Brandt said people who use wheelchairs can build core strength by riding a horse. It also builds self-confidence. Brandt said something as simple as a change in perspective - looking down from horseback rather than up from a chair - can feel empowering. Plus, the lessons are conducted outdoor...
“I get stretched out and normally wouldn’t get that range of motion,” she says. It also gets her out of her wheelchair, which sits empty on the ramp during horseback riding time. Besides physical and social benefits, Kennedy says there’s even more in it for her. “It calms me dow...
“I wasn’t able to do things the same,” Still elaborated. “I had no core muscles, leg muscles, and very little balance before I started riding therapeutically.” It was initially a doctor at her neurologist’s office that recommended therapeutic horseback riding, or hippotherapy, in place ...
Whalen CN, Case-Smith J: Therapeutic effects of horseback riding therapy on gross motor function in children with cerebral palsy: a systematic review. Phys Occup Ther Pediatr. 2011, 32 (3): 229-42. PubMed Google Scholar Zadnikar M, Kastrin A: Effects of hippotherapy and therapeutic horseba...