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Holly Holland
Ms. Truitt
English 3
October 18th, 2011
Hippotherapy: Not Just Horse Play.
The first hope for every human born is for a healthy and safe life with normal
development and life experiences. Unfortunately, that health, safety, and norms are not the only
options for human life. Many complications with pregnancy, development, and even accidents
after birth can negatively affect a person’s development, skills, and abilities. Although these
disorders can severely limit a person’s abilities, there are many available resources and therapies
to aid a person in living life to their independent fullest. One of these proven beneficial therapies
is Hippotherapy. Hippotherapy is recognized by the American Physical Therapy Assocation and
the American Occupational Therapy Association as a proven successful treatment for many
individual’s struggling with physical, mental, or emotional disabilities.
As early as 600 B.C. it was acknowledged that riding horses was more than a means of
transportation and it could also improve the health and well-being of people with handicaps. In
1944, at age 23, Liz Hartel was paralyzed by polio. She gradually regained use most of muscles,
although she was still paralyzed below the knee, her arms and hands were also affected. She
could still ride but needed help on the horses. After three years of rehabilitation, she was able to
compete in the Scandinarian Riding Championships. In 1952 she was chosen to represent
Denmark in the Helsinki Olympics. Prior to that time women were not permitted to complete in
the Olympic equestrian events. Even though she needed help on and off her horse she won the
Olympic Silver Medal. It was the most emotional moment in Olympic history. In 1922, Hartel
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was included in the Scandinavian country’s hall of fame. Shortly after winning the Olympic
medal, Liz Hartel and her therapist founded Europe’s first Therapeutic Riding Center. It soon
came to attention of the Medical Communication and Therapy riding center spread throughout
Europe (“Liz Hartel: Therapeutic Riding Founder”).
Hippotherapy was recognized as a valuable form of therapy in the 1960’s. It began to be
used in Germany, Austria and Switzerland as an addition to traditional physical therapy. In
Germany, Hippotherapy began as treatment by a physiotherapist, a specially trained horse, and a
horse trainer. The physiotherapist gave directions to the horse handler as to the gait, tempo,
cadence and direction for the horse to perform. The horse’s movement is carefully graded at the
walk in each treatment for the patient (“History of Therapeutic Riding”). The movement of the
horse provides physical movements such as variable, rhythmic and repetitive. The variable of the
horses gait enables the therapist to grade the degree of input to the patient based on individuals’
therapy needs.
The word Hippotherapy means horse in Greek. The American Hippotherapy Association,
also known as AHA, defines Hippotherapy as treatment with the aid of a horse. Successful
Hippotherapy includes a well-trained horse, a therapist, and an experienced horse handler. AHA
offers training and education to make the Hippotherapy team therapeutic (“American
Hippotherapy Association, INC”). Hippotherapy uses the physical movements in combination
with other treatments strategies to achieve desired therapy goals of functional outcomes based on
individual needs as determined by therapist. Hippotherapy can be used as physical, occupational
and speech therapy treatment. A person riding a horse receives constant sensory input including;
tactile, auditory, olfactory and visual stimulation.
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Hippotherapy can benefit adults and children with disabilities. As the horse walks it helps
the patient by mimicking a human’s natural walking pattern. The horse’s pelvis leads to a
movement response in the patient’s pelvis. This mimicking of human movement can increase
physical motor skills in a person with limitations caused by developmental disabilities. Patients
with developmental and physical disabilities such as; autism, cerebral, palsy, arthritis, multiple
sclerosis, head injuries, stoke, and spine cord injuries have all shown progress and benefits with
Hippotherapy. The therapist helps the patient’s strengths as well as stretching exercises with the
rider seated on the horse. Therapy also includes how to ride a horse. The motion and the heat of
the horse gently exercise the rider’s spine, muscles, and joints (“Hippotherapy: Facts, Discussion
Forum, and Encyclopedia Article”).
Hippotherapy has proven beneficial in coping with the symptoms and overcoming
limitations caused by Cerebral Palsy. Cerebral palsy, CP, is a neurological disorder that affects
muscle tone, movement, and motor skills by limiting the ability to move in a coordinated and
purposeful way. CP is usually caused by brain damage that occurs before or during a child’s
birth, or during the first three to five years of a child’s life. There is no cure for CP, but
treatment, therapy, special equipment, and, in some cases, surgery can help a child who is living
with the condition. Cerebral palsy affects muscle control and coordination, so even simple
movements such as standing are difficult. The idea behind using Hippotherapy as a treatment for
CP patients is that the rhythmic movement of the horse provides a sense of rhythm to the patient
and encourages development of muscle tone in the body while helping the patient to align his
head, torso and hips correctly. This muscle tone development may aids CP patients in sitting, and
eventually standing and walking. Physically, Hippotherapy may help improve posture, balance,
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coordination, muscle strength, core strength, body control, and gross motor skills such as
walking, sitting and standing in individuals with Cerebral Palsy.
Hippotherapy may also benefit individuals diagnosed with Down Syndrome. Down
syndrome is a genetic condition that causes delays in physical and intellectual development. It
occurs in every 691 live births. Individuals with Down Syndrome have 47 chromosomes instead
of the usual 46. It’s the most frequently occurring chromosomal disorder. Down Syndrome is
often caused by an error in cell division called non injunction. It is not known why it occurs,
however it is known that the error occurs at conception and it is not related to anything the
mother did or did not do during pregnancy. Some children have more significant needs and
require a more specialized participate in post – secondary education. Many adults with Down
Syndrome are capable of working in the community, but some require a more structured
environment. Approximately 40 percent of children with Down Syndrome have congenital
illnesses (“National Association for Down Syndrome”). Coordination, muscle toning, body
strength, and gross motor skills are increased in patients with Down Syndrome through
Hippotherapy may prove beneficial in helping individuals gain skills they lack due to their
disorder.
Autism is another developmental disorder that studies have shown Hippotherapy can
benefit patient’s symptoms. Autism now affects one in 110 children. More children will be
diagnosed with Autism this year than with aids, diabetes and cancer combined. Autism costs the
nation over $35 billion per year, a figure expected to significantly increase in the next decade. It
receives less than five percent of the research funding of many less prevalent childhood diseases.
Boys are four times more likely to have autism than girls (“Facts About Autism | Autism
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Speaks”). Many physical therapists and families of Autism patients recognize Hippotherapy as a
valuable resource for increasing skills and deficiencies caused by Autism.
In a world full of dangers sometimes a normally developing individual can have a tragic
accident that results in Traumatic Brain injury. Aquired brain injury, occurs when a sudden
trauma causes damage to the brain. TBI, Traumatic Brain Injury, can result when the head
suddenly and violently hits an object or when an object pierces the skull and enters the brain
tissue (“TBI | Traumatic Brain Injury”). Patients with traumatic brain injury may experience a
broad spectrum of symptoms and disabilities. The impact of TBI on the victim and his or her
family can be devastating. When a person suffers from TBI they may lose mental and physical
skills they once had and or lose the ability to continue to development skills at an expected rate.
Hippotherapy can again prove beneficial in physical motor skill building to aid a TBI patient.
Hippotherapy can also benefit individuals with visual impairments. Many visually
impaired people will not be immediately recognizable as such. It doesn’t just affect the eyes, it
affects the whole person, family and friends. Only four percent of people who are registered
blind have no vision at all. For the other 96 percent the nature of their residential vision will vary
according to different eye conditions (High). Hippotherapy can encourage sensory stimulation,
visual sensation, balance and coordination that can benefit patients with visual impairments.
Increasing flexibility is another benefit of Hippotherapy. Flexibility decreases the risk of
injury. Most experts agree that a suppler joint is less likely to exceed tissue extensibility during
activity. It may also contribute to improved circulation and patient transport, allowing greater
elasticity in tissue. Many people believe that loss of balance and unsteadiness are a natural result
of aging. Some ways of keep balance is achieving normal balance, improving posture, improving
movement, improving muscle strength (“Facts About Balance”). Strength training is the process
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of exercising the muscles with appropriately progressive workloads to strengthen the body.
Mobility is people with physical impairments disabilities often use assertive devices or mobility
aids such as crutches, canes wheelchairs and article limbs to obtain mobility.
Individuals with behavior and psychiatric disorders can also be treated with
Hippotherapy. Therapeutic and Hippotherapy horseback riding both use the multidimensional
movement of a horse to positively affect physical, psychological and behavior functions. Some
emotional psychology benefits experienced from Hippotherapy include; increased self-esteem,
Grief therapy, sense of accomplishment, and positive social interaction.
The word ‘esteem’ comes from a Latin word that means ‘to estimate’. Self-esteem is how
a person estimates or regards themselves. A good way to improve self esteem is individual
recognition that a person is special because they are unique. How a person thinks and recognizes
the differences between individuals affects their self-esteem. It is important for people to realize
unless every set of finger prints are different, as are individuals as a whole (“Self-esteem”).
Grief therapy is counseling that focuses on the goal of helping an individual grieve and
address personal loss in a healthy manner. The purpose of grief counseling is to help individuals
work though the feelings, thoughts and memories associated with the loss of a loved one. While
individuals cope with loss differently, Hippotherapy has proven to encourage pride and joy in
individuals improperly dealing with grief. Riding a horse allows an individual to take part in an
enjoyable activity and build trust between the rider and the horse. Hippotherapy is also
beneficial in encouraging grieving individuals to communicate with their riding group or
therapist. Involvement in Hippotherapy program may also allow grieving individuals to step
away from their thoughts of loss and encourage positive thoughts.
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Another proven emotional benefit from Hippotherapy is social interaction. Social
Anxiety Disorder is the third largest mental health care problem in the world. Data shows that
social anxiety affects over seven percent of the population at any given time. People with social
anxiety are many times seen by others as being shy, quiet, withdrawn, unfriendly, nervous and
disinterested. People with this disorder may desire to make friends and be engaged in social
interactions but lack the social skills required to participate in social activities. Possible past
negative social interactions have instilled a social fear within these individuals. This fear can
hold an individual back from participating in social activities (“Social Phobia/Social Anxiety
Fact Sheet”). Social interaction is important to human life. A person must interact with others at
school, family functions, community outings and jobs. Hippotherapy may aid a person in
gaining confidence and positive social interaction opportunities that will encourage further social
interaction enabling a person to grow socially.
Studies have proven that Hippotherapy can help individuals with disabilities. The
movement of the horse helps the individual mimicking the natural movement of a human body’s
mobility. Horseback riding also helps an individual with muscles weakness gain balance and
strength. The benefit of increasing self-esteem, social interaction, and accomplishment of riding
skills is also beneficial to a individuals who struggle with a disability. While there is not a single
solution that will help individuals with disabilities completely heal from their conditions.
However, Hippotherapy has proven to be more than horse play and has been proven through
research and personal testimony to benefit individuals with disabilities.