So… Equine Therapy?
Horses have been used as therapy animals for many years but are quickly gaining increased traction. With this, there are more and more places offering Equine Therapy as a supplemental treatment. It is important to note that this type of therapy should not replace other physical, mental or emotional therapies altogether. However, there are a few key features that have made this a prominent aid for a wide variety of clients.
✔️ Horses are herd animals and as such as known for tuning into emotions, even that of humans
✔️Horses have been shown to improve physical and cognitive function
✔️Horses have been able to provide significant results in mood boosting, specifically with dementia patients.
✔️Equine Therapy offers a variety of services (hippotherapy, stable management, etc)
Ok, but why Equine Therapy for Free Inquiry?
Through this inquiry process, I wanted to focus on something that I was not only passionate about but that I also had some experience with. I felt as though that made this process seem a little less daunting, as the digital side of things was all very new. It was interesting to have chosen a topic that related to assistance for those with cognitive, physical, emotional or behavioural disabilities as I felt that this was well tied in with our course content. I am sure many of the programs use certain types of assistive technologies and if not, it would be a great area of growth for them both in a hands on or online setting. During this process, I found many informative videos on Youtube as well as the following resources:
In sum, it was a great experience to learn through creating a blog post. This learning was completed in both my area of inquiry as well as behind the scenes in the digital creation of each blog post. Every post I have found myself feeling more comfortable and have even begun to think about using WordPress as an online newsletter in future classrooms.
