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Equine therapy, also known as equine-assisted therapy (EAT), is a treatment that includes equine activities or an equine environment to promote physical, occupational, and emotional growth in persons with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), anxiety, autism, cerebral palsy, dementia, depression, developmental delay, genetic syndromes (such as Down's syndrome), traumatic brain injuries, behavioral issues, abuse issues, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), drug and alcohol addiction, and other mental health problems.〔http://www.pathintl.org/resources-education/resources/eaat/60-resources/efpl/201-what-is-efpl〕This type of modality does not replace more commonly used therapies, it is predominantly used to assist other forms of ==Application== Equine therapy can involve more than just riding the horse. In some sessions, a client might not even touch the horse at all. Often the mental health professional leading the session will set goals for the client to complete, such as leading the horse to a designated area or putting a halter on the horse. The client will complete the task to the best of their ability and then discuss the thought process, ideas and problem solving used to complete the task. Discussing what the client is doing at a given time allows them to improve language skills. Listening to the instructor helps improve the individual's ability to listen and follow directions, ask questions, etc. Not only is there communication between the rider and the instructor, but also between the rider and the horse. The idea of using animals for therapy is expanded, there is a variety of species of animals chosen for therapy. In those means, animals are selected depending on the specificity of the patient in question. The therapy is adapted to the patient needs which makes the therapy with the help of horses available for a variety of persons. Equine therapy can also be based on working with a subspecies of the horse such as donkeys, in a therapy called onotherapy. Donkeys are social animals and gentle by nature which makes them useful. Physical therapy, occupational therapy, recreation therapy and speech-language therapy strive to assist the individual with many of the same goals with EAT. However, physical therapy focuses more on gross motor movement and ability, occupational therapy focuses on fine motor ability, and speech-language therapy on the physiological systems associated with speech and language. Equine Assisted Therapy is used by these professionals to provide these benefits without giving the individual a feeling that they are in therapy.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://nceft.org )〕 EAT involves creating a connection between the patient and horse through grooming and being around each other.The main limitation of EFP is the lack of quantitative research. The existing research lacks statistical power because of small convenience sampling, lack of control groups and the use of largely interview-based studies. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「equine therapy」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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