Pilot Study of the Influence of Equine Assisted Therapy on Physiological and Behavioral Parameters Related to Welfare of Horses and Patients

Abstract

Different welfare indicators were studied in three patients with psychomotor alterations and in two horses throughout 9–10 equine assisted therapy sessions in each patient. In horses, heart and respiratory rates, blood pressure, temperature and behavioral signs were studied. In patients, heart rate, oxygen saturation, temperature, sleep quality, psychomotor and emotional parameters were analyzed. Data collection was recorded in the anticipatory phase (15 min before the start of the session), two interaction phases (after 30 min of horse-patient interaction on the ground and on horseback, respectively) and the recovery phase (15 min after the end of the session). During the anticipatory phase, most of physiological parameters of patients and horses and the stress behavioral signs of horses increased, followed by a relaxing phase during the horse-patient interaction on the ground. In horse-patient riding phase the heart and respiratory rates of the horses again increased. These results showed that the horses did not seem to suffer stress attributable to the therapy sessions, but only an increase in their parameters associated with activity and external stimuli. The patients improved their gross and fine motor skills, their cognitive and perceptual-sensitive parameters and it led to an improvement in the life quality of their families.

The Effects of a Collegiate Recovery Community Psychotherapy Program Incorporating Equine Interaction during the COVID-19 Pandemic on Young Adults with Substance Abuse Disorder

“…In the end, 100% compliance rates are not typical for most mental health treatment programs working with young adults [41,94,97,98], and this high compliance rate found in the current study occurred during the pandemic while further barriers persisted. This is reflective of the retention rates seen in residential SUD programs where PIE was available, indicating that the equine environment may be conducive to participation in mental health programs [18,88].…”

“…Unfortunately, the EQUUS-FAP was the only system finding significant results within this study for the horse over the time period tracked. In addition, although cortisol was not measured in this study, it has been used in tracking stress-related responses to therapeutic interventions in both humans [24,81,90] and horses [23,88,91,92]. However, the variability associated with cortisol measurements documented by previous equine studies limits the interpretation of such measurements [23,88].…”

“…As such, the variability of heart rate suggests that heart rate may not be a reliable measure by itself for assessing the impact of PIE on therapy horses. While research has utilized cortisol measures to determine the impact of these interactions on the horse [24,87,88], limited research has utilized respiratory rates [87,88] and, to date, no studies have employed the use of pain rating scoring systems. Nonetheless, understanding the physiological impact that this therapeutic intervention has on the therapy animal is important for ensuring animal welfare.…”

“…In addition, although cortisol was not measured in this study, it has been used in tracking stress-related responses to therapeutic interventions in both humans [24,81,90] and horses [23,88,91,92]. However, the variability associated with cortisol measurements documented by previous equine studies limits the interpretation of such measurements [23,88]. In the end, further research concerning the tracking of physiological responses to exercise is warranted to determine what would be the most reliable and consistent measurement methodology for evaluating the impact of this form of exercise therapy and the potential physiological synchronization between human and horse during this type of therapeutic intervention.…”