Equine-Assisted Intervention to Improve Perceived Value of Everyday Occupations and Quality of Life in People with Lifelong Neurological Disorders: A Prospective Controlled Study

Abstract

People with neurological disorders suffer from poor mobility, poor balance, fatigue, isolation and monotonous everyday activities. Studies show that equine-assisted interventions can improve their mobility and balance, but could these kinds of interventions also increase participants’ activity repertoire and self-assessed health, and reduce their fatigue? The study was conducted as a prospective, controlled study with three cohorts followed for one year: intervention group (n = 14), control group Passive (n = 29), and control group Active (n = 147). Participants in the study were affected by neurological disease or injury that limited their opportunities for an active everyday life. The intervention group lacked regular activities outside the home before the intervention, which consisted of riding once a week, led by a certified therapist. Control group Passive lacked regular activities outside the home, while control group Active had several activities outside the home per week. Primary outcome measures were activity repertoire measured with Occupational Value Assessment questionnaire. Secondary outcome measures were global self-assessed health measured with EuroQol-VAS and fatigue measured with Shirom-Melamed Burnout Questionnaire. The intervention group’s activity repertoire and self-assessed health increased significantly compared to both baseline and the control groups. Equine-assisted interventions could help to improve the perceived value of everyday occupations and quality of life, as well as break isolation and increase the activity repertoire of people with neurological disorders.

Specific and Non-specific Factors of Animal-Assisted Interventions Considered in Research: A Systematic Review

“…In this category, we included studies with experimental conditions where subjects engaged with other human beings, for example, in group activities or by talking to another person (e.g., Palsdottir et al, 2020 ; Asqarova, 2020 ). Analyses showed that 5.81% ( n = 10) of the studies controlled for social interaction as a specific factor.…”

The Embodied Nature of Horse Human Communication: A Feasibility Study of an Equine Assisted Intervention; Benefits for Horses and Humans

“…A small study has considered equine assisted therapies impact on depression, anxiety, mindfulness and sleep quality. All areas showed statistically significant improvement, but the sample was small, and the intervention used within the study not well described [37].…”

Effects of equine-assisted interventions on older adults’ health: A systematic review

“…EAI encompasses several activities like horseback riding, but also activities without classic riding such as adapted acrobatics, carriage driving, grooming, and caring for and interacting with horses. Previous studies have demonstrated that EAI seems to alleviate emotional, social, cognitive, and physical disorders in various healthcare settings and has been used to treat neurological disorders [ 3 ] and other disabilities such as autism [ 4 ] or psychiatric disorders [ 5 , 6 ].…”