Hippotherapy is a medical technique that involves the use of the horse to improve the health of a human being. It has very ancient origins and the use of horses for medical purposes is documented by Hippocrates of Kos around 400 BC. The horse, thanks to its sensitivity, its intelligence and its spirit of adaptation, has always been considered an excellent “medical” therapy and Hippocrates himself recommended long rides to defeat insomnia and anxiety.

Even today, especially in equestrian tourism experiences, what strikes most beginners is the extraordinary possibility of “freeing” the mind and enjoying, in symbiosis with the horse, the beauty of nature.

Recognition of hippotherapy

 

It was at the end of the First World War that, in the countries of Northern Europe, horses began to be used in the first rehabilitation programs. In Italy, hippotherapy was introduced in a coherent way by the doctor and psychologist (Danièle Nicolas Citterio) and by the ANIRE Italian National Association for Equestrian Rehabilitation in the seventies, even if the first scientific document dealing with the subject was written by doctor Giuseppe Benvenuti in 1759.

From that moment this discipline has assumed an increasingly important role and has begun to carve out the right space in the largest sector of “Pet Therapy”.

The Ministry of Health itself felt the need to draw up guidelines for the “Assisted Intervention with Animals” sector, reserving part of the text for the world of horse therapy.

Horse therapy

The world of “Horse Therapy” is a vast world that has various advantages and offers various solutions to the various problems of the reference users. In 1982 the Hamburg International Therapeutic Riding Congress defined 3 different intervention methodologies within this world:

Hippotherapy proper

constitutes the initial approach to the horse and its environment, it therefore takes place first on the ground and then on the animal accompanied by an instructor. It is therefore reserved for disabled people unable to maintain the position in the saddle and to lead the horse independently.

Equestrian re-education

sees the rider engaged in the active management of the horse, under the control of the therapist, and aims to achieve those specific technical-rehabilitative objectives according to the therapeutic program established for that patient. You can see https://horsecare24.com

Sports riding for the disabled

represents the achievement of a considerable autonomy of the subject, with the possibility of carrying out normal stable and horse riding activities, sometimes even competitive.

The therapy with the horse intervenes precisely in the relationship between man and horse both at the neuro-motor level and at neuro-psychological level.

 

The horse is a very sensitive animal that needs care and attention. It therefore pushes the human being with whom it enters into a relationship to be an active part in responding to the particular needs it needs, it places it at the center of its needs.

All this stimulates in humans the growth of self-esteem, a sense of effectiveness and a desire for activation and growth in the continuous relationship with the horse. In particular, for the weakest people, it can be a way to encourage autonomy, develop attention and observation, stimulate the elements, verbal and otherwise, typical of an emotional relationship.

What happens with therapy on horseback is the inversion of roles, from a weak subject placed under the attention of parents, educators and assistants, the boy with relational or cognitive deficit finds himself becoming a subject enabled to care for another living being and he transposes what he has always received into active actions towards the other.

Who can benefit from horse therapy?

As the studies and analyzes have been deepened, it has been realized that the therapy on horseback finds its indication, as well as in the pathologies resulting from infantile cerebral palsy, autism and Down syndrome, also in the pathologies consequent to trauma from road or work accidents. In the Guidelines for “Assisted Interventions with Animals” drawn up by the Ministry of Health in 2015, three areas of intervention are highlighted:

Animal Assisted Therapy (AAT)

Therapeutic intervention aimed at treating disorders of the physical, neuro and psychomotor, cognitive, emotional and relational spheres, aimed at subjects with physical, psychic, sensory or multiple pathologies, of any origin. The intervention is personalized on the patient and requires a specific medical prescription. Equestrian rehabilitation is a TAA that involves the use of the horse.

Animal Assisted Education (EAA )

Educational intervention aimed at promoting, activating and supporting the resources and potential for individual growth and planning, for relationships and social integration of people in difficulty. The intervention can also be in a group and promotes the well-being of people in their own living environments, particularly within institutions where the individual must field adaptability. The EAA helps to improve the quality of life of the person and to strengthen the self-esteem of the person involved. Behavioral re-education courses are also implemented through the mediation of pets.

The EAA therefore finds application in various situations such as, for example:

  • prolonged hospitalization or repeated hospitalization in health facilities;
  • difficulties in the relational sphere in childhood and adolescence;
  • emotional and psychoaffective discomfort;
  • behavioral and socio-environmental adaptation difficulties;
  • various types of institutionalization situations (institutions for the elderly and psychiatric patients, nursing homes, communities for minors, prisons, etc.);

conditions of illness and / or disability that provide for an integrated home care program.

Animal Assisted Activity (AAA)

Intervention with recreational-recreational and socialization purposes through which the improvement of the quality of life and the correct human-animal interaction is promoted. Sports-competitive activities with animals are not included in the AAA. In AAA the relationship with the animal constitutes a source of knowledge, sensory and emotional stimuli; these activities are aimed at the single individual or a group of individuals and promote the value of human-animal interaction in the community for the purpose of mutual well-being. In some cases, the AAAs are preparatory to the TAA / EAA and are aimed, among other things, at:

  • develop skills through animal care;
  • increase relational and communicative availability;
  • stimulate motivation and participation.

Why does horse therapy work so well?

The Ministry of Health has summarized the strengths of hippotherapy as follows:

  • because the horse moves at various gaits with rhythmic and therefore predictable movements, to which it is therefore easier to adapt with the movements of the body
  • because the horse is extremely sensitive to body language intended as gestures and, being a highly social animal, it is still very receptive to all types of communication
  • because to go horseback riding, at various gaits, numerous muscle groups are involved and various fields of psychophysiology and psychomotor skills are involved
  • because it is able to generate intense feelings and emotions; the value of emotional involvement in the learning process is now recognized
  • because the visual-spatial stimulations provided by the particular environment of the stables with chromatic and brightness variations in relation also with the movement of the horse solicit a finalized visual attention, thus facilitating the acquisition of the dimension of the space
  • because the environments where horses live have characteristic noises and smells and therefore very evocative
  • because intense tactile stimulation is obtained through contact with a large animal, which helps awareness and perception of oneself and one’s body
  • because the horse is a being that expresses its own emotions such as fear in which one can recognize oneself and where one can assume a reassuring role; at the same time, riding a horse, that is, on a large and powerful animal, offers feelings of protection, self-esteem and self-confidence
  • because it has all the qualities – warmth, softness, smell, regular movements, big eyes with intense gaze – necessary to stimulate the attachment process fundamental for the development of the human being
  • because riding a horse allows us to establish physical contacts and also allows us to be gratified, both by offering care, caresses and massages, and by receiving manifestations of gratification from the animal as a response to our behavior.