Registered office: Heather Lodge, Edlingham, Alnwick, Northumberland, NE66 2BL, UK. Tel: 01665-574727, © 2011

HIPPOTHERAPY

People who have little experience of horses or riding

tend to think that sitting on a walking horse is very

passive and does not require much effort from the

person on horseback. This is not the case!

The walking horse transmits some 110 three-

dimensional movement impulses per minute onto the

person on its back: forward-backward, side-to-side,

up-and-down, and rotational movement.

These movement impulses are unique in their

therapeutic effect.

To give you an idea of the way our pony Rowan

moves a person on its back, we have taken a

video.  To see it (in slow motion), click on the

picture.

The unique movement impulses that are transmitted from

the walking horse to the person on its back mean that

hippotherapy stimulates balance and postural reactions in

the sitting position, on a movable base, and in a pattern that

very closely resembles human gait. In other words, the

person on horseback experiences pelvic and upper body

However, hippotherapy is very valuable also for people who

may not realistically aim to develop the ability to walk. It can

significantly improve trunk and head control, and it can help

people use their upper limbs more independently and more

functionally. It can also help prevent deformities of the spine

and/or hips as a result of abnormal muscle tone, something

very common in children with cerebral palsy and in

Research has shown that the movement of a

person’s pelvis when sitting astride a walking

horse is very nearly identical to the movement

of that person when walking on level ground. 

To see a BBC News report

Please note that in a normal hippotherapy session Rowan would be wearing a saddle, sheepskin

pad and/or roller. Alison who is on his back in the video and not a patient was happy for this,