Hippotherapy Treatment Principles- Part I Tentative Course Schedule

Day 1

 7:30 am   Registration & introductions– discuss therapy and equine background

 8:15 am   Review objectives, hippotherapy rationale and the AHA, Inc. description, horse gaits,
desirable qualities of equine movement, aspects of the horse’s walk that can be
manipulated, training and maintenance, horse handling

 9:15 am   Conformation and movement analysis of 3 – 4 horses

10:15 am  BREAK

10:30 am  Human and horse movement interaction, posture, and balance

12:30 pm  LUNCH

1:15 pm   Tour of facility and tack room

1:30 pm   Horse handling and safety demonstration

2:15 pm   Leading demo and Ppracticum

3:15 pm   BREAK

3:30 pm   Mounted practicum #1- opportunity to experience 3 dimensions of motion

4:30 pm   Review and discussion

5:00 pm   Day concludes

Day 2

 8:00 am   Faculty demonstration and participant practicum – motor tasks and impairment

10:00 am  BREAK

10:15 am  Theory of dynamic systems

11:00 am  Practice transfers with horses– emergency procedures, sidewalker training, working with
horse handler

12:00 pm  LUNCH

12:45 pm  Mounted practicum # 2

1:45 pm   Review of mounted practicum as a treatment session, horse selection and 
patient selection, unique contributions of the horse, position options, and alternative
positions

3:15 pm   BREAK

3:30 pm   Treatment teams develop treatment plan for a paper patient (group work)

5:00 pm  Day Concludes

Day 3  

8:00 am    Treatment plan presentations- group discussions

9:15 am    Practicum- position options & alternative positions

10:45 am  BREAK

11:00 am  Review of ICF model

12:00 pm  LUNCH

12:45 pm  Patient demonstrations

2:00 pm    Discuss patient demonstrations and their observations, review AHA, Inc. and 
PATH Intl. relationship, AHCB and credentialing, review other AHA, Inc. courses, and final
question and answer discussion

3:00 pm    Course Concludes