Presented by Beth Macauley, Associate Professor/ PhD, CCC-SLP, HPCS, FNAP, ACUE

The study begins by introducing Equine-Assisted Services (EAS), an umbrella term encompassing a variety of activities that utilize horses to provide therapeutic benefits. EAS includes both Equine-Assisted Interventions (EAI), such as physical and speech therapy conducted by credentialed professionals, and Equine-Assisted Activities (EAA), like therapeutic or adapted riding led by trained instructors.

Equine-Assisted Interventions (EAI) focus on specific therapeutic goals. For example, a speech-language pathologist may integrate horse movement into a session to facilitate speech motor control. Equine-Assisted Activities (EAA) typically center around improving quality of life through therapeutic riding sessions that provide secondary physical or cognitive benefits. This article specifically addresses the impact of three types of EAS: classic hippotherapy, therapeutic/adapted riding, and speech therapy incorporating hippotherapy.