Hippotherapy Blog-
for therapists, instructors, families, riders and others interested in promoting skills
using the horse as a
treatment tool. Share your stories and expertise.
Hippotherapy is a
treatment tool used
to improve strength, postural control, balance and motor planning
skills.
Riding a horse provides
powerful sensory stimulation that effects attention, emotions, language and
motor skills.
Hippotherapy
also promotes hand skills
Pop-it beads
develop hand strength, motor planning and bilateral coordination.
Stabilizing the toy
while placing rings challenges eye-hand coordination and motor
planning.
Reaching
for toys challenges balance and coordination. This boy
is using a magnet wand to reach for his plastic fish with paper clip
attached.
Completing
a puzzle or peg board develops eye-hand coordination. The puzzle pieces
are attached to the larger
piece of cardboard so children can pull them off independently.
This
boy is reaching to his side
to retrieve another puzzle piece.
Small folding baskets
are attached to the horse's handle with shower clips.
Ring
stacks develop eye-hand coordination and visual attention. This cat toy
with a squeaky mouse is light and easy to hold or position over the
horse's rump.
This
activity involves removing the named animal picture (attached with
velcro) or matching it to the picture on the board.
Throwing
a ball into the hoop challenges
balance while reaching to the side. Children can also stand with feet
supported in stirrups while reaching for a ball held high up. Playing
catch while the horse is walking presents another balance and motor
planning challenge. Catch can be
played while sitting forward, sideways, backwards and even while
kneeling.
Facing sideways on
the horse provides
different sensory stimulation and works the lateral trunk muscles.
Playing with this toy is helping this girl rotate her trunk and use
both hands together.
Removing
toys attached with velcro from a
bottle is very motivating and promotes using both hands together.
Children develop eye-hand coordination as they insert them into the
enlarged opening on top.
Playing
catch while facing sideways is a great coordination challenge and fun
social activity when facing another child on his horse.
A slinky attached to
a handle enables this girl to engage in an activity with another rider
as they each shake their handles.
Shown here is one of
the many types of target and toss activities that can be performed
while sitting on a horse.
Grasping the handle or reins promotes
bilateral hand use
and toleration for touch
Handles varies in size and are chosen
according to how much support
the child needs.
Grasping reins
is more challenging since
they do not provide support as a handle does.
Grasping
toys so that the child does not
hold the handle promotes
balance and
postural control.
Children develop motor planning skills as
they pull the
reins to turn left or right. I teach the children to pull the reins to
stop
at junctions and then we discuss which
direction they would like to go. Weaving around
cones provides another opportunity to steer
the
reins and learn the association between pulling
to turn in the same
direction. Controlling the
reins to steer also encourages crossing midline
and
discriminating left and right.
After riding for
10-15 minutes children
are often
more focused and ready for a challenging fine-motor
activity such as this lacing board.
This lacing
board
is made from cardboard with
a picture of a horse attached with clear contact
paper. Four large wholes were cut for lacing.
This girl is
opening a zipper to remove
sunglasses from a case. She likes helping
her therapist get her sunglasses.
Reaching to remove clothespins from the
mane strengthens arms and hands. She
also challenges her balance and motor
planning as she inserts the pins into the
basket attached to the handle.
A towel is
placed across the horse's rump.
It has a red pocket shown here sewn to
one side and a blue pocket sewn to the
other side.
This child is
opening "button squares".
These
are made by sewing a large piece of plastic
(with punched holes) to a blue square cloth.
The red square cloth has a button hole cut.
Tape is attached to the button hole to prevent
unraveling. This child will open the squares, place the red square
in the red pocket and the blue square in the blue pocket. He can
do this while the horse is moving.
Close
up of button
squares
The red and blue halves can be opened
and sorted by color.
Children can
work
on fine-motor skills by
performing horse related tasks while off
the
horse. In this picture a girl is hanging
up the horse's neck strap on a hook.
Children may be able to clip or unclip the
reins, brush the horse, put away toys and
hang up the gait belt and helmet,
Individuals
with excellent fine-motor
skills
may enjoy braiding the mane.
Lotto
cards are attached with
velcro to a
board. Children pull them off and insert them
into the can. This activity encourages reaching
out of the base of support, language as children
name the pictures and motor planning to fit
the card into the slit.
Many
tasks
can be made more exciting by
making them motorized. In this case the
brush from an electric toothbrush was
removed and inserted inside the can. The
sound and slight vibration holds children's
attention. Squiggly writer pens with the
points removed also work well. These
can be inserted into the "Velcro bottle" shown at left and
inside ring stacks.
Using sensory toys helps
motivate children,
increasing focus and visual attention. This
toy vibrates and lights flash (softly). Here
it is used as a ring stack. After working,
children are rewarded with holding the toy.
Pictures can be
used for communication and visual
discrimination activities.
Children
who
are nonverbal may be able to
point to a green light to indicate "Go Pony!"
Cones
or other fine-motor toys can be
hidden in the arena so
that children
need to say "whoa", pull the reins or
give a different indication that they
want to stop the horse to retreive
the toy.
Puzzles
than have
pictures in the board
are ideal so that children know what
to look for as they scan the arena looking
for the needed puzzle piece.
A child chooses an
animal and then finds
the matching picture hanging on the wall in
the arena. The child might be asked to make
the horse stop in front of the picture, reach
up high to grasp it or simply make the
corresponding animal sound when passing
the picture. These activities teach the child to attend, scan the room,
identify
matching pictures and follow multi-step directions.
Occupational
therapists may use picture cards to provide directions or ask the child
to point to or remove a picture to choose an activity such brushing
the horse, playing with toys, going outside or staying inside.
Hippotherapy is a
treatment tool used
to improve strength, postural control, balance and motor planning
skills.
Riding a horse provides
powerful sensory stimulation that effects attention, emotions, language and
motor skills.
Pop-it beads
Stabilizing the toy
while placing rings challenges eye-hand coordination and motor
planning. 
Completing
a puzzle or peg board develops eye-hand coordination. The puzzle pieces
are attached to the larger
piece of cardboard so children can pull them off independently. 
Small folding baskets
are attached to the horse's handle with shower clips.
Throwing
a ball into the hoop challenges
balance while reaching to the side. Children can also stand with feet
supported in stirrups while reaching for a ball held high up. Playing
catch while the horse is walking presents another balance and motor
planning challenge. Catch can be
played while sitting forward, sideways, backwards and even while
kneeling. 
Facing sideways on
the horse provides
different sensory stimulation and works the lateral trunk muscles.
Playing with this toy is helping this girl rotate her trunk and use
both hands together. 
Removing
toys attached with velcro from a
bottle is very motivating and promotes using both hands together.
Children develop eye-hand coordination as they insert them into the
enlarged opening on top.
Playing
catch while facing sideways is a great coordination challenge and fun
social activity when facing another child on his horse.
A slinky attached to
a handle enables this girl to engage in an activity with another rider
as they each shake their handles.
Shown here is one of
the many types of target and toss activities that can be performed
while sitting on a horse. 
Many
tasks
can be made more exciting by 
