The Effectiveness of Equestrian Therapy for Children with Autism: Evidence Based on Chinese Children

DOI

10.2991/978-2-38476-475-4_85How to use a DOI?

Keywords

Autism spectrum disorder; Equestrian therapy; Rehabilitation; Chinese autistic children

Abstract

Equestrian therapy as a special therapy for autism, has been validated in terms of its effectiveness on improving autistic children’s behavior in European contexts. However, there is not much research on this innovative therapy, nor is there high public awareness of it. This study investigates the effectiveness of equestrian therapy on Chinese autistic children. Fourteen autistic children participated in the equestrian therapy, which consisted of four sessions within one month. A standardized protocol was employed, involving ground - based activities and horse - riding. Evaluation for children’s ASD symptoms is assessed before and after the one-month sessions, focusing on sensory, gross motor, fine motor, and perceptual abilities. The result shows a significant improvement in auditory acuity and sitting control. Assessment for coaches, parents, and volunteers involved in the study shows their opinions about the observed improvements, which indicates an alignment between their opinions and the previous evaluation. This research highlights the potential of equine therapy as a valuable intervention for ASD in China. It underscores the need for increased accessibility and further research into such innovative therapeutic approaches.

Copyright

© 2025 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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TY  - CONF
AU  - Yiqi Meng
PY  - 2025
DA  - 2025/11/11
TI  - The Effectiveness of Equestrian Therapy for Children with Autism: Evidence Based on Chinese Children
BT  - Proceedings of the 2025 10th International Conference on Modern Management, Education and Social Sciences (MMET 2025)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 759
EP  - 768
SN  - 2352-5398
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-2-38476-475-4_85
DO  - 10.2991/978-2-38476-475-4_85
ID  - Meng2025
ER  -