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We don’t often hear about the benefits of using horses in therapy and education. And yet these benefits were recorded almost 2,500 years ago by the Greek physician Hippocrates, the “father of medicine”.

“Hippotherapy”, the treatment with the help of the horse (“Hippo” is Greek for “horse”), has become medically recognised in most countries. A hippotherapist manipulates the movements of the horse to facilitate treatment rather than the rider controlling the horse. In 1999 the American Hippotherapy Certification Board was set up to promote “the professional growth of physical, occupational and speech-language therapists interested in using the movement of the horse as a tool in treatment”. In Britain riding therapy was offered to wounded soldiers at the Oxford Hospital during the First World War.

Equine assisted therapy (EAT) is practiced in some form throughout the world. In Britain, EAT and equine facilitated therapy (EFT) programmes are more common than hippotherapy. They differ because they actually involve the rider controlling the horse. This is considered a complete form of therapy which has a positive effect on the physical and psychological well-being of the rider.

A horse can teach us a lot about our own movements and how to improve them because they move in a similar way that we do: they move in a three-dimensional motion; from side to side, forward and backwards and up and down. The rhythmical three-dimensional movement and the warmth of the horse can help the rider’s muscles to relax, mobilise their lower body and pelvis, reduce involuntary movements and encourage symmetrical body movement. Riding a horse constantly throws the rider off-balance which requires that their muscles contract and relax in an attempt to rebalance. This exercise reaches deep muscles not accessible to conventional physical therapy.

Riding a horse eliminates the need to concentrate on standing so the rider can devote their efforts to refining balance and co-ordination. This shifts the focus to treating the abilities rather than the disabilities.

For wheelchair users riding a horse can offer the opportunity to see the world in a new way. They can visit places and experience scenery which may otherwise be denied them. Upon a horse the visual obstacles are fewer and the view of the world is expanded. This can lead to a dramatic change in the rider’s perception of their capabilities.

Hunkapi Programme, Arizona State University, USA

The hunkapi programme is Arizona State University’s (ASU’s) therapeutic horseback riding programme. The programme originally worked specifically with children with attention deficit/ hyperactivity disorder (AD/HD) and autism, and those emotionally at risk. The programme is named after the Native American (Sioux) hunkapi ceremony (“making a relative”) which marks the relationship between two people who become closer than kinship. It reflects the aims of the programme in establishing bonds between the rider and the horse, where children learn to love and experience feelings for the first time.

The programme was launched five years ago, following three years of research which showed that children with AD/HD improved their perceptual motor skills (reaction, movement and anticipation time) and psychological well-being after an eight week programme. Similarly, autistic riders can show improved self-concept and emotional control. More recently the programme has extended to at-risk youth and people with Down’s syndrome, obsessive compulsive disorder and depression.

Now in its sixth year the programme serves 300 people each week. It is part of ASU’s Alternative Intervention Research Clinic (AIRC). “The most consistent intervention among all the different kinds of children was horseback therapy,” says Debbie Crews, director of AIRC. “The basic eight-week therapy programme is simple. The children are taught to interact with the horse - including lessons in safety and grooming, preparing it for a ride and eventually riding the horse. Beyond the equestrian skills, they are learning to control the horse, the situation and ultimately themselves”.

Crews believes the horse to be the perfect kind of animal for therapy, as they are generally able to interpret a person's emotional state. She says, “The horse acts as a mirror for the child. Whatever the child is feeling, the horse will mimic. If the child is angry or scared, the horse won't move. But when the child is comfortable and confident, the horse will do anything the child wants.”

The programme, which is non-residential, has a mixture of children who pay for services and those who are covered through grants. Some children are referred to the programme by a therapist or by the court.

The hunkapi programme has a long list of success stories. One child with autism was able to speak for the first time after completing the programme. Another child, with severe trust and abandonment issues, was able to bond with her horse and tell it that she loves it. “It is not unusual, especially in the case of autism, for the child to verbally communicate spontaneously for the first time with ‘their’ horse,” says Terra Schaad, director of therapeutic riding for Hunkapi.

“We have had kids start talking who have never spoken before and we have had kids stay in our programme who have been kicked out of every other programme. When you see a kid who has never talked start talking, and you see a kid who has never loved start to love, it is more rewarding than any other accomplishment you could ever have” she adds.

Contact information:
Web: www.asu.edu/asunews/community/horsetherapy_041202.htm

Norfolk - Equine Assisted Therapy (EAT) programme

The equine assisted therapy (EAT) programme began in Norfolk in 1990, when a severely depressed client of Ruth McMahon, now senior occupational therapist with one of the community mental health teams in Norfolk Mental Health Care Trust, said that her only positive memory was of horse riding. McMahon responded to this by organising a riding lesson. “I was inspired during that first riding session by the remarkable changes brought about through contact with the horse,” she says. A depressed and anxious woman was transformed into a smiling, relaxed and focused individual who enjoyed discovering positive aspects of herself. The EAT programme now offers a weekly group therapy session for up to 10 community-based clients experiencing a wide range of mental health needs. There is no set time period for the therapy. The programme has a rolling membership and people can be involved in the programme for anything from three months up to two years. Often people are reluctant to leave the programme and offer their time back as helpers.

McMahon says that some people, who have had no previous experience of horses, express the concern that they are “big animals with big teeth and big feet”. However, people suffering with mental health needs benefit because it allows them to experience risk and power, and offers the opportunity to experience themselves responding to, and coping with, an immediate situation. In experiencing themselves differently a person gains a new perspective on their life.

While everyone has a unique experience of the programme there are a number of benefits which are consistently reported. People feel an improved sense of wellbeing and normality as they experience themselves coping with the present and being in control. McMahon says that the programme has seen people develop trust and respect, demonstrate greater self confidence and self esteem and has resulted in friendships from their shared interest. Other benefits included: increase in communication and assertiveness skills; better coping and decision making skills; more in touch with self and outside world; an increased sense of responsibility for self and an improved awareness of senses. These are skills which have helped people to into full- or part-time work, further education or voluntary work.

Now, past and present services users have set up The Equine Assisted Therapy Association, a not-for-profit organisation. The association was set up with the aim of increasing access to this service.

Contact information: Equine Assisted Therapy Association
Web - www.equineassistedtherapy.org.uk
Call - 01603 421 576
Fax – 01603 421 453

The Fortune Centre of Riding Therapy

The Fortune Centre of Riding Therapy, approved by the British Horse Society, is a residential specialist college for people with learning, emotional and behavioural difficulties. Its full time, three-year course, further education through horsemastership, accepts students aged between 16 and 25.

The course works with the specific goal of using students’ motivation to work with horses to create learning opportunities. Each student has an individual learning plan to help them achieve their potential. The emphasis is on the students gaining long-term life skills rather than a qualification. “The course aims to equip people to live in their reality,” says centre director, Jennifer Dixon-Clegg, who stresses the emphasis on helping the students to learn life skills which will better equip them to cope in their day-to-day lives. This requires a realistic understanding of their environment and their coping skills.

“Students come here having been non-learners and perceive themselves as failures”, says Dixon-Clegg. The centre transfers the students’ motivation to learn about and work with horses to help them learn life skills. “Many naturally occurring routines and activities in a horse environment act as the basis of new understanding. If horses interest and motivate an individual, then learning about them provides a learning purpose. We transfer what someone wants to learn into what they need to learn,” she adds.

For example, the motivation to muck out a stable is used to teach a life skill: mucking out a horse means learning how to sort the dirty from the clean straw. This skill can be transferred to sorting washing. Similarly, the involvement in grooming a horse teaches a student about their own personal care. “Learning to wash a horse’s mane has encouraged many people to become independent in their own hair washing,” says Dixon-Clegg.

Students can be referred to the centre by specialist careers advisers, social workers, teachers, doctors and other professionals. Funding for this course, depending on age and need, is provided mainly by the Learning and Skills Council.

Contact information: The Fortune Centre of Riding Therapy
Web - www.fortunecentre.org
Call – 01425 673 297
E-mail - info@fortunecentre.org