What is Hippotherapy?
The term hippotherapy refers to how occupational therapy, physical therapy, and speech-language pathology professionals use evidence-based practice and clinical reasoning in the purposeful manipulation of equine movement as a therapy tool to engage sensory, neuromotor, and cognitive systems to promote functional outcomes.
Best practice dictates that occupational therapy, physical therapy, and speech-language pathology professionals integrate hippotherapy into the patient’s plan of care, along with other therapy tools and/or strategies.
Understanding Hippotherapy as a Treatment Tool
It is important for families and healthcare professionals alike to recognize that hippotherapy is provided within standard occupational therapy, physical therapy and/or speech-language therapy services. Hippotherapy is not a separate service or a program. Further, there is no such service as “equine therapy” or “horse therapy” and the use of these terms is incorrect (see AHA, Inc. Recommended Terminology Document for more information).
Hippotherapy has been regarded as a therapy tool that can be utilized by occupational therapy, physical therapy, and speech-language therapy professionals while working within their scope of practice by the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA), American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) and American Speech-Language and Hearing Association (ASHA). For more information on coding and billing related to hippotherapy, see the AHA Inc. Position Statement on Coding and Billing Practices When Hippotherapy is part of a plan of care and view “Use of Hippotherapy in Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy and Speech Therapy.”