A quick view at: What is therapeutic horsemanship?
Therapeutic Horsemanship – Equine activities organized and taught by knowledgeable and skilled instructors to people with disabilities or diverse needs. Students progress in equestrian skills while improving:their cognitive, emotional, social and behavioral skills.Therapeutic Riding (TR) – Mounted activities including traditional riding disciplines or adaptive riding activities conducted by a NARHA certified instructor.Therapeutic Horsemanship – Equine activities organized and taught by knowledgeable and skilled instructors to people with disabilities or diverse needs. Students progress in equestrian skills while improving:their cognitive, emotional, social and behavioral skills.
Equine Facilitated Learning (EFL) – Includes equine activities incorporating the experience of equine/human interaction in an environment of learning or self-discovery. EFL promotes personal exploration of feelings and behaviors in an educational format. It is conducted by a NARHA certified instructor, an educator or a therapist. Goals may be related to self-improvement, social interaction and/or education.
Vocational Rehabilitation – Equine related activities that may include work hardening, work re-entry or vocational exploration. Participants are young adults or adults. May be considered equine assisted therapy if integrated by the therapist as part of a treatment plan.
(PATH International)
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What is hippotherapy
Hippotherapy (HPOT) – Hippotherapy is a physical, occupational or speech therapy treatment strategy that utilizes equine movement.This strategy is used as part of an integrated treatment program to achieve functional outcomes.
Hippotherapy As A Treatment Strategy
Hippotherapy is a physical, occupational, and speech-language therapy treatment strategy that utilizes equine movement as part of an integrated intervention program to achieve functional outcomes. (American Hippotherapy Assoc.)
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Equine movement provides multidimensional movement, which is variable, rhythmic and repetitive. The horse provides a dynamic base of support, making it an excellent tool for increasing trunk strength and control, balance, building overall postural strength and endurance, addressing weight bearing, and. motor planning. Equine movement offers well-modulated sensory input to vestibular, proprioceptive, tactile and visual channels.
During gait transitions, the patient must perform subtle adjustments in the trunk to maintain a stable position. When a patient is sitting forward astride the horse, the horse's walking gait imparts movement responses remarkably similar to normal human gait. The effects of equine movement on postural control, sensory systems, and motor planning can be used to facilitate coordination and timing, grading of responses, respiratory control, sensory integration skills and attentional skills. Equine movement can be used to facilitate the neurophysiologic systems that support all of our functional daily living skills. (American Hippotherapy Assoc.)
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Back to Home PageTheriapist definations
Physical Therapists: The physical therapist can overlay a variety of motor tasks on the horse's movement to address the motor needs of each patient and to promote functional outcomes in skill areas related to gross motor ability such as sitting, standing, and walking.
Occupational Therapists: The occupational therapist is able to combine the effects of the equine movement with other standard intervention strategies for working on fine motor control, sensory integration, feeding skills, attentional skills, and functional daily living skills in a progressively challenging manner.
Speech-Language Pathologists: The speech-language pathologist is able to use equine movement to facilitate the physiologic systems that support speech and language. When combined with other standard speech-language intervention strategies, the speech-language pathologist is able generate effective remediation of communication disorders and promote functional communication outcomes. Specially trained therapy professionals evaluate each potential patient on an individual basis to determine the appropriateness of including hippotherapy as a treatment strategy.
The therapy professional works closely with the horse professional to manipulate various aspects of the horse's movement, position, management style, equipment and types of activities to generate effective remediation protocols and to promote functional outcomes.
(PATH International)
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The horse's walk provides sensory input through movement, which is variable, rhythmic, and repetitive. The resultant movement responses in the patient are similar to human movement patterns of the pelvis while walking. The variability of the horse's gait enables the therapist to grade the degree of sensory input to the patient, and then utilize this movement in combination with other treatment strategies to achieve desired results. Patients respond enthusiastically to this enjoyable experience in a natural setting.
Beliefs
* Horses are sentient beings with feelings, thoughts, emotions, memories, and empathetic abilities
* Horses can be active facilitators, evoking emotions in those who work with and around them.
General Indications for HippotherapyPopulation - children and adults with mild to
severe neuromusculoskeletal dysfunction Medical Conditions
Autism Spectrum Disorder
Cerebral Palsy
Developmental Delay
Genetic Syndromes
Learning Disabilities
Sensory Integration Disorders
Speech-Language Disorders
Traumatic Brain Injury/Stroke
Impairments
Abnormal muscle tone
Impaired balance responses
Impaired coordination
Impaired communication
Impaired sensorimotor function
Postural asymmetry
Poor postural control
Decreased mobility
Limbic system dysfunction related to
arousal and attentional skills
(PATH International)
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What is EFMHA? What is EFP?WHAT IS EQUINE FACILITATED PSYCHOTHERAPY (EFP)?
Equine Facilitated Psychotherapy (EFP) is experiential psychotherapy that includes equine(s). It may include, but is not limited to, a number of mutually respectful equine activities such as handling, grooming, longeing, riding, driving, and vaulting. EFP is facilitated by a licensed, credentialed mental health professional working with an appropriately credentialed equine professional. EFP may be facilitated by a mental health professional who is dually credentialed as an equine professional.
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Equine Facilitated Mental Health Association (EFMHA)EFMHA is a globally recognized organization that promotes health by bringing people and equines together in mutually beneficial ways.
We are a section of PATH Int., a membership organization that for over 30 years has fostered safe, professional, and ethical therapeutic equine activities. This is accomplished through education, communication, and standards of practice and research for people with and without disabilities.
EFMHA is an active membership organization serving the needs of its members, mental health, education, and equine professionals.
EFMHA's mission is to advance the field for individuals who partner with equines to promote human growth and development so that our members, clients and equines can succeed and flourish.
(PATH International)#####################################
