The Pros And Cons Of Horse Assisted Therapy

Although horse assisted therapy is growing in popularity and supporters, there are those that present valid surface-level arguments against it. The most obvious and basic drawback to an equine aid is the accessibility. Horses are large animals that cannot be easily brought to a patient, unlike other smaller and more popular therapy animals, like dogs (Fundukian). A patient in most situations must be brought to the horse in order to participate in the therapy, and for those with severe impairments this may be too great of a challenge. However, although it is true, the accessibility of horses is an issue, it could easily be solved if the therapy received more support. More centers, closer and with methods specifically designed to make the therapy

Horses are large, powerful animals, so there are certain physical risks or dangers to patients that do need to be taken into consideration. Brenda Elder, a registered horse assisted therapist out of Brush Prairie, Washington, admits that there are serious dangers to patients if the horse isn’t full trained or the staff isn’t monitoring the situation closely. And it is for this reason that associations like PATH (Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship) are in place. PATH regulates centers, instructors, therapists, and the equines, used in therapy situations, in order to “promote safe and effective therapeutic horseback riding”. Associations like PATH are sure to highly educate those involved in the therapies to promote the utmost safety of the participants. The horses used are also put through years of careful training and desensitization, to further ensure safety. With the therapists, staff, and horses, used at therapy centers put through extensive training, safety really needn’t be a concern. In fact, reports of patients being put into any kind of situation where their safety might have been compromised are slim to