As someone who’s been around horses her entire life, Tara Yelliott says she knows from experience the benefits these animals provide and believes the benefits translate to almost anyone.
Nine years ago, Yelliott, a physical therapist, started a hippotherapy program at TriState Therapeutic Riding Center in McDonald, Tennessee.
“It’s not even a job for me; it is truly a passion,” says Yelliott, who has used hippotherapy to work with kids ranging from 2 to 16 years old, including children with congenital diagnoses and developmental delays such as heart defects, Down syndrome, cerebral palsy and spina bifida. Many have multi-factorial diagnoses, such as autism combined with a heart condition.
Hippotherapy is a physical and occupational approach to therapy, as opposed to therapeutic riding, which involves learning how to ride and steer the horse as well as horsemanship skills such as grooming.
Yelliott doesn’t teach riding skills in her hippotherapy program, in which all of her clients ride without a saddle to get the best movement translation from the horse and don’t use reins to steer. It also differs from equine-assisted mental health programs, which are typically done off-horse.