Contexte et problématique. Selon l’Association Canadienne d’Équitation Thérapeutique (ACET), l’équitation thérapeutique comprend toutes les activités équestres s’adressant à une clientèle présentant des déficiences. L’équitation thérapeutique compte plusieurs approches, notamment l’hippothérapie, une stratégie de réadaptation offerte par des ergothérapeutes, physiothérapeutes et orthophonistes. L’hippothérapie se base sur le mouvement tridimensionnel induit par le cheval lequel favorise l’amélioration de diverses fonctions neuromotrices notamment le tonus du tronc et de la tête, la posture debout et les ajustements posturaux. Bien que les approches d’équitation thérapeutique prennent de l’ampleur au Québec, il n’y a toujours aucune règlementation officielle. Il existe donc une confusion importante entre les différentes approches d’équitation thérapeutique et l’hippothérapie actuellement reconnue comme la seule approche médicale de réadaptation utilisant le cheval. Les clientèles présentant de lourdes déficiences neuro-musculo-squelettiques se voient donc régulièrement référées dans des centres qui n’offrent pas d’hippothérapie et sont confrontées à des risques importants. Objectifs. Modéliser les interventions d’équitation thérapeutique afin de rendre explicites les composantes de ces interventions et les liens qui les unissent ainsi qu’analyser la plausibilité des interventions à atteindre les résultats escomptés. Méthodologie. Les interventions d’équitation thérapeutique ont été modélisées par des entrevues réalisées auprès des principales personnes offrant des services d’équitation thérapeutique au Québec. Une revue de la littérature a été conduite sur les principes de réadaptation qui sous-tendent les interventions. L’ensemble des données recueillies ont été analysé selon une procédure habituelle d’analyse de contenu qualitatif. Résultats. Les modèles créés permettent d’améliorer les connaissances des pratiques d’équitation thérapeutiques et d’hippothérapie au Québec. Conséquences. Les modèles permettent d’entamer une réflexion sur la règlementation de ces pratiques au Québec et au Canada ainsi que de soutenir les processus de références dans les différents centres québécois. / Context and research question. According to the Canadian Therapeutic Riding Association, therapeutic riding regroups all equestrian activities offered to persons with disabilities. Therapeutic riding can be divided into different approaches, including hippotherapy, a rehabilitation strategy practiced by occupational therapists, physiotherapists and speech language specialists. Hippotherapy bases itself on the three dimensional movement created by the horse which favours the improvement of various neuromotor skills such as muscle tone of the trunk and head, standing posture and postural adjustments. Although therapeutic riding is gaining momentum in Quebec, official regulation still does not exist. As a consequence, much confusion exists between the different forms of therapeutic riding and hippotherapy (presently the only medically recognised rehabilitation therapy using horses). Clientele presenting with severe neuro-musculo-skeletal disabilities are often and regularly referred to centers not offering hippotherapy and are thus exposed to important risk. Objectives. To modelize therapeutic riding interventions in order to make the components and relationships of these interventions explicit. To also analyze the plausibility that these interventions will reach the set therapeutic goals. Methodology. Therapeutic riding techniques were modelized via interviews with the main therapists offering therapeutic riding services in Quebec. A literary review of the rehabilitation principles guiding these interventions was also conducted. Results. The created models helped improve the knowledge of therapeutic riding and hippotherapy practices in Quebec. Consequences. The models have allowed the conversation surrounding regulation of these practices in Quebec and Canada to begin as well as promoted the reference process to the various centers offering these services.

Contexte et problématique. Selon l’Association Canadienne d’Équitation Thérapeutique (ACET), l’équitation thérapeutique comprend toutes les activités équestres s’adressant à une clientèle présentant des déficiences. L’équitation thérapeutique compte plusieurs approches, notamment l’hippothérapie, une stratégie de réadaptation offerte par des ergothérapeutes, physiothérapeutes et orthophonistes. L’hippothérapie se base sur le mouvement tridimensionnel induit par le cheval lequel favorise l’amélioration de diverses fonctions neuromotrices notamment le tonus du tronc et de la tête, la posture debout et les ajustements posturaux. Bien que les approches d’équitation thérapeutique prennent de l’ampleur au Québec, il n’y a toujours aucune règlementation officielle. Il existe donc une confusion importante entre les différentes approches d’équitation thérapeutique et l’hippothérapie actuellement reconnue comme la seule approche médicale de réadaptation utilisant le cheval. Les clientèles présentant de lourdes déficiences neuro-musculo-squelettiques se voient donc régulièrement référées dans des centres qui n’offrent pas d’hippothérapie et sont confrontées à des risques importants. Objectifs. Modéliser les interventions d’équitation thérapeutique afin de rendre explicites les composantes de ces interventions et les liens qui les unissent ainsi qu’analyser la plausibilité des interventions à atteindre les résultats escomptés. Méthodologie. Les interventions d’équitation thérapeutique ont été modélisées par des entrevues réalisées auprès des principales personnes offrant des services d’équitation thérapeutique au Québec. Une revue de la littérature a été conduite sur les principes de réadaptation qui sous-tendent les interventions. L’ensemble des données recueillies ont été analysé selon une procédure habituelle d’analyse de contenu qualitatif. Résultats. Les modèles créés permettent d’améliorer les connaissances des pratiques d’équitation thérapeutiques et d’hippothérapie au Québec. Conséquences. Les modèles permettent d’entamer une réflexion sur la règlementation de ces pratiques au Québec et au Canada ainsi que de soutenir les processus de références dans les différents centres québécois. / Context and research question. According to the Canadian Therapeutic Riding Association, therapeutic riding regroups all equestrian activities offered to persons with disabilities. Therapeutic riding can be divided into different approaches, including hippotherapy, a rehabilitation strategy practiced by occupational therapists, physiotherapists and speech language specialists. Hippotherapy bases itself on the three dimensional movement created by the horse which favours the improvement of various neuromotor skills such as muscle tone of the trunk and head, standing posture and postural adjustments. Although therapeutic riding is gaining momentum in Quebec, official regulation still does not exist. As a consequence, much confusion exists between the different forms of therapeutic riding and hippotherapy (presently the only medically recognised rehabilitation therapy using horses). Clientele presenting with severe neuro-musculo-skeletal disabilities are often and regularly referred to centers not offering hippotherapy and are thus exposed to important risk. Objectives. To modelize therapeutic riding interventions in order to make the components and relationships of these interventions explicit. To also analyze the plausibility that these interventions will reach the set therapeutic goals. Methodology. Therapeutic riding techniques were modelized via interviews with the main therapists offering therapeutic riding services in Quebec. A literary review of the rehabilitation principles guiding these interventions was also conducted. Results. The created models helped improve the knowledge of therapeutic riding and hippotherapy practices in Quebec. Consequences. The models have allowed the conversation surrounding regulation of these practices in Quebec and Canada to begin as well as promoted the reference process to the various centers offering these services.

In the realm of therapeutic horseback riding one becomes aware of the idiosyncratic way in which each unique individual depicts his or her experience of a therapeutic riding endeavor. This study focuses on the meanings attributed to therapeutic riding in the lives of children with cerebral palsy because the complementary use of horses in therapy with these children may be of great importance to the medical fraternity. This exploration investigated the influence of the children's relationship with a horse, and the parents' perception of horseriding as a complementary therapy to occupational- and physiotherapy. The theoretical background and a literature review on therapeutic horseback riding and cerebral palsy were presented in this study. This study followed a holistic, ecosystemic epistemology. Both a qualitative approach and a quantitative approach were adopted as two complementary sides of a more encompassing whole and provided rich descriptions of the context and research process. / Psychology / M.A. (Clinical Psychology)

The field of equine therapy (ET) in Canada and the USA encompasses a range of distinct approaches, such as equine-facilitated therapy, equine-assisted therapy, therapeutic riding, and hippotherapy. Due to issues like inconsistent terminology and lack of standardized practice manuals, there are gaps in the ET knowledge about how these approaches relate or differ from each other. This research reviewed 47 scholarly, peer-reviewed articles about ET approaches and applied thematic analysis to determine key themes that clarify key traits of each approach. Recognizing that children and youth are common participants in equine therapy, this research was motivated by the questions: What type of relational dynamics are modelled for children and youth in ET? How are these horse-human relationships portrayed? Which participants possess their own agency? Findings of this research provide insights about each approach of ET and highlight the therapeutic affects of interspecies relationships between humans and horses. Contradictory viewpoints about mutual agency between species are identified in language that described horses are active, intelligent subjects and/or passive, inanimate objects. This research provides insights about the different forms of ET, highlights important benefits and gaps, and invites the fields of Child and Youth Care and Animal-Assisted Therapy to critically reflect on the relational tensions of employing non-human animals in human therapy. / Graduate

This thesis compares four methods of therapeutic riding to determine what communicative competence are developed in the framework of activities with the use of horses. The work includes terminology section, which are explained in terms accompanying the whole job and explains the term of use for therapeutic riding. The theoretical part introduces the social communications horses and interpersonal communication. The next section presents the specifics of interspecies communication, and its use in the development of communicative competence and follows the chapter on the development of communicative competence through activities with the use of horses. The main part describes the four methods of therapeutic riding and analytically compares the contents of individual activities with horses focused on the development of communicative competence. In conclusion summarizes the results and encourages the formation of methodology developing communicative competence in educational programs with horses.