Benefits of Riding for People

Reprinted from Hoof Prints, an NCEFT Publication February 2004 pg. 13 with permission of author, Bethany A. Lee, MS, OTR. For more information, please visit www.nceft.org or www.americanhippotherapyassociation.org

Winston Churchill said: "There is nothing wrong with the inside of a man that can't be cured by the outside of a horse."

The National Center for Equine Facilitated Therapy (NCEFT) of Woodside is one of many wonderful therapy facilities which specialize in using horses to help people suffering from a variety of health problems gain balance, muscles, confidence, etc through riding horses (hippotherapy).

Medically Speaking…
Hippotherapy combines physical challenges, mechanical input, sensory integration information, environmental factors, and psycho-social interplay to achieve the desired functional outcomes. The first and most obvious factor that hippotherapy addresses is the pattern of three-dimensional movement in the human pelvis.

Three Dimensional Movement
When a human being walks, the pelvis moves in three-dimensional pattern, including anterior or posterior movement (forward or back), lateral displacement (side to side, or rotation (around the center of gravity). The characteristics of human walking motions are very similar to those of our equine friends. Both typically maintain a rhythm, involve movement of the center of mass of the body, require momentum, and necessitate that the trunk of the body be maintained in accordance with the center of mass.

When a human being is astride a horse, the movement pattern required for typical human ambulation is transferred by the horse's movement to the rider's pelvis. When repeated, this input of the walking movement pattern sometimes helps the rider's brain reorganize itself, enabling the human body to actively create this pattern and giving the rider the ability to walk. The horses' walk can be graded to meet individual needs and goals, and the use of transitions, turn, figures, and tempo can affect the impact of the movement upon the human body.

Sensory integration
The environment of hippotherapy provides a wide range of sensory information, including the passive movement of the body through space; the active movement of the body on a dynamic surface as it moves through space; the warmth, feel and smell of the horse; and external forces beyond the horse, such as wind, sounds outside the arena, and other stimuli. This sensory stimulation helps those with sensory integration issues normalize their processing and reactions to sensory information.

Other Physical and Mechanical Mechanisms
A human on a dynamic surface, such as a horse, is constantly challenged to maintain alignment. This pattern of continuous righting helps generate active muscle co-contraction, strengthening, balance control, postural control, equilibrium development, and other skills needed for functional performance of everyday tasks.

Psychological and Emotional Benefits
The human-horse connection needs no explanation. Why horses are good for the soul is anybody's guess, but it is something that we at NCEFT simply know and accept. Although the primary goal of hippotherapy is physical improvement, we cannot dispute that emotional comfort and human connections are enhanced by our relationships with horses. In summary, hippotherapy is a powerful tool for physical, occupational, and speech therapists, with an impact that cannot be replicated by a machine, nor in a traditional clinic based therapy setting.

Disclaimer
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only and are not legal advice. Subscribers and online readers should not act
upon this information without seeking professional counsel. Every attempt has been made to assure that the information contained in this publication is accurate. EnviroHorse assumes no responsibility and disclaims any liability for any injury or damage resulting from the use or effect of any product or information specified in this publication.