Occupational Therapy as Hippotherapy

Occupational therapy promotes health, well-being, and participation. Occupational therapists focus on the things a client wants and needs to do in their daily life. Occupational therapy intervention uses everyday life activities (occupations) to promote health, well-being, and a client’s ability to participate in the important activities in their life. This includes any meaningful activity that a person wants to accomplish, including getting dressed, eating a meal, playing with friends, going to school, among many others.

Occupational therapy services include: An individualized evaluation that lets us know your child’s history, strengths, and interests. We call this an occupational profile, and it tells us what values and activities are important to your child and family during this conversation. An intervention plan that is unique to your child to improve their ability to perform daily activities and reach their goals. (AOTA, 2023) 

Hippotherapy, according to the American Hippotherapy Association (AHA, Inc.), “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 movements to engage sensory, neuromotor, and cognitive systems to achieve functional outcomes. In conjunction with the affordances of the equine movement and other treatment strategies, hippotherapy is part of a patient’s integrated plan of care.” 

A horse’s movement promotes active responses in the client which are intended to impact function. The horse provides multi-modal sensorimotor experiences that are precise, rhythmic, and repetitive, all of which are necessary for most human behavior. 

The horse lends an organized nervous system which allows a client to experience organized multidimensional movement and multisensory input. The horse’s movement provides a repetitive, predictable, and symmetrical dynamic surface on which the patient can develop and practice functional postural control and balance. The horse provides multi-dimensional movement through space, which provides opportunities to experience visual flow and vestibular input within a functional context. 

For most clients, the experience of the horse’s movement is a novel one, allowing for development of movement strategies outside of the habitual patterns. The natural variability of the equine environment is functional and promotes problem solving. 

Medical Precautions:

Hippotherapy inherently involves movement and establishes a human-animal interaction. Therefore, hippotherapy may not be an appropriate treatment strategy for all clients. Please consult with your therapist and physician.