Saddle up! SHRP students' activities bolster horse trail therapy

Published on Monday, July 23, 2018

By: Jim Albritton

Various interactive activities designed by occupational therapy students at UMMC are helping patients develop their fine motor and speech and language skills - while on horseback.

The OT Class of 2020 in SHRP, under the leadership of Dr. Carol Tubbs, associate professor of occupational therapy, developed the creative activities as part of a class project. SHRP leaders have collaborated with Lisa Poe, a local occupational therapist and owner of A Focused Brain, to put the designs into practice at Sensory Trail in Canton, a hippotherapy course that is part of Poe's practice.

With gentle guidance from Poe's staff, OT and physical therapy students in SHRP and two horse "therapists" - Valdez and Jose - patients had the opportunity to exercise their skills on the trail July 20. Watch the video to learn what the term "hippotherapy" means, why it's important for OT and PT patients and how the SHRP students' dynamic exercises are benefiting pediatric and adult patients alike.