. As youth anxiety is a growing public health problem, novel interventions, such as RiA, that can be delivered naturalistically may have the potential to reach more youth and thus improve their quality of life. Further research is needed to examine the comparative value of RiA with other animal-assisted interventions and to assess its cost-effectiveness.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reducing Anxiety and Stress among Youth in a CBT-Based Equine-Assisted Adaptive Riding Program

Vincent

Acri

Morrissey

et al. 2022

Animals

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“…There is a paucity of research in EAS which focuses on defining protocols and practices at the organizational level [ 21 ]. Participant outcomes that are improved with EAS included somatic awareness, relational experiences, and brain functionality improvement [ 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Framing Future of Work Considerations through Climate and Built Environment Assessment of Volunteer Work Practices in the United States Equine Assisted Services

Tumlin

Liu

Park

2021

IJERPH

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The foundation of healthy workplace design is an understanding of work practices. Volunteers comprise the majority of the workforce in care centers using horses to address human health issues. Documentation is lacking on protections for worker well-being in equestrian microenvironments which are known to have the potential for dust exposures. Climate acts as a master variable in equestrian facility design and ventilation usage to address dust and temperature concerns. Using climate as an independent variable, our objective was to characterize space usage, safety, environmental control, and organizational practices through a national survey of equine assisted programs. We found that more fully enclosed indoor arena spaces were in cold/very cold and mixed-humid climates (p = 0.0114). Annually more volunteers (p = 0.0073) work in these two climate groups averaging 100 volunteers per location. A total of 34% of all facilities, regardless of climate, do not use mechanical ventilation systems (e.g., fans). As volunteer worker time in the arena increased, time in the barn microenvironment tended to decrease (p = 0.0538). We identified facility designs, ventilation usage, and worker arrangements to refine the scalability of future air contaminant monitoring and to provide frameworks for education, workplace design, and prevention of exposure to dust.

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“…In the last decade, canine science has received considerable support from the pet care sector, as well as human health and defense agencies [e.g., (29)]. Fine and Andersen (30) stress that although funding is still a challenge in human-animal interaction research, there are now more options to be found. In 2008, the Waltham Petcare Science Institute initiated a public-private partnership with the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.…”

Section: Fundingmentioning

confidence: 99%

The New Era of Canine Science: Reshaping Our Relationships With Dogs

et al. 2021

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Canine science is rapidly maturing into an interdisciplinary and highly impactful field with great potential for both basic and translational research. The articles in this Frontiers Research Topic, Our Canine Connection: The History, Benefits and Future of Human-Dog Interactions, arise from two meetings sponsored by the Wallis Annenberg PetSpace Leadership Institute, which convened experts from diverse areas of canine science to assess the state of the field and challenges and opportunities for its future. In this final Perspective paper, we identify a set of overarching themes that will be critical for a productive and sustainable future in canine science. We explore the roles of dog welfare, science communication, and research funding, with an emphasis on developing approaches that benefit people and dogs, alike.

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A Commentary on the Contemporary Issues Confronting Animal Assisted and Equine Assisted Interactions

Cited by 23 publications

References 24 publications

Reducing Anxiety and Stress among Youth in a CBT-Based Equine-Assisted Adaptive Riding Program

Reducing Anxiety and Stress among Youth in a CBT-Based Equine-Assisted Adaptive Riding Program

Framing Future of Work Considerations through Climate and Built Environment Assessment of Volunteer Work Practices in the United States Equine Assisted Services

The New Era of Canine Science: Reshaping Our Relationships With Dogs

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