Eureka! Institutional Repository

• BACKGROUND: Cerebral palsy is ‘‘a non-evolutionary but not unchanged movement or/and situation disorder due to an attack or disorder of immature brain’’. It is one of the most frequent congenital or acquired problem related to the child’s brain and can be expressed in motor or/and perceptual deficit. People with cerebral palsy are using more and more frequently hippotherapy and horseback riding therapy in their rehabilitation program. Hippotherapy which is ‘‘the therapy with the help of the horse’’ refers to use of the movement of the horse as a therapeutic tool for improving neuromuscular function. • OBJECTIVE: The present study aims to determine the effect of hippotherapy and therapeutic riding to children suffering from cerebral palsy. • DESIGN: Part A’ refers to cerebral palsy and presents the etiology of the disease, the diagnosis, the forms of cerebral palsy and also the additional impairments. Consequently, part B’ deals with the method of hippotherapy as well as the approach Hippo Kinesio-Educational Rehabilitation (Hi.K.E.R),which refers to a holistic approach to therapeutic riding and is based on neuroplasticity of the brain. Afterward, described and presented the role of treated according to the approach Hi.K.E.R., the handles of therapists, the positions on the horse, the horse march of the riding arena, further to, the characteristics of the therapeutic horses and training of horses in therapeutic riding. Finally, the horse therapeutic intervention in various forms of cerebral palsy is specified. In the third part, all the reference complemented by 44 detailed studies in order to establish the efficacy of hippotherapy. The fourth part of the thesis concludes with the presentation of two personalized incidents. • CONLUSION: Hippotherapy and therapeutic riding can be used for the rehabilitation of motor deficits of children suffering from cerebral palsy, showing clear results, however on the enhancement of efficiency should be used in conjunction with physical therapy.