Therapeutic Horseback Riding Article Summary

658 Words3 Pages

“The Effect of Therapeutic Horseback Riding on Social Functioning in Children with Autism” By Margaret M. Bass, Catherine A. Duchowny and Maria M. Llabre. Published 7 April 2009 This study evaluated the effects of therapeutic horse riding on children with autism spectrum disorders. They realized that participants that were exposed to the horseback riding therapy showed higher improvement in social functioning than those on the wait list control. Autistic children exhibited “greater sensory seeking, sensory sensitivity, social motivation and less inattention, distractibility, and sedentary behaviors.” Thus, this article presents evidence that therapeutic horseback riding can be a feasible option to treat children with autism spectrum disorders. …show more content…

For all the participants it was the first time they would be exposed to equine activities because almost all of them had undergone conventional therapies. The experimental group consisted of 2 girls and 17 boys’ ages 5 to 10 years and the wait list control group consisted of 3 girls and 12 boys’ ages 4 to 10 years. The participants had a pre testing of 12 weeks of horseback riding therapy and one post testing session. The therapeutic riding session consisted of 1 hour per week and the horse assignments were randomized. The first thing the participants learned to do was mounting and dismounting this lasted 5 min and it helped them stimulate their verbal communication. Then they warm up for about 10 min with different exercises that stretch their bodies and help them prepare for the physical demands of the intervention. Then the subjects had a 15 min session of riding skills, they were required to do several activities that stimulate sensory seeking, gross and fine motor domains. Once they learned to walk, trot and halt on their horses they were asked to verbalize and command at the same time and if they were non-verbal then they needed to use sign language in order to show they understood the command. The last part of the session consisted of 20 min and during this time the instructor do group games while the participants are on the horse and this games helps them with social and communication