Faculty Scholarly Dissemination Grants
Group Treatment in Hippotherapy
Department
Allied Health Sciences
College
College of Health Professions
Date Range
2012-2013
Disciplines
Medicine and Health Sciences
Abstract
Most therapists incorporate hippotherapy using the German model of individual sessions one client, one horse, one therapist. This type of treatment has been the standard for hippotherapy across physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech-language pathology both within the US as well as internationally. The one therapist-one client-one horse model provides for dynamic accommodation and adjustment for both the movement qualities of the horse and the treatment activities of the client. However, within speech-language pathology, many treatment goals involve improvement of communication between two people. We propose that hippotherapy can be the facilitator for improved nervous system functioning leading to improved communication for each client in a group environment. The purpose of this session is to discuss and demonstrate group treatment using hippotherapy with the treatment goals of improved social communication and pragmatic language. Video examples from group hippotherapy sessions will be shown and discussed.
Conference Name
American Hippotherapy Association International Conference
Conference Location
St. Louis, MO
ScholarWorks Citation
Macauley, Beth; Homnick, Tamra; and Homnick, Hannah, "Group Treatment in Hippotherapy" (2013). Faculty Scholarly Dissemination Grants. 1145.
https://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/fsdg/1145
