For the children with autism spectrum disorder the therapeutic horseback riding program significantly improved their overall motor skills, specifically the sub-skills of run, gallop and two-hand catch in comparison to the control group who did not undertake the THR.
Therapeutic horseback riding (THR) as an animal-assisted intervention is one of the innovative approaches emerging in the treatment for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Despite the growing interest in this area, there are is still insufficient evidence from methodologically rigorous studies to establish the solid link between THR program and motor skills of children with ASD. This study was designed to examine the effects of a 12-week THR program on motor skills in children aged 5 to 10 years old with a diagnosis of ASD. The results showed that for the children with ASD the THR program significantly improved overall motor skills across time points, particularly the sub-skills of run, gallop and two-hand catch in comparison to the wait-list control group.
DOWNLOAD FULL TEXT