Equine therapy for autistic people : what relevance ? What benefits ?

Today, the horse is more and more present in healthcare for people with disorders. The horse acts as a mediator. Equine assisited therapy (horses, ponires and sometimes donkies) is a complementary approach which is currently booming.

In France the terms used for equine therapy are diverse, depending on the indication, the aim and the training cursus of the professional who intervenes. The different situations are described in the equipedia fact sheet entitled Equine therapy, adapted riding : what differences ?

Equine assisted therapy for people with autism is complementary to other interventions (therapeutic, educational, for school and social problems) and can be integrated into an overall personalised project.

There are various objectives and are determined by the sector, but also by the existing and developing potentialities :

• To promote social inclusion
• To use adaptive systems, regulate emotions and behaviour, and to process information
• To develop exchange and communication (verbal and non-verbal)
• To facilitate the implementation of competencies
• To bring well-being and self-confidence

The trio autistic person - care person - horse

Concerning the autistic person, both the problems and his skills should be understood.

The care person should be calm, reliable, and supportive. In fact, his behaviour and emotions have an effect on both the horse and on the autistic person. The care person should therefore adapt to the autistic person’s behaviour, but also to his skills.

The horse should be kind, calm and easy, patient and well trained. When working with children it is preferable to work with ponies as their size is better suited.

A personalised, individual project, built into the overall therapeutical programme

The methods are established on the basis of an indiviualised, personalised project integrated into the general therapeutical schedule of the autistic person.

The sessions take place in a calm, appeasing environment and completely safely, in small groups or individually. In the hourly sessions several activities are caried out :

• Observation of the horse (or pony) in the stable and loose
• Preparation : grooming, saddling and tacking up
• Leading in hand
• Riding in an indoor arena, a closed in calm place, as well as riding out, where the environment offers more stimulation.

With regard to children, it is important for the parents to be involved, to be informed of the aims, the methods of the sessions and the progress their child makes.

The interactions between the autistic person and the horse, supported by the care person, will enable to develop and regulate psycho-physiological processes.

Neuro-psycho-physiological functions involved in the sensory, perceptive and cognitive processes allowing the subject to adapt to the social environment (attention, perception, association, intention, body tone, motor development, imitation, emotion, contact, communication) are exercised through the horse’s mediation.

Stimulating these functions improves exchange, communication, and regulation capacities with regard to cognition, emotions and motor skills.

Assessing the results of the therapy sessions with the horse aims to prove the effectiveness of the approach, and to re-adjust the objectives and processes if deemed necessary.

Benefits linked to several factors

The benefits are linked to several factors : the environment, contact and  relationship with the horse, movement, physiological effects.

the environment

The environment in Equine assisted therapy is particularly suited to people with autism as it is calm and well structured. Visual markers can be used before during and after the sessions. The activities are motivating. Therefore it will be a mediator for well-being, facilitate interactions and adaptive behaviour.

Contact and relationship to the horse

A horse is an easy animal to decode. It has few facial expressions, unlike humans. A horse is soft and warm, pleasant to stroke, and can cope with specific behaviour patterns. The horse appears to perceive and respond to some of the person’s emotions. The autistic person will feel empathy towards the horse. He has a structuring and appeasing role, he promotes a situation where the rules are learnt. He carries the person, gives him pleasant sensations. He enables to channel motor skills, and avoid the search for isolation. He generates « coactions » and there is a certain reciprocal interaction between the horse and the autistic person : they act together, and the behaviour of one influences the behaviour of the other. This allows the development of interactive behaviour. Additionally, the situation gives a feeling of value and increases self-confidence and self-esteem.

Movement

Movement leads to multi-sensory stimulation which exerts sensory-integration functions and helps with the integration of sensory influx. It promotes visual exploration, vocal and verbal expression. It creates a motor-sensory experience of reciprocity, a « dialog movement », which is the beginning of non-verbal communication. It develops adaptive strategies, leads to a regulation of muscle tone, and brings a feeling of relaxation. A horse’s walk lulls, the trot stimulates

Physiological factors

The physiological factors at work in the benefits observed in equine assisted therapy are still not very well- known. However some of the recent studies have brought some enlightment in this area : decrease in stress hormones (cortisol), decrease in stimulation of the sympathetic nervous system, liberation of neurotransmitters (endorphins, serotonin, ocytocin) which explains the calming effect and the effect on behaviour, emotions, and social relations.