What is riding therapy and why is it relevant to Occupational therapists

I thought that it would be good to firstly look at what riding therapy is and what the role of an OT is within this field.

Riding therapy is when the horse is used as a therapy tool with a person who may have a physical, emotional, cognitive and social disability. The horse provides a fun, unique therapy session. The bond between rider and horse can be so powerful and the experience can often have a profound uplifting effect on people who are troubled or suffering (Equine Therapy, n.d)

The benefits that riding therapy can have on the rider are
- balance
- coordination
- posture and muscle tone
- concentration
- self discipline
- self-esteem
- perception
- spatial awareness
- communication
- social skill
- independence
- encourages decision making
(New Zealand riding for the disabled, 2009).

You may be thinking why would an OT work in this area, let me try and explain.

"Occupational therapy promotes and restores health and well being in people of all ages through using purposeful occupation, as the process or as the ultimate goal.
Occupation is the meaningful use of activities,occupations, skills and life roles which enables people to function purposefully in their daily life" (Bracher, 2000,p.277).

The terms "meaningful" and "purposeful" activity are very relevant to OTs using therapeutic riding because horse riding for many is viewed as very meaningful. Horse riding is a wonderful therapy tool to use because it not only is it meaningful to the person but also provides therapeutic value (Bracher, 2000).

What fun interventions does the OT implement in riding sessions?

The OT grades activities to suit each individual person and their needs. When children are motivated to ride and play games on their equine friends, therapy seems more like play than work (Smith, 2009).

-Reaching for hoops to place over cones
-Tossing balls into a basket
-Playing catch
-Touching mane, tail, child's feet and head
-blowing bubbles
-Pulling reins to stop the horse
-Changing the horse's speed
-Repetitive starting and stopping
-Walking up and down hills, around curves and in circles
-Varying positions (i.e. facing sideways or backwards on horse)
-Removing toys attached to a "Velcro Bottle" (with Velcro) to insert inside bottle
-Inserting Lotto cards through a slit in a coffee can lid.
-Pulling apart pop-it-beads to insert in towel pockets
-Pulling clothespins off mane to place in small basket
-Coloring inside horse stencils or outlines
-Circling pictures of horses on a page filled with animal pictures
-Brushing the horse
-Braiding the mane
-Playing Pin the Tail on the Horse (using tape)
(Smith, 2009).





Bracher, M. (2000). therapeutic horse riding:what has this to do with occupational therapy. British Journal of Occupational Therapy, 63(6), 277-282.

Equine Therapy. (n.d.). equine therapy animal assisted therapy. Retrieved from
http://www.equine-therapy-programs.com/difference.html.

New Zealand riding for the disabled, (2009). riding for the disabled. Retrieved from http://www.rda.org.nz.

Smith, B. (2009). hand it to hippotherapy. Retrieved from http://occupational-therapy.advanceweb.com/Article/Hand-it-to-Hippotherapy-2.aspx.