Many animals have a beneficial effect on a person's physical and mental health. So, "dogs" and "koshatniki" know perfectly well that communicating with fluffy pets can relieve both the bad mood and the headache.
Hippotherapy is a special kind of rehabilitation and treatment of many diseases, which is to communicate with horses. Official medicine often calls hippotherapy therapeutic horse riding. This method is not approved in all countries, but in the Russian Federation it is recognized as an effective therapy for a variety of diseases.
What is the power of horses and horses?
The therapeutic effect of communication with a horse is remarkable for its dual action: on the psychoemotional sphere and on the musculoskeletal system.
Therefore, hippotherapy as a method of treatment is used by neurologists, psychologists, and specialists who treat various pathologies of organs and systems( from inflammatory diseases of the genitourinary sphere to cerebral palsy).
When riding on horseback, the body of a rider experiences extraordinary physical activity: the muscles that are idle in normal state are turned on. Also, hippotherapy helps to strengthen the sense of balance of patients.
And, besides, the need every second while riding to control all movements and position of the body requires a serious active work of many think tanks.
Therefore, the person who undergoes a rehabilitation course normalizes the work of the nervous system, passes the symptoms of neurotic disorders. 
All of the above effects make hippotherapy a form of exercise therapy.
It should be noted one more positive "physical" effect of hippotherapy: in the process of horse riding, horses' movements are massaged by the legs and pelvis of the person sitting on it. The effect is enhanced by the thermal effect, because the temperature of the horse's body is about 38 degrees.
Hippotherapy is not only riding a horse, but also caring for it, communicating with this majestic animal. This part of the course helps to remove the stress present in the life of each of us, to normalize mental processes, to reduce the possible consequences of overstrain and chronic fatigue.
And it's very pleasant to communicate with a horse, because even people who are indifferent to our smaller brothers can not but admire the beauty, strength and grace of a horse.
What is especially important for disabled children is the educational effect of hippotherapy. Caring for a horse, a person learns to be attentive, sensitive, caring, develops a desire and ability to listen to the opinion and needs of relatives.
Another great effect of such exercises is the strengthening of self-confidence. Usually not only uncertain, shy, but also open enough people for the first time sit on a horse with caution. She's so big and strong. .. But what if she does not listen?
Therefore, inept riders are so frightened and confused. But after a few lessons the horse gets used to the new rider - and begins to listen to him, to understand. .. This is truly an incredible feeling!
Working with such a strong and beautiful animal as a horse, controlling it, a person feels stronger, feels like a warrior, a conqueror of nature - and at the same time an integral part of it.
All this together can cure anyone of uncertainty and confusion. The developed self-confidence begins to appear automatically in ordinary life: it becomes easier for a person to make decisions without fear of failure and looking with hope in the future.
For patients who are extremely difficult to communicate with people, hippotherapy is almost the only possibility of social expression. For such people, a horse can become a true friend who will always listen, and - it seems - understands everything. They can share their problems, plans, ideas with horses.
Therapeutic effect of hippotherapy:
- overcoming forced hypodynamia;
- development of muscle strength;
- restoration or improvement of the functioning of a variety of systems and organs;
- social adaptation of people with disabilities.
Forms of conducting medical horseback riding classes
Hippotherapy can be carried out in groups and individually. For the instructor in medical horse riding, there must be a higher medical, psychological or pedagogical education, special courses for the training of hippotherapy instructors and, of course, the ability to ride.
The first test sessions last very short - about ten to fifteen minutes. Gradually, the duration of the classes increases to one hour.
Frequency of classes - two to three times a week;the course takes from one and a half months and longer( all depends on the effect of therapy and the patient's desires).Healing from severe forms of chronic diseases sometimes requires not months, but years of regular rehabilitation.
What is the difference between hippotherapy and ordinary horse riding? Going astride the medical makes a number of requirements:
- Careful calculation and control of the intensity of physical activity .Dosage of physical activity, depending on the
of the patient's condition. - Gradual increase in intensity of and time duration of physical work.
- Hot desire of the patient himself to interact with the horse and actively participate in the process of rehabilitation or healing.
- Selection of animals with a calm, mild character .Combination of therapeutic riding with other therapies .
Sometimes patients or their relatives are afraid that a horse, a beast, a priori, freedom-loving and unpredictable, can intentionally or accidentally harm the patient.
This is almost impossible, because horses that work with sick people undergo rigorous selection and even training.
Therefore, the horse in hippotherapy classes is, you can say, the second instructor, just as much as the first one, interested in the patient's recovery.
The first criterion for selecting horses for rehabilitation is by nature. Animals should be calm, scared and very friendly to humans.
In addition, ungulates should be physically strong so that it would not be difficult for them to carry two people at once - the patient and the instructor.
The horses selected according to these criteria are trained from one to three years - and only after that are allowed to work with patients. And, which is quite natural, all horses engaged in courses of hippotherapy, undergo regular examination from a qualified veterinarian.
Hippotherapy for disabled children with cerebral palsy:
To help majestic animals
Indications for the appointment of hippotherapy:
- cerebral palsy or cerebral palsy;
- autism in adults and children;
- neurosis;
- is an easy form of schizophrenia;
- Neuropathy;
- vegetative-vascular dystonia( VSD);
- pathological hypodynamia of a variety of origin;
- impaired motor activity in children;
- various speech pathologies, including logoneuroses;
- attention deficit disorder, hyperactivity;
- blindness, deafness;
- Down Syndrome;
- oligophrenia with psychopathic disorders of behavioral strategy;
- osteochondrosis;
- disorders of posture, scoliosis;
- angina and other forms of atherosclerosis;
- arterial hypertension;
- rehabilitation of patients with alcohol and drug dependence;
- chronic stress.
Existing contraindications:
- severe stages of osteoporosis;
- acute and chronic forms of osteomyelitis;
- hemophilia;
- epilepsy;
- severe kidney pathology;
- is allergic to wool horses.
The Word of Mom for Children with Down Syndrome
We really wanted children, but still did not work. .. struggled-struggled, tried for fourteen years. .. And here we were born twins Sasha and Lisa! Both with Down syndrome. The long-awaited happiness of parenting has sharply turned into a pitch-smelling hell. ..
Daughters were born very weak. .. Doctors, hospitals, medicines, massages, physiotherapy exercises, classes with different specialists pushed not for the second, but for the tenth plan the rest of life. We were very sad, but did not stop hoping. And then the results began to appear: the children learned to hold their heads, laugh, kiss! But the girls did not "want" to stand on their feet. ..
Lizochka went to two and a half years, but Sasha stepped over the third anniversary, never standing on her feet. And then we enrolled in hippotherapy classes. At first the little ones were very afraid of big snorting, waving their manes and tails. But little by little they got used to it. First Sasha went on horseback with her mother, and then agreed to ride herself. It was incredible happiness! The child was delighted, and parents could not hold back tears! Sasha started walking about a month after classes with horses.
Alina, 34
Hippotherapy is not just an effective, but a unique effective method of healing from a number of severe ailments. Classes with a horse are a unity with nature, from which modern people are so ruthlessly torn off by urban reality, and the body's health, the restoration of its strength and natural flexibility, and healing, the awakening of the soul.
It is clear that horses are not a panacea, hippotherapy should be combined with other recommendations of the treating doctor. And, nevertheless, this method of treatment has already helped many people: both seriously sick and practically healthy - to improve their lives, to find healing and peace of mind.
