Michigan Abilities Center

Equine Assisted Therapy: Benefits & Indications

Equine assisted therapy encompasses:

Hippotherapy (physical, occupational, & speech therapists)

Equine facilitated mental health (mental health professionals)

Equine facilitated learning (rehabilitation professionals & educators)

Therapeutic riding (riding instructors trained to work with special needs)

Unique benefits of equine assisted therapy:

Equine movement provides a precise, graded, repetitive tri-planar pattern of movement through space that is similar to human pelvic motion during gait.

Normal postural responses can be developed on a dynamic surface.

Sensory conditions can be graded to appropriately challenge clients.

Motivating and fun experience allows for problem solving and endurance.

Equine assisted therapy indications:
Equine facilitated therapy benefits individuals across the lifespan with a variety of special needs, including the following impairments.

Attention, behavior, cognition, learning, organization

Balance, postural control, fine and gross motor function

Range of motion, muscle tone and extensibility, strength

Self-esteem, self-confidence, social skills, speech, wellness

Sensory integration, coordination, motor planning, sequencing, timing

Partial listing of diagnoses that can benefit from equine assisted therapy:

Autism

Amputations

Attention Deficit Disorder

Emotional Disabilities

Learning Disabilities

Mental Impairments