preview

Hippotherapy Essay

Good Essays
Open Document

Helen Thompson once wrote, “In riding a horse we borrow freedom.”[3] People have always been astounded by the magnificence of horses. They were always seen as majestic, free, strong, and loyal. It was at the Helsinki Olympics in 1952 that Liz Hartel admitted that riding a horse helped her recover from polio. Soon after her speech, in the 1960s, therapeutic riding centers were created in Europe, Canada, and the United States. It was also during the 1960s, that the horse was used as an adjunct to physical therapy in Germany, Switzerland, and Austria; and the practice was named hippotherapy. This concept quickly made its way to the United States, and the North American Riding for the Handicapped Association (NARHA) was created in 1969. Thereafter, …show more content…

The researchers had ninety-two children with cerebral palsy that were four to six years old participate in this study. They were randomly assigned to either a hippotherapy group or control group. The children in the hippotherapy group had 30 minutes of hippotherapy, twice a week for eight weeks in addition to conventional physiotherapy. Services were provided indoors with a therapist, horse leader, and two side walkers. The protocol that was used involved muscle relaxation, postural alignment of head, trunk, and lower extremities, independent sitting, and active exercises. The control group consisted of thirty minutes of home aerobic exercise. The Gross Motor Function Classification System-88 was used as an outcome measure as well as the GMFM-66; balance was assessed using the Pediatric Balance Scale. The results of this study were increased scores on the GMFM-88, GMFM-66, and PBS. This study was the first randomized control study that was done in regards to hippotherapy

Get Access