Hypotherapy: alternative for the therapeutic approach of neuromotor disabilities

Abstract

The objective of this study was to analyze the interrelation between the elements participating in the therapeutic triad (client or patient, equine and facilitator) during the therapeutic process of a 27-year-old male patient diagnosed with spinal cord injury C6-7. For this, hippotherapy was used as an alternative and complementary proposal for the treatment of people with or without disabilities; This is an activity that promotes human development potential using the horse and its environment as the basis of therapy. The research was raised from the perspective of qualitative research. Due to its characteristics, it is considered as an exploratory work. The method used conforms to the postulates of the grounded theory model. The type of study was the clinical case analysis. The biographical documentary technique was used to collect data. The information was processed using the content analysis technique, with support in the theoretical perspectives of neurophysiology applied to the field of hypotherapy, interspecies communication (human-equine) and the person-centered approach. The observations obtained from the discourse analysis clearly show compliance with the principles indicated for each of the theoretical models used. In fact, the results obtained are similar to those reported by other authors regarding the usefulness of the horse as a co-therapist by virtue of its characteristics and reactions, which have an important similarity with the therapeutic conditions described in the person-centered model for facilitate the process of change, that is, unconditional acceptance, congruence and empathy.