Therapists use hippotherapy to improve postural control in children with neuromotor dysfunction. Understanding the influence of the horse's movement on the child may clarify mechanisms, which influence posture during hippotherapy. This study was conducted in two phases. First measures of the kinematic relationship between the rider and the horse were developed. A kinematic analysis of the rider's trunk and the horse's back was used to describe postural orientation, postural stability, and temporal phase relations of a novice and an experienced rider. Both riders exhibited a biphasic movement pattern in response to the horse's movement. The experienced rider had a more vertical orientation of the trunk and delayed postural response to the movement of the horse. Next we examined the influence of 12 weekly hippotherapy sessions on the postural control, coordination, and function of two children with cerebral palsy. Both children with cerebral palsy approximated the biphasic movement patterns exhibited by the two children developing typically. Both also demonstrated improved coordination between the upper and lower trunk, and between the lower trunk and the back of the horse. One child's functional mobility improved. Additional research should investigate the kinematic relationship between the client and horse and the efficacy of hippotherapy.
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Haehl et al. (1999) studied this question.