Horses as Occupational Therapy Partners

Horses are used as therapeutic partners to help disabled children improve motor, language, social and cognitive skills. When occupational, physical or speech therapists use the horse during treatment- we call this specialty area "Hippotherapy". The prefix "hippo" is the Greek word for horse.

It was discovered thousands of years ago that horses promote emotional and physical healing. Books and movies often illustrate the powerful and beneficial emotional relationship that can develop between horse and rider. But the physical benefits of riding are less understood. Let me explain a bit here- the movement of the horse's hind legs and pelvis produces movement in the rider's hips that is similar to the human gait. Many riders have disabilities such as cerebral palsy that delay walking or the person has an abnormal walking gait. When these children ride, they experience and internalize what normal, rhythmic and balanced movement feels like. This in turn promotes normal movement when off the horse.

The smell, touch, sounds, appearance and feeling of being on a horse is very stimulating to the senses. While riding the child experiences sensory stimulation to the joints and muscles, called "proprioception" and to the inner ears called "vestibular" stimulation. The vestibular system controls one's sense of balance and awareness of the head in relation to gravity (i.e. the ground). All of this wonderful stimulation is beneficial to children with dysfunction in sensory integration, including individuals on the autism spectrum.

During hippotherapy sessions, the therapist will work on specific objectives to improve motor, communication, cognitive and sensory abilities. Some examples of these are to: 1) Tolerate grasping the reins, 2) Hold arms out to sides like an airplane and count to ten, 3) Change position from facing forward to backwards or 4) Point to mane to indicate "Go".