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Photograph by Jacqueline Ramseyer
NCEFT volunteer Annelies Ashoff helps 5-year-old Michaela work on her balancing skills during a hippotherapy session in Woodside. Michaela was born with cerebral palsy.
Riding High
Thirty minutes a week is making a lifetime of difference for local residents
By Gretchen Knaup
Michaela has problems with her posture. "She tends to lean to her left side, and that feels balanced to her," says her mother, Cathy.
However, with one half-hour therapy session a week, hippotherapy helps the young Sunnyvale resident succeed in areas where other therapies have failed. But for Michaela, it's not really therapy--it's just fun. "They don't realize they're in therapy," Cathy says, adding that this is a major key to the success of hippotherapy with her daughter.
The National Center for Equine Facilitated Therapy in Woodside, where Michaela's sessions take place, says the term hippotherapy refers to the treatment by therapists, using the movement of the horse as a tool to address impairments, functional limitations and disabilities in patients with neuromuscular dysfunction.
According to the Western Michigan University Riding Center, the action of the horse, coupled with traditional therapy, influences muscle tone, mobilizes joints, activates muscle action, increases sensory-motor integration and improves balance. In Michaela's case, her dysfunction is caused by cerebral palsy, which is defined as a disorder of the brain that affects control of the voluntary muscles.
Photograph by Jacqueline Ramseyer
Physical therapist Cathy Altoff, left, and Michaela give Topaz a post-ride treat of carrots and apples.
According to Cathy, hippotherapy "helps her to sit up straight and hold herself up longer. It helps her to improve her posture. The motion of the horse helps her to stay upright. Her hamstring muscles are usually always really tight, and this loosens them up."
The therapist may use the horse in a variety of ways, depending on the needs of the patient.
Michaela's therapy incorporates such exercises such as, walking around the stable, playing Simon Says, and ring-tossing, all while atop her horse. She also does direction changes and rides at different speeds.
The horse's movement is quite similar to a human's movement. This similarity can facilitate muscle memory of a client; and improve spinal alignment and balance, according to the Icelandic Horse Connection, an informational website on hippotherapy. Hippotherapy has been practiced in Europe for 30 years.
Photograph by Jacqueline Ramseyer
After her hippotherapy session, Michaela, center, gets a big hug from little sister Sierra.
Western Michigan University physical therapist Theresa Nalty said, in a study on hippotherapy, "The theory behind hippotherapy is that the pelvic movement of the rider on the horse is the same as the pelvic movement of human walking." Cathy Althoff, Michaela's physical therapist, says walking for Michaela is a possible long-term goal.
"The rhythmic movement of the horse tends to reduce the abnormal patterns of children with cerebral palsy, allowing them more freedom in purposeful goal-directed movement," said Sandra Hubbard, MA, OTR, assistant of occupational therapy at the Health Science Center, at Western Michigan.
Michaela, now 5, has been taking lessons since she was about 3. According to Michaela's mother Cathy, the treatment is successfully progressive. At an initial evaluation, specific goals are set for each patient. Treatment continues with the progress of those goals. Program director Steve McKenzie says, "The results are more long term. You notice a change about every two to three months. We do a re-evaluation every six months. If we don't see any improvements, we stop the treatment."
He adds, "The main goal here is to improve functional activities; activities of daily living."
"Michaela has improved in moving from sitting to standing, getting in and out of her wheelchair, and holding herself up longer with difficult movements," Althoff says.
Photograph by Jacqueline Ramseyer
The NCEFT horse arena in Woodside.
There are additional benefits of the treatment besides the physical improvements., Althoff explains. "They develop a bond with animals, even dogs and cats, because this takes their fears away. Horses sense apprehension, it's just amazing what kind of bond it creates."
According to the Icelandic Horse Connection, improvements have been seen in focus, attention span, concentration, memory and speech.
According to the American Association Practice Committee, the use of equine movement as a treatment tool has evolved over 30 years. Hippotherapy continues to grow in popularity, as the therapeutic value of the horse is recognized throughout the medical community. Michaela will continue with her therapy as long as improvements continue to be made.
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Sunnyvale, California Since 1994
