Have you ever heard of using horseback riding as therapy for injured or handicapped people? Riding horses can help alleviate all kinds of physical and mental problems. The way a horse moves, the way they walk, four legs striking the ground at different, independent times allows for the horses body to swing, but still keep a balanced spine. That swing helps to make strong muscles if used correctly.
In this study, children with Cerebral Palsy were studied while riding horses. Cerebral Palsy is classified as a disorder that causes the development of movement and posture to be lacking. Basically, with Cerebral palsy, one side or both sides of a person body is weaker than that of a “normal” person’s body which eventually leads to failure. Horseback riding helps to strengthen muscles because one must be able to sit up straight, use both hands to steer, and balance. The movement of a horse’s body at the walk literally forces that person’s body to strengthen muscles, because as you slip to one side or the other, your body rights itself. The horse’s movement is creating an environment where every step causes your muscles to contract or relax but without exhausting the muscles like many strenuous activities can. Which is good because it does tire out the muscles but not so much that they need to recover, it’s kind of like walking up the stairs and being tired at the top vs running up them and needing to catch your breath. The muscles that are used when riding are being strengthened gradually which is better because they are not injured in the process.
The children used in this study were recently hospitalized for rehab and on top of their conventional treatments, received riding therapy and children who received conventional rehab only to be the control group. These children were all over the age of four and had to be able to sit up, have no hip dislocation; as this can be made worse from riding due to the way you sit. All participants received normal rehab for 5 days a week and rode horses 2 times a week for 30 minutes. This study lasted for a 5 week period.
In conventional therapy the children were asked to do a range of motion activates, resistance strengthening, posture exercises, neurophysiological exercises, balance ambulation this means moving from place to place; electrical and heat stimulation that uses nodes to force muscles to contract, this bypasses your body’s electrical current sent by the brain and simply FORCES the muscles. In the riding therapy, children were asked to ride and have assisted exercises on the horse while stationary.
It was found that children in the riding program had better forward, right and left movement when tested by the MFRT test. MFRT is the modified functional reach test, this test measures how much the children improved upon in their therapy, it measures the changes, no matter how slight, in their movement, mechanical functionality, as well as their ability to “function” on their own without or with little assistance. The children who only received conventional therapy only really improved on the right. The study concluded that a therapeutic riding program when coupled with conventional therapies worked to help stabilized the children’s balance and movement. These kids will always have Cerebral Palsy, but if they keep getting both treatments, they can continue to live better lives and prevent the breakdown of their bodies that many with Cerebral Palsy experience. What is great about therapeutic riding is it is widely available to many people of all ages and abilities. There is a horse out there that is right for everyone.
Therapeutic Riding isn’t only helpful for Cerebral Palsy sufferers, it can be helpful for a number of conditions both physical and mental. People who suffer from the early stages of Multipole Sclerosis have benefitted from riding, it can help to keep the muscles effected strong so the disease is held at bay for a bit longer. Mental ailments such as Alzheimer’s has been shown to be benefited by interaction with horses, many people who have Alzheimer’s who have had horses or been around them in their lives are benefited by being around horses again, they have shown cognitive improvement of remembering being with horses in their past. Lastly, PTSD sufferers, mainly soldiers’ returning home, have shown the most improvement. They are given a horse to care for and within a few months they have almost returned to their old selves they are happy and want to engage with the world again.
I like this study because it shows that horses are more than just a hobby, they can do more than just be raced or ridden, and they can help people who are in need of a little assistance. Horses have this otherworldly ability to know when someone is small or hurt or broken and they tune into it and behave differently than they would with any other person. In doing this, they connect with that person and that is what helps them realize they are not alone, they can get better, and they can improve their lives. Horses are good for what is on the inside of people as well as what is on the outside.
References:
Alemdarogul, Ebru, Yanikoglu, Inci, et al. Horseback riding therapy in addition to conventional rehabilitation program decreases spasticity in children with cerebral palsy: A small study. Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice. 23 (2016) pgs. 26-29.
“Teaching the volunteers” by Kristina Truluck https://flic.kr/p/gCiKFw Photo Credit.
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