Equine spinal kinematics derived from different riding positions during asymmetrical bareback riding.

Hippotherapy in patients with neuromuscular dysfunction creates high focal pressure on the pony's back due to bareback riding and an asymmetrical riding position. This study aimed to investigate the acute effect of asymmetrical bareback riding on the pony's spinal kinematics, blood lactate, serum creatine kinase, heart rate, and temperament score. Eight ponies were selected, and they were walked on a treadmill for 45 min on each experimental day, including warm-up (5 min), weight-loading by mannequin (30 min), and cool-down (10 min) sessions.

Effect of horseback riding versus a dynamic and static horse riding simulator on sitting ability of children with cerebral palsy: a randomized controlled trial.

[Purpose] A randomized controlled trial was conducted to investigate the immediate effects of horseback riding (HR) and a dynamic (DHS) and static (SHS) horse riding simulator (OSIM uGallop, Taiwan) on sitting ability of children with cerebral palsy. [Subjects and Methods] Thirty children with cerebral palsy were recruited and randomly assigned into three groups. Children received 30 minutes of exercise according to their assigned group.

Seasonal influences on quantitative changes in sweat-associated anatomy in native and thoroughbred horses.

Stereological techniques were used to assess seasonal influences on morphometric characteristics of hair follicles, sweat and sebaceous glands in abattoir pelts of ponies (PN), thoroughbred (TB) and non-thoroughbred (NTB) horses. Volume density of sweat glands increased significantly from winter (0.061) to summer (0.