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SarahSteffen English10 Ms.BeckyBoes ResearchPaper 1October,2013 AFairyTailEnding MydadwouldbehappytotellyoustoriesaboutmewhenIwaslittle.Manyofhisfavorites involvegoingtoanamusementparkorotherplaceswheretherewasacarousel.AssoonasIsawthe horsesonthecarousel,IwouldsquealsoloudmydadclaimsthatIcausedhimtolosehishearingearly. Idontdoubtit.IhavealwayslovedhorsesandwantedtospendallmysparetimeinhalinganythingI couldlearnaboutthem.Iwantmyfuturejobtobeinvolvedintheequineindustry.Thewellknownjobs involvinghorsesarethetrainers,theriders,farriers,andveterinarians.Inmyfuturecareer,Iwanttohelp peopleandtobearoundhorsesthesolutionishippotherapy.AllIneedtodonowisfigureoutwhat typeoftherapyIwanttogetinvolvedin,whateducationIneed,andwhatIgettodoonthejob. HippotherapycomesfromtheGreekwordhippo,meaninghorse.Ituseshorsesasawayto offeranalternativetypeoftherapy.Hippotherapyintegratesspeechtherapyandpathology, occupationaltherapy,andphysicaltherapy.OccupationalTherapistsusehorsestohelpwithfinemotor skillsthatwillhelpwiththepatientfunctionineverydaylife.Thegoalistogetthepatientscomfortable enoughtobeabletofunctionontheirownorwithlittlehelp.Physicaltherapistsusethehorsestohelp withbalanceandtrunkstrength.Thetherapistsgoalistogetthepatientgetupandfunctioningagain,be itfromastroke,accident,orgeneticdisorder.Togetthedamagedpartoftheirbodyworking,theyuse thehorsesmovementtostrengthenmusclegroups.Thepatientmustusetheircoretokeepthemselves

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uprightinthesaddle,andtheirlegsareinvolvedingraspingthebarrelofthehorse.Speechpathologists usethehorsesmovementtostimulatethespeechsystemsinthebody.Theirgoalistogetthepatientto speakormakesoundstothem.Somepatientsrespondbetterwhentheyareonthehorsebecauseit relaxesthem.(HippotherapyAsATreatmentStrategy) Thetherapistsarenottheonlyoneswhoareneededduringthetherapeuticsession.Obviously, thehorseisneeded,butyoucantusejustanyoldhorse.Eachbreedofhorseshasadifferenttypeof gaitorwalk.Forexample,aTennesseeWalkerhasanextragaitthatislongerthanmostothers.Ataller personhasalongerstridelengthandashortstridelengthofaponywoulddonogoodforthepatient. ThatpersonwouldbewellsuitedfortheTennesseeWalkerwhereas,asmallchildwouldneedapony suchasaNewfoundlandPony.Theweightofthepatientisalsoanissuethatistakenintoaccountwhen findingtherightfitforthem.AsmallchildwoulduseaponyaboutthesizeofNewfoundlandPonyanda largerteenagerorsmalleradultcouldeasilyuseahorsethesizeofaNorwegianFjord(Hofmeyer). Therapeutichorsescomeinalldifferentshapesandsizes.AgentlegiantsuchasaBelgiancould beusedforalargerpatient,anArabianforanadult,andaChincoteaguePonyforachild.Practically anyhorseorponybreedcouldbeusedasatherapeutichorse.Eachhorsethatisusedmustbegentled anddesensitized.Thesafetyofthepatientsisapriority.Onewaythattrainerscandothisisbyrubbing thehorsewithaplasticbag,makingloudnoises,oreventhrowingrubberballsunderneaththeirfeetto desensitizethemtoanythingthattheyuseduringthesessionorsomeunforeseenincident. Anotherfactorthatcomesintothetherapysessionarethehorseleaders,safetyguides,and walkalongs.Theleadersareinchargeofleadingthehorsearoundthearena.Thehavetokeepthehorse calmandleadtheminthenecessarypatternsforthepatient.Eachpatientisgivenadifferentroutineby theirtherapists.Dependingontheneedsofthepatient,thetherapistmaynotevenhavetobethere

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duringthesession.Insteadtheleaderandguidemaygothroughthesessionbythemselvesdoingthe necessaryworkoutanddoingtheexercisesleftbythetherapist.Thesafetyguideittheretoholdonto thebeltthateverypatientmusthaveon.Theymakesurethepatientdoesntslipoffthehorseandare theretopullthemoutofharmswayifsomethingweretospookthehorse.Thewalkalongsarethereas anotherbodytohelpensurethepatientssafety.Volunteersarealwayswelcometocomeandhelp duringthesessionordohorseychoresaroundthestables. Hippotherapyisagrowingindustry.Manycollegesarestartingtoofferactualcoursesin hippotherapyinsteadofjustofferinginternshipsaspartofaregulartherapycourse.Astudentlookingat thiscareercanexpecttogotocollegefortheirundergraduateforfouryearsandtwomoreyearsforthe medicalaspectofthetypeoftherapytheyareinterestedin.TheBabyBoomGenerationisstartingto getolderandretire.Thismeansthatthedemandfortherapistsignificantlygoup.LoriHofmeyer,a SpeechPathologist,saidthatthedemandforalltherapistswillgoup,butSpeechtherapywillneed moretherapistsandtheopportunitiestogetajobwillgreatlyincrease. Asanalternativemethodoftherapy,hippotherapyisaprovenmethodgetspatientsfunctioning againveryeffectively.Oneofthereasonsthatisattributedtothesuccessisthewalkingmotionofthe horse.Themotionofthehorsespelvisismuchlikeourown,andthemotionislikeuswalking.Sothe horseisdoingthewalkingfortheperson.Peoplewhohavetroublewalkingorneedhelpwithsomething thatiscorecenteredcanusehippotherapytoworkonstrengtheningthoseareas.Oncethoseareasare beingworkedontheoccupational,physical,orspeechtherapistcanadaptaworkoutforeachpatient. Thespeechtherapistwillfocusondoingexercisesthathelpbuildthevocalareasofthebodywhile occupationalandphysicaltherapistworkonstrengtheningareasofthebodythatareweakerandbeing affected.

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AsofnowIthinkhippotherapymightbewhatIamlookingfor.Ithasabalanceofhelping peopleandbeingaroundhorses.Theeducation,typeoftherapy,andonthejobexperiencesare somethingthatIwillkeeplookingintointhefuture.Theeffectivenessofthetherapyisduetothehorse anditsmotion.Thehorseswalkissonearahumanswalkithelpsduplicatewalkingsowell,some peoplewhowerethoughttoneverwalk,walkagain.Peoplewhoshouldnotbeabletotalkwell,talk.

Isawachildwhocouldonlycrawl

mountahorseandsituptall Putitthroughdegreesofpaces andlaughatthewonderinourfaces.(MisericordiaUniversity) IwanttobeabletosaythatIhavebeenlaughedat.

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WorksCited "ASLHA."AmericanSpeechLanguageHearingAssociation|ASLHA.ASLHA,2013.Web.20 Sept.2013.<http://www.asha.org/>. Benjamin,Joann,PT,HPCS."IntroductiontoHippotherapyAmericanHippotherapyAssociation." AmericanHippotherapyAssociation.TheAmericanHippotherapyAssociation,Inc.,Summer 2000.Web.20Sept.2013. <http://www.americanhippotherapyassociation.org/hippotherapy/introductiontohippotherapy/ >. "HippotherapyAsATreatmentStrategy."AmericanHippotherapyAssociation.N.p.,n.d.Web.20 Sept.2013. <http://www.americanhippotherapyassociation.org/hippotherapy/hippotherapyasatreatments trategy/>. Hofmeyer,Lori.PersonalInterview.18Sept.2013. "MisericordiaUniversity."MisericordiaUniversity.N.p.,n.d.Web.20Sept.2013. <http://www.misericordia.edu/honorus/kspaper.cfm>. U.S.DepartmentofLabor,andU.S.BureauOfLaborStatistics."The201020JobOutlookinBrief." OccupationalOutlookQuarterly.N.p.,n.d.Web.20Sept.2013. <http://www.bls.gov/opub/ooq/2012/spring/spring2012ooq.pdf>.