Horseback Riding Can Have Therapeutic Effect for Children with Autism

Longmont Times Call

In the 1960s, pioneering special education teachers began valuing horseback riding as therapeutic for children with developmental disabilities, such as challenges in communicating, learning and moving well, as Robin L. Gabriels, of Children's Hospital Colorado, noted in a recent article. Gabriels is the clinical director of the Neuropsychiatric Special Care Program at Children's and she is also leading a new four-year, $1.3 million study to measure the effect of therapeutic horseback riding on children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder.

If her current study of 108 participants ages 6 to 16 — half in a barn group and half in a rider group — reflects her pilot study findings, it could become a standard of therapeutic care that improves the quality of life for this population, she said.

In Gabriels’ two-year horse therapy pilot study on 41 children with autism at the premier Longmont riding center accredited by the North American Riding for the Handicapped Association, the participants showed “significant” improvements.

Read more about this study from the Longmont Times Call.