Why Use Horses In Therapy?

Horses create a dynamic, three-dimensional movement that cannot be reproduced in a traditional clinic setting. The natural gait or stride of the horse, coupled with the animal's warmth, provides numerous benefits, including:

Improvements in:

• muscle tone and strength
• gross motor skills such as sitting, standing and walking
• range of motion
• coordination
• endurance

Advances in:

• balance/equilibrium
• head and trunk control
• body awareness
• posture
• mobility

Positive effects on:

• eye-hand coordination
• limbic system function related to arousal, motivation and attention
• sensorimotor function
• oral motor control, voice quality and vocal/verbal communication

When the horse's movement is transferred to the patient through hippotherapy, it produces a combination of sensory, motor and neurological input that we use to treat a wide variety of diagnoses. These include:

• Autism
• Cerebral Palsy and PVL
• Down Syndrome
• Developmental Delay
• Sensory Integrative Dysfunction
• Learning or Language Disabilities
• Cerebral Vascular Accident (Stroke)
• Traumatic Brain Injury
• Spinal Cord Injuries
• Genetic Disorders
• Attention Deficit