Hippotherapy for Children With Cerebral Palsy: A Systematic Review of Gross Motor Function, Balance, and Postural Control

Physical therapists and physical therapist assistants who work with children with cerebral palsy, and clinicians who field questions from families about equine-assisted therapy options.

Physical therapists and physical therapist assistants in pediatric, school-based, outpatient, and early intervention settings. The material is also relevant to occupational therapists and rehabilitation staff who collaborate on motor goals for children with cerebral palsy.

Intended audience

Physical Therapy

Level

Introductory

Delivery format

Online, asynchronous, self-paced course: interactive reading with audio or video, and a scored post-test.

Based on

This course is based on a single published systematic review. Every finding, number, and conclusion presented here traces to that article.

Plotas P, Papadopoulos A, Apostolelli EM, Vlachou E, Gazou F, Zogopoulou I, Katsaidoni I, Panagiotopoulou I, Paparouna SP, Silavou N, Fragkiadaki K, Tsiamaki E, Fouzas S, Sinopidis X, Trimmis N. Effects of hippotherapy on motor function of children with cerebral palsy: a systematic review study. Ital J Pediatr. 2024;50(1):188. doi:10.1186/s13052-024-01715-9. PMID: 39300490. PMCID: PMC11414029.

Scope note

This is an evidence appraisal course, not a technique course. It reports what the review authors searched for, what the ten included studies described, and how confident the authors were in those descriptions. It does not teach hippotherapy delivery, positioning on a horse, or equine handling, and it does not establish credentialing for equine-assisted practice.

After completing this course, you will be able to:

1. Describe the population, the intervention, and the motor outcomes examined in this systematic review of hippotherapy for children with cerebral palsy.
2. Distinguish hippotherapy from therapeutic horseback riding as the review authors define the two, and name the two studies' alternative to a live horse.
3. State what the included studies reported about gross motor function, balance, and postural control in sitting, and what the authors concluded about the limits of that evidence.

1. Start Here: How This Course Works
2. Podcast: Hippotherapy and Motor Function in Cerebral Palsy (about nine minutes)
3. What Hippotherapy Is and Who the Review Studied
4. How the Reviewers Built the Evidence Base
5. What the Studies Reported on Gross Motor Function, Balance, and Posture
6. Horse-Riding Simulators, Spasticity, and Session Frequency
7. Limits of the Evidence and What It Could Mean in Practice
8. Key Takeaways
9. Post-Test and Course Evaluation

Quinn Millington, PT, DPT, ECS is the instructor of record: the licensed clinician who reviewed this course and signed off on it. The name and credentials print on the certificate.

Disclosures. This course was developed by The ConEd Solution, which has a financial interest in its sale. No outside funding or sponsorship was received. The instructor of record has no affiliation with the authors of the source publication or their institutions.

This course awards 0.5 contact hours (30 min). How you earn them:

1. Complete the course. Every lesson, in order.
2. Pass the post-test. Score 80% or higher. Retakes are allowed.
3. Complete the evaluation. A short form rating each learning objective and the course.
4. Download your certificate. It is issued on completion and stays available in My Account.

The episode time is its measured length. Reading, post-test and evaluation times are estimates.

This course is designed to satisfy the quality requirements state boards set for continuing education. Requirements vary by state, and confirming that a course fits your renewal is up to you. Each state’s own acceptance statement is in the credit panel on this page.

1. This course is based on a single published systematic review. Every finding, number, and conclusion presented here traces to that article.
2. Plotas P, Papadopoulos A, Apostolelli EM, Vlachou E, Gazou F, Zogopoulou I, Katsaidoni I, Panagiotopoulou I, Paparouna SP, Silavou N, Fragkiadaki K, Tsiamaki E, Fouzas S, Sinopidis X, Trimmis N. Effects of hippotherapy on motor function of children with cerebral palsy: a systematic review study. Ital J Pediatr. 2024;50(1):188. doi:10.1186/s13052-024-01715-9. PMID: 39300490. PMCID: PMC11414029.
3. Scope note
4. This is an evidence appraisal course, not a technique course. It reports what the review authors searched for, what the ten included studies described, and how confident the authors were in those descriptions. It does not teach hippotherapy delivery, positioning on a horse, or equine handling, and it does not establish credentialing for equine-assisted practice.