Special Needs 

Why Children With Special Needs Feel Better with Hippotherapy Sessions: A Conceptual Review

Granados A., Agis I.

The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine. (2011) 

Description

This article is designed from a chronological perspective to provide mental health professionals, educators, and others with current information on how horses can be used as a main tool in an effective and holistic therapy for children with special needs. This is supported by current literature review through a conceptual framework of hippotherapy explained by dynamic system theory along with the theory of neuronal group selection and sensory integration theory.  

Conclusion

Hippotherapy, by affecting multiple systems such as the sensory, muscular, skeletal, limbic, vestibular, and ocular systems simultaneously, leads to psychologic, social, and educational benefits that will be evidenced in behavioral patterns used in other environments.