|
The Ethics of Hippotherapy
|
|
|
Long before horse assisted therapy became mainstream, I was involved with helping give hippotherapy to a little girl who had suffered severely crippling injuries in a car accident. At the time, we knew nothing about riding for the disabled. We were told that riding was good exercise for the wheelchair-bound child, and when she was lifted onto the back of a pony, she grinned for the duration of the ride. We had no special equipment, and no training. Hopefully, we did more good than harm. Hippotherapy has been around since the time of the Greeks, but in the last few decades, there's been an increasing interest in horse assisted therapy programs for everything from alcoholism to speech therapy.
Horses help humans. Long ago, they helped us move faster and further carrying a heavier load. When mechanical engines took over, horses gave us healthy recreation. And more recently, in addition to helping us with mobility and physical therapy, they are helping us deal with emotional problems. But is helping us overcome our problems fair to the horse? Some people don't think so. There is some controversy about the cost to the horse's own mental health. One study of horses used for therapy for mental health and physical therapy found their stress hormones actually decreased following the therapy session. This is opposite to what the researcher assumed would happen. The only exceptions were a new horse, another who was a cribber and one who had a rider with a severe mental health problem.
Related: The Benefits of Therapeutic Riding
Related: Therapeutic Riding - Freedom on Horseback
Related: Dreams to Reality - Elite Para-Equestrian
Related: Therapeutic Horseback Riding
The findings of one study however, aren't indicative of what may happen in all therapy programs and that has many people concerned about the ethics of using horses for therapy. Some call it exploitation. They believe that asking a horse to help heal humans, especially those with mental health issues, may be going beyond what would be deemed as 'use'. There is a concern for the safety of the horse in some situations, and that the horse is being used as a tool, rather than treated as a sentient being.
Over the last decade, more attention has been paid to the maintenance of therapy horses and national standards are being formed or are in place in several countries. In North America, several guidelines have been suggested such as those formed by The National Association for Equine Facilitated Wellness that asks members to "agree to abide by their "Code of Ethics for the protection of participants (human and equine), the public, and the profession" and " take steps to ensure the culture and environment at the barns in which their equine partners reside are congruent with this Code." So, more attention is being paid to the stress providing therapy puts on horses, and creating an atmosphere that is healthy for their physical needs.
Clearly, the use of horses to help humans will continue as more therapists discover new ways to provide treat their patients. After all, "There's something, about the outside of a horse that is good for the inside of a man." But, we need to ensure that we are good for both the inside, and outside of the horse.
What's your opinion of equine assisted therapy?
--
ref: https://www.avma.org/News/JAVMANews/Pages/040915o.aspx |
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Related Horse News
|
|
Most people have heard of some form of physical therapy. Well on horseback it is often called Hippotherapy, it is a commonly used for around 100 different conditions; autism, brain injuries, spinal cord injury, visual or hearing l ...
|
|
Long before horse assisted therapy became mainstream, I was involved with helping give hippotherapy to a little girl who had suffered severely crippling injuries in a car accident. At the time, we knew nothing about riding for the ...
|
|
Horse’s and ponies have been helping humans for a very long time. In fact, they’ve been useful enough that we’ve kept them around despite their being extinct in the wild. But, in recent years, equines have become more than just be ...
|
|
With an awareness of what it takes to stay mentally health and recover from mental issues comes many, what seem like, novel approaches to treatments. One treatment is equine therapy designed to help those dealing with mental healt ...
|
|
Montessori schools are known for their child-led education programs that are a bit different than regular public schools. The focus of Montessori programs is to provide an enriched environment for discovery and hands-on learning f ...
|
|
More News by Winniefield Park
|
|
Animal activists would like to see all barns installed with overhead sprinkler systems and want to see it part of the building code. A clothing designer has come up with another idea for horses stabled and outdoors in pastures. Bl ...
|
|
As Hurricane Dorian batters the U.S. eastern seaboard, many people worry about the safety of not only their own animals, but wildlife as well. But, says the Corolla Horse Fund, a protection group that protects a small herd of fera ...
|
|
There’s a scientist out there that is delighted to find a dead horse. Not that she’s excited that the horse is dead. That is probably as emotionally difficult for her as any of us. But, this scientist, as part of a research team, ...
|
|
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to ride a horse simulator? Do you think it would give you the same experience as riding a real horse, or help you increase your riding skills? Equestrian Jesse Derent did too. Derent me ...
|
|
Imagine spending twelve hours on horseback traversing some of the roughest terrain on earth, through largely uninhabited lands. That’s exactly what most of the participants in the Mongol Derby do. The race, which is meant to repli ...
|
|
25 years ago, Dr. Don Hoglund led a roundup that saved the lives of about 1800 wild horses. Hoglund is best known for his wild horse training methods and prison inmate programs. But, he claims, the highlight of his career is the r ...
|
|
A U.S. Olympic dressage rider has been charged with attempted murder. Michael Barisone, who rode with the the U.S. team in the 2012 Beijing Olympics shot, 38 year old equestrian Lauren Kanarek. Kanarek and her fiance were tenants ...
|
|
With Equilab tracking it’s possible to watch the progress of a horse and rider in real time, and see at what speed they are traveling. The maps can be viewed much like Google maps, either in satellite or map view. At the end of a ...
|
|
|
