By Matt Mitchell, PT, DPT, HPCS

Did you know that The Shea Center recently produced a published scientific study? The Shea Center’s mission is to improve the lives of people with disabilities through therapeutic horse-related programs. Clients frequently tell stories highlighting how hippotherapy touches their lives. The therapists who work with these clients also see amazing results when using hippotherapy, so they wanted to find an effective way to measure these improvements to show the public and the scientific community the impact of hippotherapy.

Beginning in 2015, the staff set out to answer the questions, 1) does physical therapy using hippotherapy improve everyday functional activity and participation level outcomes for children with movement disorders, and 2) how can we accurately and efficiently measure these changes This led the team to partner with Chapman University to devise a research study to answer these questions. The details of the research process and the assessment tool can be found in a previous blog, Where Science and Therapy Meet: Research at The Shea Center.

This research showed that clients who received hippotherapy made statistically significant improvements in test scores that measured their functional abilities. Overall, 34 children were tested using the Pediatric Evaluation of Disability Inventory Computer Adaptive Test (PEDI-CAT). These participants showed improvements in their daily activities, mobility, and social/cognitive skills following 6 months of physical therapy using hippotherapy.

After multiple presentations at international physical therapy conferences, the study was officially published in May of 2022 in the esteemed scientific journal of Physiotherapy Theory and Practice. This adds to the scientific foundation bolstering the effectiveness of using hippotherapy as a treatment tool in equine-assisted services. Publishing these findings allows for greater spread of information to a global audience increasing understanding of hippotherapy applications.

The authors of this study are excited about future research endeavors and continue to collect more data. The Shea Center has partnered with five other equine-assisted services providers across the country who are contributing data for future studies. They are also investigating possibilities of technological applications to innovate the application of hippotherapy.

This study is made possible by the incredible generosity of the The David R Clare and Margaret C Clare Foundation. Their foundation continues to support future research endeavors at The Shea Center to bridge the gap between research and clinical practice.