"There is something about the outside of a horse that is good for the inside of a man"
- Winston Churchill
Equine Assisted Physiotherapy
Equine Assisted Therapy encompasses a range of treatments involving horses to promote human physical and mental health. Total Body Riding specialises in providing Equine Assisted Physiotherapy to a wide range of people who benefit from working in partnership with horses to reach their own therapy and rehabilitation goals.
Treatment may include spending time working on physical tasks with horses on the ground, such as grooming, leading and horse care, or receiving therapy whilst mounted, a treatment known at “hippotherapy”.
Equine assisted therapy is a treatment modality that should only be carried out by highly specialist chartered physiotherapists, occupational therapists or speech and language therapists, who have received extensive post-graduate training, are insured and committed to constantly updating their knowledge and skills, so you should always check the qualifications of treating therapists.
What is Hippotherapy?
Hippotherapy is defined as the use of “evidence-based practice and clinical reasoning in the purposeful use of equine movement within a therapy session.” (ACPEA 2022). This means using the three-dimensional movement of a horse to deliver physical therapy to people who have challenges to their movement, mobility, balance and sensory systems.
It is a goal-based physiotherapy session delivered on horseback.
The word “hippotherapy” is derived from the ancient Greek word for horse, “hippos”.
How does it work?
Horses and humans are not so very different from each other and we move in similar ways. When a rider is sitting on a horse, the horse’s movement gets transferred to, and is absorbed by, the rider.
When that rider is someone who has difficulties with their own movement and mobility, this “normal movement” is being physically communicated to that person, who rarely ever gets to experience it independently themselves.
Skilled therapists can manipulate this effect by using different movement patterns and transitions of the horse, combined with postures and positions of the rider to create therapeutic effects and achieve functional therapy goals.
Add to that the fact that being outdoors and on a living, breathing, moving horse can be a hugely beneficial sensory experience for many people, especially if they are often restricted in their mobility and independence.
And of course, it’s fun!
Who is it for?
Equine Assisted Therapy can make therapy and rehabilitation a peaceful and enjoyable experience for many different people. By working with and alongside horses, facilitated by an experienced physiotherapist, children and adults receive the benefits of an intense physiotherapy session whilst spending time outside with animals that they love.
Equine Assisted Physiotherapy is a form of rehabilitation that is used in the management of a wide variety of conditions, including, but not limited to:
cerebral palsy
muscular dystrophies
spinal cord injury
traumatic brain injury
multiple sclerosis
stroke
autism
learning disability
sensory processing difficulties
“She used to hate her physiotherapy and it was a constant battle, but now she can’t wait for her next session! ”
— Mother of child receiving hippotherapy
