Therapeutic riding / hippotherapy
In therapeutic riding, the horse is a partner in therapy. In hippotherapy you sit on a horse that is led at a walk; its rhythmic movements pass to your pelvis and trunk and challenge posture, balance and muscle tone. Other forms, such as equine-assisted learning and therapy, focus more on the relationship with the horse, grooming and leading it.
- therapists
- 2
- session length
- 30–60 min
Therascout does not diagnose. Have new, severe or persistent complaints checked by a doctor first. Emergency: 144
Origin and approach
Hippotherapy emerged in the 1960s in German-speaking countries as physiotherapy on horseback. The idea is that the horse’s walk moves the rider’s pelvis much like their own walking and so trains trunk control and balance. Studies, mainly in children with cerebral palsy, show improvements in posture and movement; for psychological uses there are only small studies.
What a session is like
Length: 30–60 min- Beforehand, your complaints and any reasons not to ride are checked, often with a doctor’s prescription.
- You get to know the horse and mount it with a helmet and assistance.
- The horse is led at a walk for 20 to 30 minutes while the therapist accompanies you and watches your posture.
- To finish, you say goodbye to the horse, often by grooming or feeding it.
Therapeutic riding / hippotherapy: what is it used for?
- Children and adults with neurological conditions such as cerebral palsy or multiple sclerosis, to improve posture and balance.
- Posture problems; the evidence is limited.
- Concentration problems in children; this use is based mainly on experience.
- Self-confidence and mood, for example with low mood; here too the use is based mainly on experience.
How well is the effect supported?
Complaints for which this method is commonly used, sorted by the state of research. The rating shows how well the effect is supported, not whether it will help you.
What do the dots mean?How to read the rating
- Established
- recommended in guidelines, well studied
- Some evidence
- effect shown in studies, with limitations
- Limited evidence
- few or weak studies
- Traditional use
- used, but hardly studied
The rating covers the research, not the therapist.
- Limited evidence
Posture problems
- Traditional use
Concentration problems
- Traditional use
Low mood and depression
Therapists: Therapeutic riding / hippotherapy
Costs and health insurance
- Basic insurance
- usually not.
- Supplementary insurance
- often 50–80% with EMR- or ASCA-recognised therapists, often up to an annual maximum.
- Your insurer
- Each profile shows which insurers recognise the therapist.
- Price per session
- Practices set their own prices; you can see them in each profile.
Good to know
- Not suitable with an unstable spine, severe osteoporosis, acute inflammation or an allergy to horse hair; a helmet is compulsory.
- Usually a series of 10 to 20 sessions is planned; therapy often takes place outdoors and depends on the weather.
- Check the costs beforehand: depending on the form and diagnosis, insurance covers part of it or nothing.
Training and recognition in Switzerland
In Switzerland, hippotherapy is offered by physiotherapists with additional training (Hippotherapie-K). For certain diagnoses, such as multiple sclerosis or in children with cerebral palsy, basic insurance or disability insurance (IV) may cover the costs; check beforehand. Other forms of therapeutic riding are usually paid privately, sometimes with a contribution from supplementary insurance.