Gross Motor Skills and Gait Performance in Two- and Three-year-old Children With Developmental Delay Participating in Hippotherapy.
Authors: Brady Heidi A, James C Roger, Dendy Douglas W, Irwin Tangela A, Thompson Leslie D, Camp Tammy M
Journal: Journal of equine veterinary science
Summary
# Editorial Summary: Hippotherapy and Motor Development in Young Children Research into therapeutic riding's effects on developmental outcomes remains limited, particularly for very young children. Brady and colleagues evaluated 11 children aged 2–3 years with gross motor delay against 6 typically developing controls, measuring gross motor skills via the Battelle Developmental Inventory 2nd Edition and gait parameters through computerised analysis before and after a 15-session hippotherapy intervention (the delay group only). The hippotherapy group demonstrated substantially reduced motor delay scores post-intervention (24.1-point mean decrease; P < 0.001), whilst control participants showed no measurable change—a significant between-group difference supporting the intervention's efficacy. Gait analysis yielded less conclusive results, with no statistically significant improvements in measured parameters, though trends toward increased step width and length were noted. For equine professionals involved in therapeutic work, these findings quantify hippotherapy's benefits during a critical developmental window and suggest the intervention warrants integration into early intervention protocols for children with gross motor delay, though further research into specific gait mechanics may refine understanding of how equine movement influences locomotor development.
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Practical Takeaways
- •Hippotherapy demonstrates efficacy as an early intervention for children with gross motor developmental delay, with measurable improvements in functional motor skills
- •This research provides quantitative evidence supporting hippotherapy's therapeutic value during critical early childhood developmental stages
- •While gait analysis showed trends toward improvement, functional motor skill gains were the primary measurable outcome from 15 hippotherapy sessions
Key Findings
- •Hippotherapy intervention resulted in a 24.1-point decrease in mean percent motor delay score in the developmental delay group (P < 0.001)
- •Developmental delay group showed significantly greater improvement in Battelle Developmental Inventory motor scores compared to control group (P < 0.001)
- •Control group showed no significant change in motor scores over the same study period
- •Gait parameters showed improvement trends in step width and step length after hippotherapy, though not statistically significant (P > 0.05)