• Submitted by: lena campos
• Health and Medicine
• 05 / 09 / 2012

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Over 170 mentally or physically challenged children, including deaf, blind, cardiopath, or children having a cochlear implant or with cerebral palsy, are assisted in the Camagüey-based Therapeutic Horseback Riding Center.

Under the umbrella of the State-run Empresa de Flora y Fauna (Flora and Fauna company),  the center -located in the Casino Campestre Park- features a highly qualified staff who, aside from offering assisted therapy with horses, also rehabs children patients through exercises that favor locomotorial and cognitive functions.

According to Dr. Manuel Oliva Palomino, member of the multidisciplinary staff based in the Eduardo Agramonte Piña Provincial Pediatric Hospital, the kids who undergo this treatment build up independence, boost their own self-esteem and improve their quality of life.

Oliva Palomino also explained that the horses used in this therapy have been specially trained for this job. From them, patients receive a string of stimulus which favors a much better performance of their muscles and limbs. 

In addition, this treatment facilitates sensory integration on children; it develops trunk balance and helps patients to improve their concentration. Therapeutic horseback riding also helps children to adopt an erect posture, improve their language, orientation and memory.   

The joint work of physiatrists, speech therapists, physiotherapists, and art instructors is priceless in the assisted therapy with animals, a treatment which is totally free in Cuba, but expensive in other parts of the world, only available for those who can pay their fees.

Source: Radio Cadena Agramonte