Benefits of Hippotherapy

At Tilton’s Therapy for Tots, our therapists work with our partners at Spirit Therapies in Las Vegas to assist children and young adults through hippotherapy. While many people have heard of therapy with horses, many might not know the word assigned to the practice. Hippotherapy actually applies its form from physical, occupational, and speech therapy and can help your child’s development in many ways. There are many benefits to exploring hippotherapy in varying cases such as those with cerebral palsy, language disorders, sensory processing disorder, or on the autism spectrum.

What Is Hippotherapy?

A horses movement follows a natural course of action - one of the ways in which it is therapeutic is through the movement of the horse. The rhythm and repetition of each step along with the speed and gait adjustments all contribute to understanding natural movement. The name comes from the greek word “hippos” meaning horse. This form of therapy is a great option for little ones because the environment allows therapists to interact in a variety of ways, but the actual actions are fun and enjoyable for children (or anyone). Just as a child plays at recess, running or climbing and having fun, they are getting great exercise while responding to their environment. Hippotherapy has shown to be of great benefit for a range of conditions and improvement for many cases in several different studies. The effects go beyond muscular development and extend into neurological development as well.

As a rider, movement changes constantly along with the horse’s steps. The trunk of your body moves forward and backward repeatedly with each step taken, and while the movement is subtle, it is the perfect way to slowly increase strength in that area without strain of total consciousness of the movement itself. Therapists might incorporate activities to apply additional therapeutic activities like tossing a ball back and forth. Another part of the activity could include setting up cones and placing rings onto each to use those muscles in the trunk prior to riding the horse.

Who Benefits from Hippotherapy?

Studies have shown the effect of hippotherapy on those with cerebral palsy to be very positive. The interactivity provided by the horse can have an emotional effect as well as an innate bodily responses and necessity to anticipate movement or sequencing. Those with cerebral palsy can benefit by improving overall body function as well as development in fine and gross motor skills.

Those who are non-verbal or with language disorders can benefit from hippotherapy in the many ways it requires communication. The environment is fun and exciting for the rider, and it is necessary for the therapists to give direction to the horse and rider. In this type of environment it can be easier to process directions. Additionally, the rider often needs to communicate or give direction to the horse, which provides another opportunity for communication and verbal development.

Vestibular health is a focus while riding a horse, taking into consideration your balance and overall orientation in spatial awareness. The horse’s movements trigger these parts of our bodies through differing speeds, going from level ground, uphill or downhill, or by changing direction. Coordination can be improved upon overall through the implementation of hippotherapy.

Individuals with autism sometimes struggle with communicating feelings, or communication in general, making eye contact, or verbally expressing themselves. Riding a horse takes more of a physical approach with communication and while it does encourage verbal communication, the physical bond of touching, hugging, or interacting with the horse is inevitably created. The necessary caregiving for the horses allows a child to create a non-verbal bond through brushing, making eye contact, feeding, or any other compassionate acts. This can lend itself to other areas of the child’s life socially and can aid in their development in those areas as well.

Where Can You Find Hippotherapy Services?

In Las Vegas, Tilton’s Therapy for Tots partners with Spirit Therapies to allow our patients to receive hippotherapy at their facilities. They have indoor and outdoor areas for the horses to interact and the therapy to be performed, so there are different types of environments available depending on the circumstances. Our physical, occupational, and speech therapists work with the team at Spirit Therapies to provide treatments for children and young adults.

If you are interested in learning more about what hippotherapy has to offer, we can help you take the next steps. If you are not currently a patient with Tilton’s Therapy for Tots, you’ll first need to fill out our new patient registration. On the first page, denote your interest in starting hippotherapy to let us know you would like us to contact you regarding those services as well. If you are already working with our therapists for occupational, physical, or speech therapies, you can fill out the hippotherapy patient registration at the bottom of our patient forms page.

Keep Learning with Tilton’s

As we continue to grow and offer additional services to the young adults and kids of Southern Nevada, we will continue to keep reaching out to parents and caregivers to help offer additional resources and support. Read our recent article about other processing disorders and how you can distinguish whether your child’s meltdown is simply a tantrum or related to sensory issues. Our newsletter each month will offer our latest resources and information to assist in education and furthering of guardian’s understanding of all kinds of conditions and treatment options. Make sure to sign up for our newsletter to receive support each month as well as receive some fun and developmentally-focused activities to do at home!

If you have question about our services and want to learn how you can get started, contact us at any time to get started. Be sure to follow us on Instagram and Facebook to see some of our patient success stories and connect with us.

Additional Resources and Cited Studies:

Neuroendocrinology Letters Vol. 36 No. 5 2015 • Article available online: http://node.nel.edu

Thrall, Anna and Moser, Matthew, "Effects of Hippotherapy on Coordination of Speech in a Person with Traumatic Brain Injury" (2015). Honors Projects. 414. http://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/honorsprojects/414

Debbie J. Silkwood-Sherer, Clyde B. Killian, Toby M. Long, Kathy S. Martin “Hippotherapy—An Intervention to Habilitate Balance Deficits in Children With Movement Disorders: A Clinical Trial” (2012)

Pablo Herrero, Eva M Gómez-Trullén, Ángel Asensio, Elena García, Roberto Casas, Esther Monserrat and Anand Pandyan “Study of the therapeutic effects of a hippotherapy simulator in children with cerebra palsy: a stratified single-blind randomized controlled trial” (2012) Clinical Rehabilitation 26(12) 1105–1113

Adam C. Knight & Katherine J. Coffey “The Effect of Equine-Assisted Therapy on Gait for an Individual with a Spinal Cord Injury” (2016) Palaestra

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2451865415300594

https://www.cerebralpalsy.org/about-cerebral-palsy/treatment/therapy/hippotherapy

http://myasdf.org/site/media-center/articles/how-your-autistic-child-can-benefit-from-equine-therapy/