Hippo Therapy

From the Greek work "hippos" meaning horse, the term literally means "treatment with the help of a horse". And refers to the use of the horse's movement as a treatment tool to improve neuromuscular function.

The therapeutic qualities of riding are recognized by many medical professionals, including the American Physical Therapy Association, American Occupational therapy Association, and Speech-Language Therapists.

The horse's walk provides sensory input through motion, which is variable, rhythmic and repetitive. The resultant responses in the patient are similar to human movement patterns of the pelvis while walking. The variability of the horse's gait enables the therapist to grade the degree of sensory input to the patient, and then use this movement in combination with other treatment strategies to achieve desired results.

The children at our centre engage in activities on the horse which are enjoyable, and challenging, and they respond enthusiastically to this pleasant experience in a natural setting. Hippo therapy at our centre has shown tremendous results for children with neuro-musculoskeletal dysfunction.

It has improved the child's abnormal muscle tone, improved impaired balance responses, improved their coordination, and improved their communication, an improvement in sensorimotor function, postural asymmetry, poor postural control, decreased mobility and limbic system issues related to arousal, motivation, and attention.

Functional limitations relating to gross motor skills such as sitting, standing, and walking; speech and language abilities; behavioral and cognitive abilities have improved after the hippo therapy at our centre. We have documented the whole process and validated it through Pea body testing scales.