HISTORY OF THERAPEUTIC RIDING

Therapeutic horsemanship is not a new idea. In fact it can be traced back to the Classical era when Greek and Roman texts discussed the relationship between horses and people. Between 460-377 BC, Hippocrates included riding in a chapter on "natural exercise" and in 1569, Huronymus Merkurialis of Italy wrote "The Art of Gymnastics," discussing riding and its effects on the restoration and maintenance of health. It was not until the 1950's, however, when this "relationship" between horses and people evolved into a therapeutic practice for people with disabilities, the idea of which is thought to have originated in England, Germany and Scandinavia. The benefits of therapeutic riding became apparent soon after on an international scale when a Danish rider, Liz Hartel won a silver medal in the Grand Prix Dressage at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics. She had used horseback riding to rehabilitate herself from Polio, which had put her in a wheel chair.
The use of therapeutic riding for the disabled continued to grow in popularity. It took hold in the United States in the mid-1960s, developing the North American Riding for the Handicapped Association (NARHA) in 1969 in Middleburg, VA, with an international organization, the Federation for Riding for the Disabled International (FRDI) established soon after in the mid-1970s. The FDRI was incorporated in Belgium a few years later. The American Hippotherapy Association and the initiation of the first Hippotherapy Clinical Specialists (HPCS) examination followed in 1992 and 1999. Today NARHA promotes safe, ethical therapeutic equine activities and offers education, operating standards and facility and instructor certifications.

THERAPEUTIC HORSEBACK RIDING teaches riding skills to people with disabilities. Riders must learn to balance in the saddle, equally distribute their weight in each stirrup in order to sit properly during the horses' different gaits and to use rein and leg aids correctly to communicate with the horse. Strength and endurance is gained by increasing the length of riding time and through the effective use of aides, i.e. hands, voice, legs and seat. There are social and psychological benefits as well. Socially the riders are up higher, some out of their wheel chairs, interacting with side walker(s) below them. When riding they are involved in a normal sport/activity which many non-disabled persons do not have access to. It builds confidence and morale, teaches emotional control, as well as coordination and spatial judgment that each rider needs to maneuver the horse around obstacles or a course. The focus, therefore is on riding skills and setting riding goals.

On the other hand, HIPPOTHERAPY is the use of the horse as a tool/treatment strategy to deliver Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy and/or Speech Therapy. The focus is on treating the disability and setting therapy goals. Classical Hippotherapy relies on the movement of the horse to influence the rider. The almost identical hip movement delivers anterior/posterior tilting of the pelvis, lateral shift and rotation. This neuromuscular facilitation stimulates postural muscles for better posture and trunk control. The vestibular stimulation promotes better balance and together with proprioceptive input from the joints, improves sensory integration and organization. Strength and endurance is improved by constant contractions and co-contractions of postural muscles to maintain upright position in the saddle. Adjusting to changes in the horse's speed, length of stride, a changing surface (when outside) and constantly having to adjust to the gravitational, centrifugal and centripetal forces assists in developing better balance, midline orientation and righting reactions. The focus, therefore of Hippotherapy is on treatment of the disability and setting therapy goals.