Therapeutic riding has sensorimotor effects, psychological effects, and social effects. (Danieli, 1999; Potter, Evans & Nolte, 1994):
Psychological effects:
Increased motivation. Horseback riding increases motivation to achievements. Being able to handle a large animal with relatively little effort gives the rider a sense of strength and confidence. This makes him want to experiment with other riding activities and improve his performance. For example, a patient in a wheelchair may sit on a horse, look at the world from above and feel that he is the same as everyone else; Riders with speech impairments will attempt to communicate with their environment while riding.
Self-esteem. Sitting on a horse, a disabled person can be considered healthy and look at what is happening in the world from a different point of view. Body awareness and the ability to take responsibility for oneself and the body cause high self-esteem and personality development.
Social influences.
Abnormal Behavior Improvement. The rider’s behavior is accepted by the horse without prior judgment; therefore, if the rider causes pain, panic or discomfort to the horse, the horse will instinctively react with panic or aggression and thus the rider will immediately learn the appropriate behavior. In addition, when working in a group, situations can be created that will prompt riders to their typical reactions and discuss the problem and improve behavior with the help of a guide and other members of the group. The relationship between one person and another, the reaction of the horse to the caregiver, evokes in the patient a sense of connection and love. With the help of building relationships “man-animal” the patient learns the possibilities of the relationship of one person with another. When working with multiple patients, a common interest in the horse is the basis for bonding relationship between them. It even facilitates tasks that they could only do with each other’s help, such as cooperating in cleaning hooves that are difficult to do on their own, cooperating in restraining a horse, etc. Riders in a group must reckon with each other and respond according to instructions. Sometimes one rider leads, and sometimes he is surrounded by other riders; in horse racing there are situations in which the rider succeeds or fails. During one session, the patient can quickly move from one situation to another. All this is under the control of the therapist.
Sensorimotor effects:
Improved Posture. Deficiencies in postural control result from problems with balance and coordination, from a deficiency in normal vestibular stimuli that interfere with the normal development of postural reflexes, and from acquired or congenital injuries, traumatic orthopedic injuries, and neurological damage. Research shows that therapeutic riding improves posture and improves posture control.
Improved Balance – When a rider is seating on a horse, their center of gravity moves in three dimensions: forward and backward, right and left, and rotationally. To remain stable, the rider must develop balance reactions. Shifting weight while riding helps develop balance.
Tone normalization. Tone is defined as the “desire” of a muscle to contract. When the brain uncontrollably sends irritants to the muscle, a state of excessive tone is created – spasm, as a result of damage to the nervous system, a few irritants enter the muscle, or when the reaction of the muscle to nerve irritation is weak, the person suffers from lethargy – hypotension. The sitting position of the rider has a beneficial effect on his tone. As spasm decreases, core abilities improve. In riders with hypotension, it can increase tone to normal.
The effect of the three-dimensional movement of the horse. The three-dimensional movement of the horse elicits joint responses in the hips, back, lower torso, shoulders and head in a manner similar to that of a human with a normal gait.
Improving mobility – while riding, the mobility of the joints increases due to movement and normalization of tone.
Improved coordination. Riding improves coordination and enhances reflex reactions. With the help of the horse, the rider learns to coordinate the various parts of his body in order to influence the horse. Because the movements are repeated many times, they can become automatic.
Increased Sensory Load. Through therapeutic riding, the rider is exposed to more stimuli of different types. In the literature on sensory integration therapy, there is evidence that the dominant factors in motor development are tactile, vestibular and orienting stimuli.
General practice.Riding requires the activation of large muscle systems, which directly affects the cardiovascular, respiratory and metabolic systems.
