Hippotherapy Health Promotion Program
Don’t worry – there aren’t any hippos wandering around PNWU, but our School of Occupational Therapy (SOT) students brought something almost as memorable for a day on campus: ponies.
The Hippotherapy Health Promotion Program was part of an assignment in Dr. Brandon Imamshah’s course that pushed students to design an occupational therapy program that would involve hippotherapy in a way that supports the Yakima Valley, a rural and medically underserved area. SOT students Mollee Gray and Cassidy Crider completed this assignment with classmates Annie Turtura and Ruby Guevara-Nava.
Hippotherapy, a therapeutic approach that uses horses, has seen success helping clients and is used by speech therapists, physical therapists, and occupational therapists. Horses have a unique ability to connect with people in a way that people cannot. During hippotherapy a horse’s gait is utilized to target mental, physical, and social aspects of a client’s therapy.
The ponies who visited PNWU were named Chum Chum and Pancake, and they allowed participants to pet, brush, and feed them carrots. Each participant was also able to share a secret with the pony, something that was heavy on their heart that they may not have been comfortable sharing with a human. All participants reported a positive increase in mood following this experience.
PNWU School of Occupational Therapy students Mollee Gray and Cassidy Crider were behind Mini Horse Day. They’ve been travelling each week to the Pegasus Project to volunteer for clinical experience as part of their OT curriculum. Pegasus Project offers equine-assisted services and therapeutic riding. Gray and Crider served as side walkers and horse leaders, and they had the opportunity to interact with people of varying ages, abilities, and conditions.
“Hippotherapy and therapeutic riding can have an impact on so many people in multiple different ways.”
“Each client and each horse is so different, so we have had the chance to witness how hippotherapy and therapeutic riding can have an impact on so many people in multiple different ways,” said Gray and Crider. “Each client gets something different out of the experience.”
Neither Gray nor Crider expected to have this exciting opportunity when they started the occupational therapy program at PNWU. Both students expressed an interest in hippotherapy early in the program, and Program Director Dr. Heather Fritz and Fieldwork Coordinator Dr. Jami Flick went out of their way to ensure they had the opportunity to learn more about this unique therapy approach.
PNWU’s OT program focuses on hands-on learning and working with community members to address real-world problems. “PNWU and the program are rooted in providing us with opportunities to engage in the community and support rural health,” said Gray and Crider. “Working with Pegasus did just that!”
