The danger of therapeutic riding: a girl in a serious condition is being ventilated and sedated following an injury from a horse in a therapeutic riding class. This is one of the most sought after classes where the parents are convinced that riding the horse will do wonders, despite clear instructions from the medical associations that it is not effective, and carries the risk of injuries and even the risk of disability.
The case happened today (Monday) around 10:00 am: an 11-year-old girl was brought to the clinic in the settlement of Ornit, who was injured while riding a horse in a therapeutic ride. According to the family, it is a horse that the girl used to ride. The MDA team that arrived at the scene found her in a serious condition after a head injury. Schneider Hospital confirmed that the girl suffers from a significant head injury. She was transferred to the operating room and her condition is described as very serious.
“When we arrived at the clinic, they led us to the treatment room,” said paramedic Tomer Gusman, “the girl was lying there unconscious. We were told that she had bruised her head while riding a horse. We evacuated her to Schneider Hospital while providing medical treatment as she is in serious condition.” At Schneider Hospital she was ventilated and sedated and her condition is still serious.
This is one of the most sought-after classes in Israel: the health funds offer the “therapeutic riding” class that apparently promises to work wonders in the child’s condition, to improve his emotional and physical condition. The queues for this class sometimes last for months. However, several months ago we already published here in “Maariv” a new guideline document of the Medical Association that reviewed the professional literature and stated that in most cases there is no proof that the treatment is effective – and sometimes it may even be dangerous.
The health funds offer the treatment of therapeutic horseback riding all over the country, at a subsidized fee through the supplementary insurance. In the box office publications it is stated that riding apparently helps in raising the feeling of self-sufficiency, empowerment, successfully meeting challenging tasks and accumulating an experience of success. In the publications, parents are assured that therapeutic riding helps those with physical disabilities, learning disabilities, improving attention and concentration difficulties, social skills, improving posture and balance, and improving self-confidence.
The established committee included expert doctors in the fields of pediatric neurology, child development, and developmental physiotherapy. The committee conducted a literature review of studies that examined the effect of therapeutic horseback riding in children with developmental disorders such as cerebral palsy, autism, attention and hyperactivity disorders, and developmental intellectual disability.
From the review of the medical literature on the effect of horse riding on children suffering from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, no evidence of improved cognitive ability was found – and the studies themselves were too small to reach unequivocal conclusions.
The experts also stated that parents should be warned that they should be aware of the risks of riding, which have already led to cases of falls and even disability. It was also determined that in many cases – such as serious mental conditions, convulsions, instability of the child, fractures, open wounds, blood clotting disorders that may lead to bleeding or herniated discs – riding is prohibited.
The researchers concluded that “horse riding should be seen as a supplementary treatment only, and only for children over 6 years of age, and conditional on the treatment being performed at a recognized riding center with trained therapists, both in the field of horse riding and child care.”
“A horse is a noble animal that should be calm and know its job,” explains Dr. Anat Schneiderman Turban, a veterinarian and specialist in internal medicine in horses, “but a horse is an animal preyed upon by evolution, so it may have reactions to a threat. The horse may run away, jump or make a sharp movement in response to a threat, like other animals. It is important to remember that this is also a large animal, and riding it is from a great height, so if the rider does not have good balance, stability, and knowledge of how to dismount from a horse, there may be risks, and each person has to do the risk management for themselves.” .