Equine therapy originally started as a program that involved the use of horses in riding therapeutically for individuals with physical disabilities. The horseback riding experience provided the rider with a gentle rhythm similar to the human gait; this often helped improve muscle strength, flexibility and balance. It has also been found that individuals with mental or emotional disabilities can benefit from interactions with horses. The individual forms a relationship with the horse that can help build their confidence, patience, and self-esteem.
Horse therapy or “Equine Therapy” is the practice of using a horse in a therapy session between a client, therapist, and horse. Basically, the therapist will ask the client to interact with the horse; then the therapist will monitor the outcome. For example, the therapist may say “Go halter the horse” and depending on the clients response the therapist can dictate certain questions. If the client says “Well I don’t know how to do that” or “how am I supposed to do that!” then the therapist might ask something about perfectionism or lack of confidence. The experience is truly unique for every person.
Equine Laser therapy is becoming more widely accepted in the veterinary community for use in treating injured animals e.g. horses and greyhounds. The rapid healing properties of these units ensure that animals recover quickly and are back on track, performing at their best. Areas treated by equine laser therapy include: muscles, tendons, ligaments, laminitis, bruises, swelling etc.
The Centurion Laser Shower operates by emitting a continuous shower of laser light at multiple frequencies from the treatment heads, so that a wide range of problems from surface injuries to deep seated soft tissue injuries may be treated without resorting to specific frequency selection for a particular problem – as was previously required by older style units.