Summary of the Systematic Review

Description

Therapeutic horse riding or hippotherapy is used as an intervention for treating individuals with mental and physical disabilities. Equine-assisted interventions are based on the hypothesis that the movement of the horse's pelvis during horseback riding resembles human ambulation, and thus provides motor and sensory inputs similar to those received during human walking. However, this hypothesis has not been investigated quantitatively and qualitatively. This study aimed to verify the hypothesis by conducting a three-dimensional analysis of the horse's movements while walking and human ambulation. Using four sets of equipments, we analyzed the acceleration patterns of walking in 50 healthy humans and 11 horses. In addition, we analyzed the exercise intensity by comparing the heart rate, breathing rate, and blood pressure of 127 healthy individuals before and after walking and horse riding. The acceleration data series of the stride phase of horse walking were compared with those of human walking, and the frequencies (in Hz) were analyzed by Fast Fourier transform.

Profession 

No medical profession - just gait analysis

Location 

Japan

Intervention Terminology

TR and hippotherapy

Study Design 

Comparison Study 

Sample

50 Adults 

Age/Population

20-24 years 

Assessment/ Outcome measure tools

3 dimensional acceleration sensors

Result Category 

Gait 

Dosage/Description of Intervention

3 minutes of walking on ground versus 3 minutes of riding on a horse