Blog 16: 2 Hour Meeting Answer #2

1. What is the most important benefit a child with special needs recieves through equine assisted therapy?
2. My second answer is: Hippotherapy provides relaxation through a relationship with the horse.
3. Some facts are:

• The heart rate of the child drops when he/she is on the horse, compared to when they are off of the horse before the session.
• Studies have shown that some children are calmer and quieter when around the horse.
• Hippotherapy takes the patient out of the traditional clinical setting and places them into a more relaxed atmosphere in order to help meet their functional goals. They are in a natural environment, which may help integrate their needs into everyday life experiences. Children, who are sensitive to being "different" do not consider the riding environment to be a clinic.

4. I found this information from discovernac.org The National Ability Center has a list of different opportunities and activities people with special needs can take advantage of. The website gives information about each of the different opportunities and activities.
5. I plan to continue my study of answer 2 by doing further research into how and why the horse and therapy relaxes the patients.