A measure awaiting Gov. JB Pritzker would mandate that certain insurance plans cover hippotherapy and other therapeutic horseback riding treatments. | Photo by Philippe Oursel via Unsplash
By Jade Aubrey and UIS Public Affairs Reporting (PAR) | Capitol News Illinois
SPRINGFIELD – Under a bill awaiting the governor’s signature, certain insurance plans would have to cover hippotherapy and other forms of therapeutic horseback riding in Illinois.
Hippotherapy is a type of physical, occupational and speech therapy where the movement of a horse is used to treat a patient’s specific disability or disorder. The practice is used to treat conditions such as autism, cerebral palsy, arthritis, multiple sclerosis, strokes, head and spinal cord injuries, as well as behavioral disorders and psychiatric disorders, including PTSD.
Marita Wassman is the founder of Ride On St. Louis, a nonprofit organization that provides equine-assisted services to both children and adults in the St. Louis area. As one of five licensed certified therapeutic riding instructors at the advanced level in Missouri, Wassman’s stable has provided services to patients for over 27 years – the majority of whom she says are children needing physical or intellectual services.
A previous patient of hers was an 8-year-old girl with cerebral palsy who struggled to hold her head upright on her own for extended periods of time. After four months of treatment, Wassman said the girl’s parents reported that she was able to both sit and hold her head up for over an hour when they went out to dinner – when previously, she would rest her head on her arms for a majority of the dinner.
“If you were to go ride a horse for an hour, it could benefit you exactly the same way as if you did a powerwalk for an hour,” Wassman said. “And for people specifically who can’t get that on their own, who are in wheelchairs or even if they are ambulatory but don’t have a symmetrical movement, sitting on a horse that is nice and even is really going to help their muscles.”
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Editorial note: “Senate Bill 69 passed the Senate unanimously in April as well as the House in late May on a vote of 78-33. It will become law if signed by Gov. JB Pritzker.”
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