EQUESTRIAN REHABILITATION - INDICATORS OF WELFARE IN THE HORSE

The present study is part of a series of studies involving the assessment of indicators of welfare in the horse. These physiological indicators are, in particular, the heart rate and the respiratory rate. The equestrian rehabilitation is a therapeutic practice that takes care of people with psycho-physical problems aimed at improving the quality of their lives through a strong interaction with the horse. The equestrian rehabilitation consists of three different methods : • Hippotherapy; • Equestrian Rehabilitation; • Riding and pre- sports [1] Four different horses of different age and sex have been used and led by eleven children suffering from various diseases. The sessions had weekly basis and those examined were a total of ten. The heart rate and the respiratory rate have been monitored at specific times of the day: • at rest; • during the sessions, 25 minutes after the start of therapy. The data were expressed as average. The student t-test was applied to compare the value of heart rate and brief rate at rest and during the session. The values are considered significant for P < 0.05. When all the surveys came to an end, it was calculated the arithmetic mean of P0 (heart rate at rest), of P1 (lower heart rate of the day), and P2 (last measured heart rate) of each horse. A similar situation has been made to R0 (respiratory rate at rest) R1 (lower respiratory rate of the day) and R2 (last respiratory rate). All the average results of P0, P1 and P2 as well as all the average results of R0, R1 and R2 of the four horses examined were added together. It can be said that: - a total reduction of P1 out of P0 is 16%; - a total reduction of P2 out of P0 is 14%; - a total reduction of R1 out of R0 is 22.3%; - a total reduction of R2 out of R0 is 19.6 %. Comparing the heart rate at rest and during the exercise, it was demonstrated that P < 0,05, so we can assert that the results regarding the heart rate are higher significant . No significant the brief rate. From the analysis of the average cardiac and respiratory frequencies, there is a reduction of these indicators. As a result, we think that in the future this “sweet” therapy can be a valid rehabilitative support for certain types of horses. In the Equestrian Rehabilitation both the component, the horse and the disabled person, can gain benefit from this extraordinary horse-rider combination, establishing a dialogue through their bodies communicating without words. It is a path of change and growth that involves both. We think that we can speak of reversed pet therapy.