Although both involve horses, equine assisted therapy is not necessarily the same thing as therapeutic riding.
Have you ever ridden a horse? It’s more difficult than just sitting there. As the horse moves, the rider moves with the horse and the rider’s body has to constantly make tiny adjustments to stay balanced and upright. Riding at faster than walk speeds requires a lot of effort. Try going up and down rhythmically in sync with a trotting horse. It looks easy when an accomplished rider does it, but is a good workout for legs and core muscles.
Not since I was four, when I discovered I was allergic to them.
I am not saying riding a horse is easy. In fact, I’ve always assumed it was difficult. That doesn’t mean it confers quantifiable medical benefits, though (over and above other forms of exercise).
Best thing about my dad’s employer in the early '80s was the annual company picnic. I got to go horseback riding! My knees felt like they weighted fifty pounds afterwards.
Riding is actually used to help people with certain conditions that limit mobility because the motion of the horse’s back at the walk helps the rider’s hips move in a way that is very close to our own walking gait. They also get the combined benefit of warmth on the muscles and tendons (most often this sort of therapy is done bareback), a gentle stretch as the legs go around the horse’s barrel, plus the motion of the horse to move the body and engage the deep muscles of the back and core. Add in fun and simple things to do with the upper body and you get a nice combined gentle exercise for the body and the mind, without it feeling like the rote boredom (and often pain) of standard PT.
Agree, probably no more beneficial than any other form of exercise, but given a choice, I would rather hang out at a barn than a gym any day. I hate exercise, but give me a horse and I will ride. Every day, if I could. Heck, I’ll even groom, tack up, cool out and shovel manure for the privilege. I can’t work up that kind of enthusiasm for a stationary bike.
THIS is exactly why I’m interested in doing it. I have Ehlers Danlos Syndrome Type 3 (came really close to being diagnosed with Marfan’s Syndrome, but a genetic test ruled it out) and need to do SOMETHING that will help my chronically painful body. I have also loved animals since birth and have loved horses since I was about 9, so it’s a perfect fit. My mom owned a horse for several years when I was younger and I owned one that, sadly, passed away in 2010 (he was 23 and had a heart attack).
