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Traditionally,
therapeutic riding is NOT a treatment. During a therapeutic riding
session,
a riding instructor is teaching riding skills. Some therapeutic riding
programs use
therapists as consultants.
In a hippotherapy
session, the dynamic movement of the horse (forward and backward, up and down, side to side) organizes a client's nervous
system,
increasing their awareness of how their body relates to the environment.
These sessions must be performed by a licensed Hippotherapist, which can
be
a physical therapist, speech therapist, or occupational therapist.
Gradually,
improvements in balance, the ability to use language, hand-eye
coordination,
and the ability to plan and execute motor movement takes place.
What sets
hippotherapy apart from traditional therapy is that many people, who
do not respond to traditional therapies in a clinical setting, are
motivated
to endure the physical and mental discomforts of therapy in a
hippotherapy session. |
