Root Farm subscribes to the following definitions:
Equine-Assisted Therapy is a broad category that refers to approaches to therapy for individuals with physical, emotional, or cognitive disabilities or challenging life situations that employ the relationship with horses, donkeys, or mules as a treatment strategy. Equine-Assisted Therapy includes all of the following designations:
Hippotherapy is a treatment strategy devised and implemented by a licensed physical, occupational or speech therapist that uses the movement of the horse as a treatment tool. The primary focus of hippotherapy is to achieve functional goals, such as improved neurological function, range of motion, muscle control, and sensory processing. Hippotherapy uses activities on the horse that are meaningful to the client, and treatment takes place in a controlled environment where graded sensory input can elicit appropriate adaptive responses. Specific riding skills are not taught.
Adaptive (Therapeutic*) Riding is a recreational therapy for persons with disabilities, conducted by a certified Therapeutic Riding Instructor, an individual who has proven familiarity with both horse care and needs of persons with disabilities. The goal of therapeutic riding is to teach participants basic horsemanship and riding skills in addition to a cdntered, balanced seat on the horse..
Adaptive (Therapeutic*) Vaulting** is vaulting modified according to the physical, cognitive, or emotional limitations of persons with disabilities. Adaptive vaulting lessons at the Root Farm are conducted by a vaulting coach who has familiarity with the needs of both horses and persons with disabilities. The student is either on a lead line or in a lunging circle. Horseback riding skills are not taught, but emphasis on the development of a centered seat, balance and fluidity of motion are the foundation of essential horseback riding skill. Therapeutic vaulting may be considered a preliminary step to therpeutic riding or may stand alone as an equestreian skill.
Adaptive (Therapeutic*) Driving teaches the basics of harnessing a horse, hitching the animal to a cart, and driving in an indoor arena or an outdoor training track. Supervised by an experienced driving instructor, conditions are modified to accommodate individual circumstances.
Equine-Assisted (or Facilitated) Mental Health is an approach to treatment of various mental and behavioral disorders, such as depression, anxiety, and ADHD, using, again, a relationship with the equine as a treatment tool. Unless overseen by a licensed psychiatrist, psychologist, or counselor, equine-assisted mental health programs fall under the rubric of “recreational therapy.” Curriculum based programs involving an "at-risk' youth population fall under this designation.
* The use of the word “therapeutic,” as employed by both The American Vaulting Association (AHA), the American Council of Therapeutic and Interacitve Vaulting (ACTIV), and the North American of Riding for the Handicapped Association (NARHA), does not infer in this context the supervision or direction of a licensed therapist, although such may be the case.
** Vaulting is an internationally recognized equestrian sport, characterized by a distinctive progression of compulsory gymnastic movements on horseback and also the individual or team choreography of freestyle or “kur” movements. Vaulting is a skill encouraged, often required, by European trainers as a prereqisite to riding.
Semantics
Essential to any communication is an understanding of the meaning of words. Without agreement as to exactly what is meant by the terms we use, we will be unable to communicate to the outside world the nature of what we do.
Defining “hippotherapy” by its etymology has become a common feature of equine-assisted therapy programs (i.e., from hippos, the Greek word for “horse” and therapeia, the Greek work for “healing”).“Doing an etymology” is very fine , but it does not excuse the misuse of the “technical” term by spreading it onto the broader context of equine-assisted therapy.
Hippotherapy and its etymology and the ancient mythologies that are associated with both the Greek language and the horse give to the word a romantic aura that actually works against the pursuit of a scientific, medical validation of hippotherapy. As often as we see the "proof" of that horse-human healing bond, an effort should be made to move beyond the empirical, anecdotal accounts of “Healing with Horses” and encourage studies that provide the scientific data that our left brain-driven society demands.
That being said, it is unfortunate that the word "therapeutic" seems to be evolving in our society away from the general definition of "having or exhibiting healing powers" to point specifically to a more technical meaning, ie "of or relating to the medical treatment of a disease or condition" with the assumption that such a treatment is performed only by a professionally licenced therapist.
The Root Farm is a strong advocate of "hippotherapy," a form of equine-assisted therapy that is defined by its overview by a certified physical, occupational, or speech therpist. We also recognize, however, the profound therapeutic benefit of recreation, defined as
1. refreshment by means of some pastime, agreeable exercise, or the like.2. a pastime, diversion, exercise, or other resource affording relaxation and enjoyment. Root Farm promotes adaptive equine activities such as vaulting, riding, and driving, even general work around horses in their stable environment as "therapeutic" in the re-creational sense of the word.
