David Block, a documentary producer and director states, “Horses don’t judge by appearance. They look past peoples’ disabilities and recognize the emotions inside. Horses are more than friends and companions. They are mirrors of the soul.”. A study conducted in 2008 found, “...12 week animal-assisted therapy program showed these programs are statistically more effective in promoting recovery (“The Soulful Benefits Of Healing…”). There are many benefits of using horses to help with therapy such as: Physical improvement, psychological improvement, educational improvement, and social improvement. The use of Equine therapy can benefit people in many different ways.
Patients are able to use Equine therapy for physical therapy. They are able to
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A horse's nature is sensitivity to subtle changes in their environment, which makes them perfect for working with a wide range of people improving life and coping skills. A patient is able to get a sense of overall well feeling, improved self- esteem, and self-confidence (“Equine-Assisted Therapy…”). Horses are able to help patients realize and improve their feelings because horses can give the patient immediate feedback. Horses are able to tell how the patient feels and reflect that into their own attitude. If a patient comes and is angry the horse may become stubborn. If the patient is scared, the horse may act skittish. If the patient is calm, the horse will be calm. Horses will sense how we are feeling and react in the same way, this helps patients understand their innermost feelings and how to deal with them (“The Soulful Benefits of Healing…”). A seven year old boy walks into a horse arena, the boy notices the 1,000 pound paint horse is calm, even the horses is blinking slow. The boy picks up on this relaxed nature. His mother goes on to say, “This is the calmest I’ve ever seen him… When he’s in the car, his mouth and his body is always moving. Once he gets [to the barn], he’s just focused” (Persun). This specific type of Equine therapy is called, Equine-Facilitated Psychotherapy or EEP. EEP can be used to help people with mental and emotional difficulties, including anxiety and mood …show more content…
The use of educational Equine therapy may improve the patient's attention and concentration. When working with horses Patients need to pay attention to what the horses are doing, and their attitude. Patients can learn the importance of goal setting, in the beginning of any physical therapy the patient is asked where they want to be at the end of your session. This is teaching patients the importance of setting an end goal, and to be looking at the importance of the future. More ways you are able to benefit is with conflict resolution, setting boundaries, self-regulation and self-correction (“The Soulful Benefits of Healing…”). One specific type of Equine therapy is Equine-assisted learning or EAL. Path International explains EAL as a type of therapy that promotes the development of life skills for educational, professional and personal goals. EAL also teaches other skills such as trust, respect, honesty and communication. When working with horses you need to have all of these. The patient must trust and respect the horse in order for the horse to trust and respect the patient back. They also need to be honest about how they are feeling, if they are scared the horse is going to react a different way then when they are calm. Communicating these feeling will help the patient gain the trust and respect of the
This paper will inform the parents, educators, and American society of the benefits of therapeutic horseback riding for people who have cognitive challenges or loss of limbs and other functions. Therapy can happen on the horse as well as off, depending on the condition of the rider. Not all therapy has to be done on a horse. It can be done on the ground as well, by padding the horse, brushing the horse, leading the horse. Knowing you can conquer being around and taking care of a big horse gives those with challenges a sense of satisfaction and self confidence. Therapeutic horseback riding is wonderful for young people as well as older people with disabilities. Even if they cannot sit up straight, therapy can make it so that any individual can
Animal Assisted Therapy also known as animal-assisted therapy has been formally introduced to the world in the last ten years or so. Although animals have always been a place of comfort for a lot of people, scientists just began to realize the impact animals have on society. The world has begun to experiment with what animals can do to benefit human health. The most common type of animal-assisted therapy is equine-assisted therapy. Equines are horses. Equine-assisted therapy 's impact on minors who have mental health issues have led to a successful new type of therapy that includes multiple benefits. Equine-assisted therapy has worked well in is treating adolescents and children how to communicate and connect with others. Two big issues that animal-assisted therapy has been known to help is Autism and kids with attachment and social problems.
Winston Churchill once said, “There is something about the outside of a horse that is good for the inside of a man.” Some might say Churchill was ahead of his time, with the way horse assisted therapy has just recently begun growing in popularity. All over the world therapists and psychologists have been exploring the effect horses have on troubled humans. In their explorations, perhaps with Churchill’s words in mind, they are attempting to find out just how useful an equine aid is in therapeutic treatment of physical and psychological impairments. There are passionate opinions from varying viewpoints, but they all come down to whether or not horse assisted therapy is effective and should be considered a regular practice. The answer to this
Today there are hundreds of types of therapy programs for those with physical and psychological disorders. Though perhaps one of the most versatile, easily accessible types of therapies can be done through the use of a horse. Hippotherapy, specifically defined, is a “physical therapy in which a patient (as one affected with cerebral palsy or multiple sclerosis) sits or lies on the back of a horse for the therapeutic effect of the horse's movement” (1). In the 5th century, Hippocrates revealed his belief that horses were healers. He described horseback riding as a universal exercise with a healing rhythm.
“The horse acts as the teacher and unlocks the client. The animal facilitates emotional breakthroughs, and the effect, therapists report, can be magical” (Hayley Sumner).
I was astonished to find out that disabled people can greatly benefit from their therapeutic riding, even when outside of the arena. The idea of someone being with an animal to improve his or her people skills is intriguing. My research suggests that disabled riders may possibly gain better people skills and sensations by being with a horse, rather than talking with a sophisticated human being. In my research, I found that www.sire-htec.org had a great description of how a disabled person would feel on top of a horse. It stated, the horses “rhythmic movements help stiff or spastic muscles to relax, much like rocking soothes a crying baby” (“Benefits”). This information was very helpful when discussing the
They sense our emotions and often move away from fear and anger because these register as potential danger. However, they don’t feel threatened by the more vulnerable human emotions such as sadness and loneliness. Horses can sense the feelings in us that are often out of our conscious awareness and, thus, give us information about ourselves. They mirror our feelings back to us through their body language, therefore, they teach us how we impact those around us. For example if a patient begins to get angry with a horse and loses their temper, they will be able to see the horse recoil which gives the patient a clear understanding of the effect their emotions can
In the field of therapy, there are numerous of therapy available out there for different type of individuals and situations as well. There is one type of therapy that usually contains people and animal, it is animal-assisted therapy is a therapeutic approach that brings animals and individuals with physical and/or emotional needs together to perform the therapy. Animal-assisted therapy tend to be focused on individuals either children or elderly for them to be able to connect with the animal thus feeling comfortable talking with the therapist. Pet therapy works for all ages, whether sick or not (Lanchnit, 2011). Although, this paper, most of the focus is on animal-assisted therapy towards children using dogs.
Hello class, as you may know by now my name is Peighton Davis and I have a passion for horses and I wanted to learn more of the ways horses can help you. For the past couple of weeks I have been looking into horse therapy also known as Equine Therapy. So, I decided my Genius Hour question would be, What is Equine Therapy and how does it help people ?
In source 1, an article written by the ASDF (Autism Spectrum Disorder Foundation), from the website www.myasdf.org , assessed in 2012, with the title ‘How your child can Benefit from Equine Therapy), it states that Autistic children/people benefit immensely from Equine Therapy (horse encounters).
Walking into the sunlit barn hallway, the musky scent of hay and horse fur overwhelms my senses. I see a chestnut-colored horse stick his head over the wooden stall door to greet me. As I look around, I notice other volunteers getting horses saddled up and ready for the next lesson. Turning around I smile at a young student entering with her mom, ecstatic at the prospect of being able to ride a horse despite being in a wheelchair. Heartland Equine Therapeutic Riding Academy, located in Gretna, makes dreams possible. People of all ages have the opportunity to learn how to ride a horse despite their physical or mental disabilities. After volunteering at HETRA for five years, the organization has made significant impacts on my personality, interests, and maturity.
One reason is that these animals help in many different ways, For example according to the second article “This boy needs both his hands and all his energy just to walk. Luckily, his assistance dog is there to carry his backpack.” Another thing is that horses can help. This animals helps by giving it a horseback ride, and according to the second article “horseback riding is a good exercise for them.” Also it helps the people feel better and more confident.
Riding horses can help build strength in the body, but it can also be used as therapy. A few years ago, Haleigh volunteered at a therapeutic horseback riding business in Clinton, Iowa, called Bright Spot Inc. At Bright Spot, Haleigh and other volunteers, work with many children with different disabilities and help them overcome their problems. Their confidence is built when they ride the horses because they feel like they can do anything. Therapeutic horseback riding has been proven to really help out people with disabilities. Horseback riding can help disabled patients better than any other form of physical therapy. The physical benefits that can be improved form therapeutic horse riding is improved circulation, respiration, balance, body metabolism, and it can help the disabled rider gain agility and strength. Horse riding can also help with the movement of the riders legs and increase coordination in their muscle groups. In one study of therapeutic horseback riding, children with disabilities improve their posture, muscle tone, and weight-bearing abilities (Bliss). After trying therapeutic horseback riding, many patients become more outgoing. Beth Bliss once said that, “Studies show that autistic children often
Here at Chelsfield Riding Stables, we've helped many residents of Tustin, CA, San Clemente, CA, Laguna Niguel, CA and surrounding areas with their therapy needs. There are several conditions that can benefit from therapy with a horse. From anxiety, to PTSD, to ADHD, the horse's nature can help ease symptoms and enable a person to feel better.
Due to the large size of horses it can be dangerous to work with ones that are hard to handle. The term “Imprint Training” is popular in the horse industry meaning early handling of foals with to focus on improving their behavior, learning ability, and for them to gain confidence in the world around them (Lansade, 2004). This imprint training is believed by many horse people to help horses and make them easier to work with when they become older (Lansade, 2004).