Therapeutic Horseback Riding – A Different and
Exciting Type of Therapy
“More important than all
the medicine in the world, Nature knows what is best for us”
Georges
Courteline
Therapeutic horseback riding
isn’t a new idea. As far back as 1777, the German physician
William Tyson published a research paper in which he stated that
horseback riding helps to improve respiration difficulties.
During both World Wars, horseback riding was used by hospitals
in Europe as a tool in the rehabilitation of injured troops. In
the 1952 Helsinki Olympics, Liz Hartley won the silver medal in
Dressage and proved to the world that a polio victim, paralyzed
in both legs, could indeed ride. Her success transformed
horseback riding from an occupation that was, until that time,
basically used for work or sport for the healthy, to a therapy
that could help large sections of the population.
Recently, this therapy has enjoyed considerable popularity and
has even been included in the programs available to health
insurance plan members.
The horse is an enthralling therapeutic tool: you can look after
him, ride him, test his reactions, train him and even learn from
him yourself. The social bonds formed between this large, noble
animal and the patient open the door to that patient’s own
internal world, providing a new approach to dealing with
problems in many areas.
Therapeutic horseback riding is also used as a therapy together
with teachers and physiotherapists, focusing on loss of
sensation and heals the patient. This therapy includes
emotional, physical and social aspects and has proved itself a
reliable and efficient tool for solving a wide range of
problems. For instance, using therapeutic horseback riding, we
can teach the rider to become acquainted with his own
capabilities, to face challenges and, most important, to believe
in himself.
The
Advantages of the Method – “You Don’t Change a Winning Horse”
The therapeutic riding
technique is suitable for all ages and well known for its
advantages, for example:
-
Improves posture, balance
and coordination
-
Improves gross and fine
motor skills, positioning and return to the center line
-
Strengthens the shoulder
girdle
-
Strengthens
self-confidence and self-awareness
-
Improves communication
skills and social interaction
-
Strengthens and develops
physical capabilities
-
Improves cognitive ability
-
Improves independence and
emotional stability
-
Assists in treatment of
attention and concentration disorders
-
In addition to all of
this, the therapy can also help the physically, mentally and
cognitively challenged such as: sufferers from MND, those
affected by cerebral palsy, the blind and the deaf,
post-stroke patients, the mentally ill, those with learning
disorders.
Apart from these advantages, I
also focus my work on the emotional aspects, learning about the
horse and his body language, so, as part of the training
process, you also learn to take care of the horse.
