Effect of therapeutic horseback riding on balance in community-dwelling older adults with balance deficits.

OBJECTIVES Falls are an important cause of morbidity in older adults. Equine-assisted activities including therapeutic riding (TR) benefit balance and neuromuscular control in patients with neurological disabilities but have not been systematically studied in older adults at greater risk for falls due to balance deficits. The effect of an 8-week TR program on measures of balance and quality of life in community-dwelling older adults with established balance deficits was evaluated. DESIGN This was a pretest-post-test single-group trial of a TR program on measures of balance and quality of life. SETTING The study was conducted at a Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship (PATH) International Premier riding center. SUBJECTS The subjects comprised 9 adults (5 female, 4 males) with a mean age 76.4 years (range 71-83 years). INTERVENTIONS This included an 8-week observation period followed by an 8-week TR program consisting of 1 hour per week of supervised horseback riding and an 8-week follow-up period. SUBJECTS received balance testing at weeks 0, 8, 16, and 24 using the Fullerton Advanced Balance Scale (FABS), and quality of life was measured at weeks 8 and 16 using the Rand SF (short form) 36 quality-of-life measure. OUTCOME MEASURES OUTCOME MEASURES were change in the FABS and Rand SF 36. RESULTS There was no significant difference in balance scores between the start and end of the observation period. There was a significant improvement in the balance score and perception of general health from the start to the end of the intervention period, and no significant difference between the end of the intervention and the end of study, suggesting that improvements may have been sustained. CONCLUSIONS TR is a safe activity for older adults with mild to moderate balance deficits and leads to both improvements in balance and quality of life. Longer and larger studies to assess the benefit of equine-assisted activities on improvements in balance and reduction in fall risk are needed.