Hippotherapists plan video presentation

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Issue: 1 June 2005

Birmingham's International Convention Centre is not famed as an equine venue. So the therapeutic riding clinical interest group face quite a challenge at Congress presenting their work to delegates.

'The problem we have is you can't do a demonstration, because you can't take a horse with you,' says Geraldine Walker, honorary secretary of the Association of Chartered Physiotherapists in Therapeutic Riding (ACPTR).

But she is confident the group has put together a compelling series of talks, including video illustration where appropriate, to explain the impact made by practitioners in this specialty. ACPTR members use the horse as a therapeutic tool to improve the balance and positioning of people with a range of disabilities. Many of the riders have long-term neuromuscular disorders or neurological impairment, conditions such as cerebral palsy or learning difficulties.

Often in wheelchairs, these clients tend to have few opportunities to experience movement and can, says Ms Walker, 'get very fed up' with other forms of physiotherapy. She told Frontline: 'The movement the horse transmits to them is the same as in walking. We use it to strengthen and get relaxation of muscle spasms, improve their balance, and coordination. We're trying to get the pelvis and lumber spine mobilised so they can then balance on top of that.'

Fully trained riding therapy practitioners, who are known as hippotherapists, also need to know how horses move to ensure maximum benefits from the therapy. 'Quite often the bigger horses, which have a longer, slower stride, are much easier to work with than the tiny ponies that go very fast,' Ms Walker says.

The first programme speaker, Margaret Mayston, a senior lecturer at University College London, will talk about strength training with young people who have cerebral palsy. Physiotherapist Rosemary Campbell, who is a Riding for the Disabled Association instructor in Aldershot, will outline the findings of a case study into the effects of an intensive therapeutic riding programme on a child with cerebral palsy.

Ms Walker says ACPTR is accumulating more case study evidence of the effectiveness of riding therapy although she admits that 'full-blown research' is hard to carry out. 'Because every child is different, every horse is different, every venue is different, you can't get a big enough group who are similar to do exactly the same thing with.' ACPTR members work closely with other physiotherapists, particularly those specialising in paediatrics, learning disability and neurology. 'We're coming to Congress to publicise what we do and try and improve people's knowledge of what the effects are,' Ms Walker adds. Penny Butler, director of a movement centre at the Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital, Oswestry, will deliver a joint presentation with Lynne Munro, senior paediatric community physiotherapist at Telford and Wrekin primary care trust. They will talk about new ways of achieving movement control in children under 16.

Other programme presentations will compare treatment modalities in the UK and parts of Europe and reveal how physiotherapists assess and classify riders so they can compete like-for-like with other disabled athletes in Paralympic competitions.
There are 10 fully trained hippotherapists in the UK. Only two work in paid posts in riding therapy centres, with clients who are generally referred to them by other physios. Most practitioners who have completed a three-year course studying the horse and rehabilitation volunteer their time outside of their normal jobs.

Ms Walker told Frontline: 'Because it started as a voluntary thing in this country, it's never grown out of that. The benefits are considerable. We want recognition from the medical side and for funding to follow the client, rather than it all being done on a voluntary basis.'

Congress, the Society's flagship scientific conference, takes place in Birmingham on October 7 and 8. The two days are packed with a wide range of workshops and sessions addressing clinical and professional issues. Half-day tickets are now available for the first time, along with 80 free places for students and discounts for members who book five or more tickets at the same time. For more information, go to www.cspcongress.co.uk