Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Sunday, January 03, 2010 MuckoMLM asks

Q: Is there any therapy for ADHD children that uses horses,as in horseback riding therapy?

My son(8) enrolled riding school on hipodrome in our town.

He loves horses and they feel his admiration.It is regular riding school for all children.

He is calm and patient,listens to coach,and smiles all the time while with horses.

Quite different from school!! It was my idea to let him go as a sort of a therapy

and it so far worked beyond my expectations!He is not on any drug.

He is predominantly hyperactiv,impulsive type.On TOVA showed no signs of concentration problems.On the contrary,he beats me often in chess,and Im not a beginner.

He cannot sitt still in school and does all kind of mischeafs(teacher goes crasy!!).

But he is perfectlly still on horse and does all his cach tells him.

He is very active in sports(football,tenis,judo) and I think that sport is the best terapy for children like him.

 

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Answers (1)
Merely Me, Health Guide
1/ 3/10 11:22am

Hi there!

 

I am so glad you brought this up!  I had forgotten about hippotherapy.  My son did this for several years and he absolutely loved it.  Here is a link to the American Hippotherapy Association for more information.

 

Kids who have ADHD or autism spectrum disorders or anyone in need of some sensory integration can really benefit from this type of therapy using horses. It improves balance, coordination, motor development, and not to mention...there is that social element of working in unison with the horse.  I heartily recommend it.

 

I thought my son would be afraid but he was so calm on the horse and...for the program he was in...they had a speech therapist as well as an occupational therapist there to assist him. 

 

I think I will write more about this...and thanks for reminding me...I bet my son would love to do this again. 

 

Thank you for bringing up this topic!

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By MuckoMLM— Last Modified: 12/25/10, First Published: 01/03/10