Holistic Healing
with Horses
Using the Horse in a Therapeutic Setting
Holistic Healing with Horses is an educational resource that provides therapists, therapy students, and the general public with information about the use of horses in a treatment session as well as other therapeutic techniques. The goal is to increase awareness as well as provide a supportive community for occupational therapists, physical therapists, speech-language pathologists, and mental health professionals use to integrate the horse into the plan of care for the clients they serve.
Hippotherapy refers to how occupational therapy, physical therapy, and speech-language pathology professionals use evidence-based practice and clinical reasoning in the purposeful manipulation of equine movement to engage sensory, neuromotor, and cognitive systems to achieve functional outcomes. In conjunction with the affordances of the equine environment and other treatment strategies, hippotherapy is part of a patient's integrated plan of care.
Online Resource
Although the benefits of using horses during a treatment session are clear to those who have been involved in it, how to use the horse and its environment as a treatment strategy is often missing from the curriculum in many graduate therapy programs. Although the general public is becoming more aware of these benefits, there is a need to spread knowledge about how horses can be used to help a variety of people.
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Under Treatment Activities is information about how hippotherapy can be used to help individuals who are working on various goals, in addition to activities for therapists to use during the treatment to help them achieve those goals. The Information section provides general knowledge to those who may not have experience with this treatment option. The Research section can be used to review research studies that have investigated the outcomes for a variety of symptoms, disabilities, and diagnoses. Lastly, the Blog is available to use as a method of communication and collaboration. This resource can be used for therapists already using these treatment strategies or wanting to begin using them. It can also be used by individuals who would like to participate in therapies involving horses and want to learn more about it.