No.is not just a precious companion for walks in the countryside or an irreplaceable sporting partner in the stables: the horse supports physiotherapistsdoctors rehabilitation experts, psychologists And neuropsychiatrists to help patients of all ages and with various problems.
From emotional and relational blocks, such as an excessive one shynessunder conditions of physical disabilities even serious ones, passing through diseases such as autism and Down syndrome, hippotherapy, the set of medical techniques that use the horse to improve the health of an individual, can really help and has a solid scientific basis.
In addition, it is achieved through the use of an extremely sensitive, intelligent and empathic animal: the horse, whose contribution is more than evident in the huge amount of neurosensory stimulation that it is able to transmit simultaneously in whoever mounts it or approaches it.
Hippotherapy: when was it born?
Beneficial effects related to the use of the horse were intuited in ancient times and the prescription of horse riding for therapeutic purposes is already found in the work of Hippocrates of Kos (460-370 BC). In particular, long rides in nature were recommended to combat insomnia.
It is from the second half of the 20th century, however, that the quadruped begins to be used in England, France and Scandinavia in the first projects of rehabilitation for children and adults with motor deficits.
In Italy, hippotherapy was introduced, in a coherent and methodologically correct way, by Daniela Nicolas-Citterio in the seventies, a French physician and psychologist who has provided a significant boost to the diffusion and correct use of the horse in medicine, also through theItalian National Association for Equestrian Rehabilitation.
How to approach hippotherapy
«Hippotherapy or TMC can be practiced by a wide range of people with disabilities or who simply have some problems related to the social sphere, for example. To cite some examples, we could refer to people with physical, sensory and / or mental disabilities, autism, ADHD, Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s and Down’s syndrome “, he comments Roberto Bernardi, National Federal Instructor of TMC (SOI) and Hippotherapy.
“Through hippotherapy, numerous benefits are obtained both at a motor level and at a psychic and emotional level, in particular we could say that improvements have been found on balance, body perception, posture, coordination, strengthening of muscle tone, but also improvement of self-esteem, management of emotions, responsibility and respect for the rules», Continues the expert.
The horse, a four-legged therapist
But why is the horse used? It now seems proven that equines are able to transmit and stimulate emotions. They have a strong social vocation and anyone who has taken the reins in hand knows how the horse is extremely reactive to stimuli. Riding implies a harmony with another creature, which will then be very useful even outside the stables. In addition to the interaction with the animal, it seems to play a role too rocking in the saddle, which evokes the pleasant sensations of the womb and early childhood, when you were rocked.
“The horse is not only an animal able to bond in a particular way with the human being, but it also has the particularity of being able to carry the person and this means that a different and decisive relationship is created in most of the times rewarding. Other reasons are also attributed to the fact that hippotherapy is practiced in a different context, in a natural environment or inside the riding school “.
«People who take part in hippotherapy courses at the Ithaca center of Fano (PU) they are mainly individuals with Down Syndrome, with autism and psychic disabilities. The programs vary from user to user as they are designed according to the difficulties of each. For example, coordination exercises, individual, team and sports games are proposed motor routes on horseback or even animal care activities and floor-standing pet therapy ”, concludes Roberto Bernardi.
The costs of hippotherapy
Net of all the variables – the size of the center, the amount of qualified expert staff present, any additional services – a range of prices within which the interventions attributable to equestrian re-education are carried out may vary from 15-20 euros up to a maximum of 30-35 euros per intervention.
It is also an influence the structuring of the shots: work in a 1: 1 ratio, i.e. the operator in direct and total contact with the user in the saddle, or 1: 2 or 1: 3, which respectively indicate the attention of the technician to 2 or 3 subjects working simultaneously more or less hand-held by assistants.
There are cases for which it is possible to obtain the deductibility of the costs of hippotherapy: further impulse to prefer those centers that work ‘in the light of the sun’ with qualified personnel and that provide adequate documentation to facilitate the recovery of small but important resources.
The crowdfunding campaign “Riding the Blue – A horse as a friend”
Appointment in September (from 15 to 22) in Pratoni del Vivaro for the official closure of the crowdfunding campaign ‘Riding the Blue – A horse as a friend’ on www.retedeldono.it to support one of the flagship projects of Fieracavalli, the one dedicated tohippotherapy for the treatment of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).
The purpose of the campaign is to collect funds to finance an interregional project that will involve several Italian equestrian centers – selected thanks to the support of the Italian Federation of Equestrian Sports – and 60 young people with ASD followed by a regional multidisciplinary team.
The activities implemented, with the support of the National Association of Parents for People with Autism and the EY Foundation, will be based on the method resulting from the Riding the Blue study, an experimental project coordinated by Prof. Leonardo Zoccante and promoted by Fieracavalli with the purpose of highlight the benefits of horse assisted interventions in children with autism. The entire proceeds of the charity initiative will be donated to Angsa, allowing the 60 selected subjects to access the treatment for free.
Furthermore, thanks to the results of this wider experimentation, it will be possible to corroborate the clinical value of the research conducted so far, with the ambitious intent of have horse therapy recognized by the National Health Service as an effective practice in fostering the development of the person with autism.
To actively contribute to this project it is not only possible to make a minimum donation of 10 € (you can do it directly from the site), but also participate in the auction scheduled during the Pratoni world championships, during which Fise and Fieracavalli will help to auction the 8 signed caps Kep Italy, real unique pieces customized with Federica Crestani’s graphics.
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