Therapeutic Horse Riding: What Has This to Do with Occupational Therapists?

Abstract

The horse has been used as a therapeutic medium since the time of the ancient Greeks and Xenophon is quoted as saying that ‘the best thing for the inside of a man is the outside of the horse’ (Longden 1998, p44). Man has been using horses for more than 3,500 years as draught horses or for riding; therefore, the man-horse relationship may be perceived ‘as a close psychophysical attachment’ (Schulz 1997, p65). The horse and its environment has been and continues to be used as a therapeutic tool for people with a wide range of needs and abilities, as is evidenced in the literature. This paper identifies some of the benefits and limitations of therapeutic horse riding and its relationship with occupational therapy, through a review of the literature and the use of case summaries from the author's personal experience.

The effect of an equine assisted therapy (EAT) programme on children’s occupational performance – a pilot study

“…In contrast, this study addressed occupational goals in an equine-based intervention that could also be applied to the children's daily life. Transferable skills that applied to activities of daily living were reported to derive from caring for a horse (Bracher, 2000). Interestingly, a variety of goals that contributed to areas such as peer interaction, feeding, dressing, productivity and leisure could be explored in this group setting and yield some preliminary positive results.…”

“…This EAT programme was created from a blend of therapy associated with the use of horses as well as specific knowledge and skills unique to occupational therapy. Using the movement of the horse to target motor skills and sensory processing linked with much of the research in relation to hippotherapy (Bracher, 2000;Henry and Sava, 2006). Comparable to therapeutic riding (Equine Facilitated Education and Therapy Association [EFETA], 2015), some basic riding exercises and pony games were drawn on to target attention, gross and fine motor skills.…”

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Purpose -Equine-assisted therapy (EAT) uses the horse and its environment to achieve therapeutic goals as designed by an allied health professional (Taylor, 2010). The benefits of these interventions affect areas such as motor skills (Bass et al, 2009;Silkwood-Sherer et al, 2012), sensory processing (Ward et al, 2013), learning, social interaction and socioemotional development (Bracher, 2000). It was felt that occupational therapists could offer valuable input in this area.

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Sensory Integration and Therapeutic Riding at Summer Camp

“…Sensory integration based therapy has often been combined with therapeutic riding (Campbell & Garrett, 1996). Bracher (2000), for example, illustrated in a case study how sensory integration principles were used in a riding session to decrease aggression and allow full participation in the riding experience for a child with autism. For this camp experience, therapeutic riding goals were from the area of recreation/leisure.…”

Thai Elephant-Assisted Therapy Program

“…Thai elephants are used as therapeutic media and also companions in doing activities with each autistic individual. The large size of the elephant may attract the interest of the subjects and motivate them to interact with elephants and the environment [6,7]. The elephant also eats a large amount of food give the individual with autism more opportunity to interact with and care for them.…”