Horse therapy, or hippotherapy, is a type of animal therapy used by Hippocrates. The most widespread hippotherapy received in the middle of the twentieth century, after winning the silver Olympic medal in equestrian sport Liz Hartell - a girl with polio.
Instructions
Step 1
The spectrum of diseases and problems that can be treated in horses is quite wide. These are cerebral palsy, disorders of the motor sphere, damage to the sensory organs, neuropathy, neurosis, mental retardation, autism, cardiovascular diseases, hypertension, mental illness. Children with logoneurological problems, deviant behavior, hyperactivity, attention deficit are also treated with the help of hippotherapy. In some clinics, a hippotherapist also works for the treatment and social adaptation of drug addicts and alcoholics.
Step 2
The horse in hippotherapy acts both as a "simulator" aimed at training certain muscle groups, and in the role of a "psychotherapist", thanks to which the psychoemotional sphere is corrected. A person sitting on a horse is constantly in search of balance. Thanks to this, muscles develop, the senses and the vestibular apparatus are trained.
Step 3
In the course of treatment, a special relationship is built between the patient and the horse. This animal is very susceptible to human emotions and physical condition. A well-trained horse gets used to his patient, remembers him and behaves as expected of him. If the patient feels insecure, the horse drives him gently, giving the rider a sense of stability. With full trust, the animal becomes a real guide of a person into the real world.
Step 4
Children with impaired perception of the environment after communication with a horse become calmer, their fears disappear, memory and attention improve. People with motor impairments stop feeling awkward about their movements. Due to the disappearance of psychological clamping and muscle tension, their motor skills become more adequate and accurate.
Step 5
Horseback riding causes a lot of experiences, emotions and sensations that affect both the upper layers and the deep structures of the brain. As a result, new neural connections appear, replacing the broken ones. This property of hippotherapy helps to rehabilitate patients after strokes and other lesions of the central nervous system. Horse treatment includes not only riding, but also caring for the animal. This helps a person to develop sensitivity, attentiveness, quick response.
Step 6
Hippotherapy is one of the rare treatments in which the patient may not even suspect that he is being treated. As a result, patients have a lower anxiety threshold. And due to the fact that a person is taller than other people on horseback, his self-esteem improves.
