EAS

New study to analyze the effect on the functional and global impact of a 22-week hippotherapy treatment on patients who have suffered a stroke.

The equine group performed significantly better in testing than the control group, who undertook normal school activities.

“The main area that improved significantly in the experimental group was the domain of behavioral problems.”

“We were able to capture specific aspects of the social and communicative behavior of children during their interaction with the horse.”

Parents spoke of a range of improvements in their children as a result of a horseback riding program.

Study in Finland involved 22 men and women suffering from low back pain.

Women who undertook horse-related therapy after breast cancer treatment did better than those offered conventional supportive care only.

“The results of this study open new lines of thought on the possible influence of equine-assisted intervention working activity on horses’ tactile reactivity.”

Study results point to the positive effects of animal-assisted activities in preventing negative psychological reactions to loneliness, even during pandemics.

The number of published studies on the question are scarce and more research is needed, say the authors of a scoping review.

“It emerged that the main mechanism of change of the therapeutic riding intervention was evident in the riding experiences.”