Donkey Therapy and Hippotherapy: Two Faces of the Same Coin?

Simona Portaro; Giuseppa Maresca; Antonio Raffa; Gaetano Gemelli; Barbara Aliberti; Rocco Salvatore Calabrò

Donkey Therapy and Hippotherapy: Two Faces of the Same Coin?

Innov Clin Neurosci. 2020 Jan 1;17(1-3):20-21.

Authors

Simona Portaro^{1

2}, Giuseppa Maresca^{1

2}, Antonio Raffa^{1

2}, Gaetano Gemelli^{1

2}, Barbara Aliberti^{1

2}, Rocco Salvatore Calabrò^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Dr. Portaro, Dr. Maresca, Mr. Raffa, and Dr. Calabrò are with IRCCS Centro Neurolesi "Bonino Pulejo" in Messina, Italy.
² Mr. Gemelli and Ms. Aliberti are with THES ASD in Milazzo, ME, Italy.

PMID: 32547842
PMCID: PMC7239561

Abstract

Animal-assisted interventions are considered an innovative rehabilitation approach to improve social, emotional, and physical domains in several diseases. Among such treatments, the equine-assisted activities and therapies have been developed to support the conventional approaches. There is growing evidence on the beneficial effects of hippotherapy, whereas few data are available regarding donkey therapy. Herein, we compare such treatments, hypothesizing their best application field to reach the proper therapeutic outcomes.

Keywords: Animal-assisted interventions; Hippotherapy; equine-assisted activities; psychiatric disorders.

Publication types

Editorial