Stimulation of tactile, visual and auditory sensitivity, improved balance, development of motor coordination and perception of movements are some of the benefits of Equine Therapy, an alternative treatment with the help of horses. Since 2017, the Santos Dumont Institute (ISD) has been carrying out this type of approach in the treatment of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and resumes the partnership, interrupted due to the pandemic, with Jundiaí Agricultural School (EAJ/UFRN) to expand hippotherapy among users of Anita Garibaldi Health Education and Research Center (Anita). 

Around 20 children with autism assisted by Anita have already undergone hippotherapy since the service began. With the resumption of the partnership, the goal is to expand the treatment to include patients with other specialties, such as Parkinson's Disease and Neurodevelopment. “Hippotherapy is a complementary therapy that does not replace other therapeutic and educational interventions, but it brings clinical benefits at a physical and psychological level, such as the development of muscle strength, relaxation and body awareness,” explains the multidisciplinary neuropsychologist preceptor at ISD, Samantha Maranhão. 

In the partnership, the Jundiaí Agricultural School, which is an academic unit specializing in Agricultural Sciences, provides the physical space, animal care and a professional horseman. Anita includes users in rehabilitation. “It is very interesting to integrate the animal’s skills for the benefit of the human being, the patient. In addition, resuming the partnership with the ISD is important because the animals are missing the interaction and routine of contact with patients,” said Mário Cardoso, professor and coordinator of the technical course in Agriculture at EAJ. 

Interaction with horses, including initial contact, preliminary care, the act of riding and final handling, “develops new forms of socialization, self-confidence and self-esteem,” said Jorge Dornelles, president of the National Association of Equine Therapy (ANDE), during a visit to the Anita facilities this week. “It is a therapeutic modality that has demonstrated improvement in more and more pathologies,” he added. 

Enlargement 

This week, Rio Grande do Norte will host the first Training and Leveling Course for Technical Staff within the Research Project 'Communicating with Equotherapy - Effect of Equotherapy on the rehabilitation of people with autism spectrum disorder'. With this course, which will be held until next Saturday (4), the ISD will increase the number of professionals trained for rehabilitation using equotherapy. The number jumps from 2 to 10 professionals who will include the therapy in other rehabilitation specialties besides autism, such as Parkinson's and other neurodevelopmental disorders. 

For Luana Aprígio, a multidisciplinary speech therapist and one of the professionals participating in the course, the transdisciplinary work provided by equine therapy can enhance rehabilitation results. “In the course, we are deepening technical knowledge about equine therapy and how to apply it to benefit people with disabilities. The horse is a large animal that, in addition to all the therapeutic potential involved in its movement, brings, for example, the improvement of the self-esteem of the practitioner who, faced with so many limitations, becomes empowered when realizing that he can ride a horse,” she reports. 

Research 

Equine therapy in rehabilitation also presents prospects for the development of research in the area, involving the neurological benefits of this type of therapy. “Neural mapping with electroencephalogram while the child is riding can scientifically show what happens in the brain of a patient with autism, for example. It is a promising possibility for research involving neuroscience and health”, said neuropsychologist Samantha Maranhão. 

About ISD

The Santos Dumont Institute is a Social Organization linked to the Ministry of Education (MEC) and includes the Edmond and Lily Safra International Neuroscience Institute and the Anita Garibaldi Health Education and Research Center, both in Macaíba. ISD's mission is to promote education for life, forming citizens through integrated teaching, research and extension actions, in addition to contributing to a fairer and more humane transformation of Brazilian social reality.