Very seldom do I get a chance to discuss horses on this blog, but since many people consider them pets you may see more posts about them in the future. What brought this up was an article I read today over at CNN.com concerning the process of using horses as a way to treat several medical conditions. The process is called Hippotherapy and revolves around using the motions that a horse creates when it walks to help strengthen muscles.  Used in helping those effected by autism, learning dissablities, and people who have had strokes, there are roughly a little over 650 physical therapists across the country that are turning to this alternative form of healing. In fact the American Hippotherapy Association says that this number is growing more and more  with each passing year. 

After a horse is carefully selected based on how it interacts with people, and the patient is first trained on a artificial horse, both patient and horse are introduced to each other for sessions that last a little over an hour. According to one therapist who works extensively in Hippotherapy Dr. Brent Applegate “For hippotherapy, you're actually using the horse as a treatment tool. You're using the movement of the horse in your session to achieve the goals you want to achieve."

While it’s easy to understand why people greatly benefit from the use of horses to aid in their therapy, it’s not always the easiest thing to fit into a budget. With costs typically running upwards of $200 per 1-hour session, many find it just too expensive to proceed once the 20 visits or less covered by their insurance company have run out. In the long run though, many parents are willing to pay the extra cost in hopes of seeing results.