Hippotherapy concepts: A scoping review to inform transdisciplinary practice guidelines

Abstract

Background

Hippotherapy, an equine-assisted service, uses the movement of the horse as a treatment tool. Hippotherapy is often used by occupational therapists, physiotherapists, and speech and language pathologists. To optimise hippotherapy and facilitate the development of transdisciplinary hippotherapy practise guidelines, this scoping review identified novel hippotherapy concepts used during hippotherapy interventions for clients with spastic cerebral palsy.

Aim

To explore, identify, and describe concepts that constitute hippotherapy practices for clients with spastic cerebral palsy.

Methods

An exploratory descriptive qualitative research design, using Arksey and O’Malley’s five stages of scoping review.

Results

We identified and tabulated 19 hippotherapy concepts.

Conclusions

Hippotherapy is a complex intervention with multiple concepts. This review contributed to the development of hippotherapy practice guidelines for clients with spastic cerebral palsy.

Significance

Including hippotherapy concepts into hippotherapy practice will inform therapists, benefit clients, and contribute to future research.

Keywords:

• Animal-assisted therapy
• components
• equine-assisted therapy
• equine therapy
• occupational therapy
• physiotherapy
• speech and language pathologists
• therapy tool
• elements

Acknowledgement

Dr Cheryl Tosh (University of Pretoria) for editing support.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by an internal grant from the University of Pretoria.