Tai Chi softball was voted as one of the most popular health-promoting exercises and can also develop manipulative skill and hand-eye coordination. The purpose of this study was to explore changes in the physical fitness level and cardiovascular health-related factors after the 16-week Tai Chi softball (TCSB) training program among older females. One hundred healthy older females were assessed at the baseline before TCSB training, and then, they conducted intervention experiments. Through the 16-week TCSB intervention training, a control group and a physical exercise group showed significant differences. The physical exercise group significantly reduced body mass index, systolic blood pressure, and diastolic blood pressure from all the results studied. It also reduces total cholesterol, triglycerides, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol ( ∗ p < 0.05 ), and waist-to-hip ratio ( ∗ ∗ p < 0.01 ), whereas handgrip, sit and reach, single leg stance, vital capacity ( ∗ p < 0.05 ), and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ( ∗ ∗ p < 0.01 ) were significantly increased. TCSB training may improve physical fitness ability and decrease the risk of cardiovascular disease among older females.

Generally, adequate motor coordination (MC) ability is one among the critical factors for the overall development of children. In this paper, we have thoroughly analyzed the effects of equine-assistant activity (EAA) training on MC in children. For this purpose, MC test, specifically for children, was used to the Körperkoordinationstest für Kinder (KTK), and a total of 100 children, particularly those in 8 to 10 age, were equally separated into equine-assistant activity group (EAAG) and control group (CG), respectively. The EAAG group has attended a 14-week EAA training program, while the CG joined in physical education activity once per week. The experimental results have indicated that four indices of KTK test (i.e., backward walk [WB], height jump [HH], jumping sideways [JS] and moving sideways [MS], and motor quotient [MQ] score) showed significant differences ( ∗ P < 0.05 ) after a 14-week EAA training. Furthermore, the indices of physical fitness test, standing long jump (SLJ), and sit and reach (SAR) showed significant differences ( ∗ P < 0.05 ), but the handgrip (HG) increased slightly without significant difference ( P > 0.05 ) after a 14-week EAA training. In conclusion, there were improvements in MC, lower limb strength, and flexibility by EAAG for those who participated in a 14-week EAA training, and this study has demonstrated the effectiveness of the KTK assessment of MC in children 8 to 10 years.

Background: This study examines the effects of equine‐assisted activity (EAA) training on executive functioning (EF) (inhibitory control, working memory, and cognitive flexibility) in children aged 7–8 years.Methods: Twenty‐Four healthy children aged 7–8 years with a 1:1 ratio of boys to girls were randomly divided into EAA group (EAAG) or control group (CG). The subjects in EAAG were trained for 12 weeks, and CG participated in normal daily activities. All subjects conducted the Flanker, 1‐Back, and More‐odd shifting tasks at rest and recorded the average reaction times (RTs) and accuracy data of each task.Results: After 12 weeks of EAA intervention, EAAG showed a highly significant increase (p < .01) in mean RTs and accuracy in the Flanker and More‐odd shifting tasks and a highly significant increase (p < .01) in accuracy only in 1‐Back.Conclusion: These findings suggest that 12‐week EAA training can be effective in improving EF and promoting cognitive performance in children aged 7–8 years.