(MENAFN- Muscat Daily) A different form of therapy for the disabled and those with special needs is gaining ground in the sultanate.
Hippotherapy is an intervention where horses are used as a healing tool.
Najat al Busaidy senior occupational therapist and the chairperson of the Association of Early Intervention for Children with Disabilities who heads this therapy at the military stables says 'This therapy has proven to be highly beneficial for people suffering from several problems including autism brain injuries and Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD).'
The systematic and definite patterns of a horse's movement complements treatment goals Najat says.
The programme first started in the region in 2010. Currently the organisation runs the programme only for five months each year with no sessions during the summer.
'Neither the client nor the horses can bear the heat. However the sad part is that when we stop the programme clients lose out on therapy. When they come back we have to once again return to the first stage of our treatment plan' Najat says. Until now 100 people have benefitted from hippotherapy.
The person receiving the therapy needs to get used to the horse's pattern of movement and hence the first step is to make him or her is simulation riding The person is gradually shifted to real horses.
According to Najat the number of repeated movements on horseback combined with heat from the animal's body act as a powerful therapeutic element.
'With this our clients improve tremendously when compared to other traditional therapeutic interventions. Apart from physical improvements the therapy also has an effect on social physiological and emotional well being.'
Right now there are seven horses 11 occupational therapists five assistant therapists and two coaches (one male and female).
'Because this is an exclusive personal care and attention programme we have to take limited number of people. We have around ten every year. We run the session twice a week - Mondays and Wednesdays' Najat says.
In future the association hopes to have more hippotherapy experts and run the programme in an enclosed area so that it can continue throughout the year.
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