THE IMPORTANCE OF RIDING THERAPY IN PEOPLE WITH DOWN SYNDROME DISABILITY - A LITERATURE REVIEW

Abstract

Hippotherapy is recognized as a therapeutic method that uses the horse's movement to achieve functional and biopsychosocial results. Although there are few research approaches on the psychosocial impacts on children with Down syndrome, the studies bring positive observations. Proprioceptive and sensorimotor stimulation helps with postural activities and improves body movement patterns in people with Down syndrome disabilities. To this end, a bibliographic review was carried out on scientific articles from the period 2018 to 2023 in the LILACS Database, GOOGLE ACADEMICO, SCIELO and REVISTA BRASILEIRA DE EQUOTERAPIA, REVISTA UNOESTE and in the database of the Brasil Escola website. Articles on the topic of equine therapy, down syndrome and physiotherapy were analyzed. The results showed that hippotherapy used in children with down syndrome improves their psychomotor development, that is, gains in posture, balance, modulation of muscle tone and gains in cognitive and biopsychosocial aspects, together with the multidisciplinary team. Thus, treatment with hippotherapy is beneficial in both motor and psychological aspects in children with down syndrome, leading to satisfactory results for both family members and the patient. Furthermore, the practice of equine therapy can be considered as an approach that contributes to the treatment of children with Down syndrome.