A Scoping Review of Equine-Assisted Therapies on the Mental Health and Well-Being of Autistic Children and Adolescents: Exploring the Possibilities.

This review looked at what parents and horse therapy providers think about the benefits of horse riding for autistic children and teens. Researchers examined 16 studies to understand how families and therapists see the mental health benefits. They found that parents and providers report positive effects on children's wellbeing, but noted there's still limited research specifically about mental health benefits from horse therapy for autistic young people.

This scoping review examined parents' and service providers' perceptions of equine-assisted therapies for autistic children and adolescents, with particular focus on mental health benefits. The review analyzed 16 articles from 15 studies to understand perceived benefits of horse-related therapies. Findings identified both mental health-related and non-mental health-related benefits as perceived by parents and service providers, alongside benefits for family members and therapy limitations. The authors noted that equine-assisted therapies can provide physical, social, behavioral, emotional, sensory, and cognitive benefits through unique horse-human interactions.

However, a research gap exists in understanding specific mental health impacts from the perspective of parents, carers, and service providers.

Equine-assisted therapies show promise for autistic children and adolescents based on stakeholder perceptions. However, more rigorous research using objective mental health measures is needed. Clinicians should consider multi-domain benefits and potential family-wide impacts when evaluating this intervention approach.

This scoping review relied on perceptions rather than objective measures. The review identified a research gap in understanding specific mental health impacts. Limited detail provided about study methodologies and participant characteristics across the included studies.

Animals are increasingly being utilized to assist with therapies for people with various health conditions. Horses are often used as a mechanism of engagement and development for autistic children and adolescents. Horses offer a unique opportunity for interaction as the child or adolescent can physically ride and interact with the animal, thus creating a therapy that involves contact that is different to other animals. Benefits derived from equine-assisted therapies can be physical, social, behavioral, emotional, sensory, and cognitive.

However, a current and specific research gap exists in understanding the potential mental health impacts of horse riding on autistic children and adolescents, as perceived and experienced by their parents, carers, and horse-riding service providers. This scoping review examined research on parents' and service providers' perceptions of the benefits of horse-related therapies, with a particular focus on perceptions of positive mental health impacts. A comprehensive electronic search across PubMed, Scopus and Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature identified 16 articles from 15 studies which met the inclusion criteria. Findings included non-mental health-related benefits (as perceived by parents and service providers), mental health-related benefits (as perceived by parents and service providers), benefits for those other than the child/adolescent, and limitations of equine-assisted therapies.

With the increased use of equine therapy, and the mounting evidence of its positive impacts on mental health, it is timely to expand research on how to better harness interventions and maximize the mental health benefits for autistic children and adolescents.