The purpose of this study was to explore the potential benefits of a therapeutic horsemanship program for children adopted from foster care and their adoptive mothers. Standardized measures, open-ended interviews and surveys were administered to determine effects on external child behavior, child self-esteem and parenting stress. The Child Behavior Checklist was administered to measure behavioral challenges in the children in this sample. There were no statistically significant changes on any of the CBCL scales. Qualitative data from the mothers, Instructors and researcher observations show some affect on behavior. The Culture Free Self-Esteem Inventory-3 was administered to measure self-esteem of the nine children in the sample. The decrease on the Global Self-Esteem Quotient of the CFSEI-3 was statistically significant using. Of the nine children, only three of them scored in the clinical range at pre-test. Of these three, two moved into the normal range and the third improved her score to be very close to the normal range. Qualitative data from the mothers, Instructors and researcher observations support this finding. The Total Stress score of the Parenting Stress Index -- Short Form for the mothers in the sample did not show a statistically significant decrease. Six of the nine mothers' pre-test and post-test scores were in the clinical range and only three had decreased post-test scores. The Qualitative data obtained through interviews, surveys and observations did not support a direct impact of the program on stress levels but rather an impact on level of support. Many mothers reported that they liked spending time with the other mothers to share resources and discuss their children. The data collected in this study does not provide sufficient evidence to make any causal statements about therapeutic horsemanship programs and children adopted from foster care. It does, however, provide support for the need for future research. The findings from this study have implications for meeting the needs of a variety of children adopted from foster and their adoptive parents. / text

The cross-scientific field of Equine Assisted Interventions (EAI) for human health, education and wellbeing is wide, varied, and rapidly growing with an expressed need of increased knowledge. Interventions involving horses are used to address a variety of difficulties and suggested as an alternative option for children and youth in need of support, who for different reasons do not or cannot benefit from traditional therapeutic or educational contexts or settings. Research thus far has mainly investigated outcomes while systematic knowledge about processes and characteristics of these interventions is still lacking. The purpose of the study was to increase knowledge and understanding of EAI for children and youth by exploring key factors and interaction in a Therapeutic Horsemanship groundwork program for disadvantaged Young People. The research was of an exploratory nature, with qualitative research methods and an ethnographic approach where data was collected through a field study based on participant observation and semi-structured interviews. Data was analysed by Reflexive Thematic Analysis. Results show that the interaction can be understood as a triad consisting of child, practitioner(s) and horse. Key factors in the intervention can be understood through eight interrelated themes, divided into Framework Themes and Content Themes. The Framework Themes are Concept, Environment and Activity. The Content Themes are Safe Spaces, Communication is Key, Positive Perceptions, Helping Horses and Learning for Life. These themes interrelate, enabling and affecting the intervention and interaction in the triad. To understand processes in the intervention, findings were interpreted through Experiential Learning Theory and the Biophilia Hypothesis. Results show the significance of the whole concept and the equine environment, and that learning can be identified throughout the intervention. Through interaction, cooperation and training with the horse, the Young Person learns, acquires and develops awareness, competences and skills which can eventually be transferred to their everyday life, thus providing increased social competence and ability to handle difficulties. The intervention can be summarised as being child-centred, horse-focused and action-based. Findings suggest a significance of working exclusively with rescue horses,and that EAI based on groundwork activities can offer a novel and positive experiential learning experience for young people. Findings further suggest that the experiential learning process in EAI may be directable to address various issues, and that EAI/groundwork therefore could be a suitable option for children and youth for whom more traditional or conventional settings for education or therapy are not an option. / Det tvärvetenskapliga fältet hästunderstödda insatser (HUI) för mänsklig hälsa, lärande och välbefinnande är snabbt växande med ett behov av ökad kunskap. Tidigare forskning har huvudsakligen rört eventuella effekter och resultat, medan det saknas systematiserad kunskap om såväl processer som insatsernas karaktär. Studiens syfte var att öka kunskapen om hästunderstödda insatser genom att utforska nyckelfaktorer och interaktion i ett program baserat på markarbete med häst för utsatta barn och ungdomar. Studien var av utforskande karaktär, med en kvalitativ forskningsmetod och ett etnografiskt angreppssätt där datainsamling skedde genom en fältstudie baserad på deltagande observation och semistrukturerade intervjuer. Data analyserades genom Reflexiv Tematisk Analys. Resultaten visar att interaktionen kan förstås som en triad bestående av barn, praktiker och häst. Nyckelfaktorer i interventionen kan förstås genom åtta teman fördelade på två grupper; Ramverksteman: Concept, Environment och Activity, samt Innehållsteman: Safe Spaces, Communication is Key, Positive Perceptions,Helping Horses och Learning for Life. Dessa teman samverkar, möjliggör och påverkar insatsen och interaktionen i triaden. För att förstå processer i insatsen tolkades resultaten genom Experiential Learning Theory och The Biophilia Hypothesis. Resultaten visar en signifikans av hästens miljö, samt att upplevelsebaserat lärande kan identifieras genom hela insatsen, vilken kan sammanfattas som barncentrerad, hästfokuserad och aktivitetsbaserad. Resultaten visar vidare en signifikans av att arbeta uteslutande med hästar som omhändertagits eller omplacerats på grund av tex vanvård, samt att lärande kan identifieras genom hela insatsen och förefaller kunna riktas/anpassas efter olika behov och syften. Hästunderstödda insatser i form av markarbete kan ses som en lämplig metod att erbjuda upplevelsebaserat lärande, och upplevas som en ny och positiv erfarenhet för utsatta barn och ungdomar för vilka mer traditionella insatser inte är ett alternativ. Genom interaktion och samarbete med hästen lär sig, förvärvar och utvecklar barnet/ungdomen medvetande, kunskap och kompetenser vilka kan överföras till deras dagliga liv och leda till bland annat ökad social kompetens och förmåga att hantera svårigheter.