Annie MSOT, OTR

 

Hello!

I seem to be getting into a good groove with hippotherapy.  I had my third day yesterday – and it was very eventful! I did my first intake- which means I met a child for the first time and had to decide whether she needed therapy and what kind (hippo with PT, OT, SLP,) or aquatic therapy.  It was a little overwhelming at first.  But- as I observed her- I realized it’s really no different than what I do in an orthopedic setting with my clients.  Now, I didn’t break out the goniometer or anything- but I was able to take a step back, relax and figure out what I needed to look for in terms of sensory issues, and fine motor issues, etc.

I also did my first evaluation. This means one of the therapists did the intake at one point and decided this child needs OT on the horse.  I was the first therapist to get him on the horse.  I thought it was going to be a lot scarier- but it actually went extremely well!  He did awesome- and I must say I was impressed with how I handled the “new” experience! 

The only negative thing that happened to me- was that I had a tall child (on the spectrum) on top of a very tall horse.  The child got mad about me asking him to do something- and he kicked me right in the chest (maybe as hard as he could)- but I was happy with the way I handled the situation.  He was very good the rest of the session. 

One thing I should tell everybody too- which I learned in the course I took was that sometimes you will find in hippotherapy- a child may give you everything you are looking for in the first 5 minutes of the session.  Technically, after this point, the session should end and you should take the child off the horse and go do something functional.  However, the obvious problem with this is that a parent will not pay for a 5 minute ride.

I had this experience on Wednesday- I had a child on the horse- and he did awesome for the first 15 minutes.  The last 15 minutes- I lost him completely- and undid the entire session. It was disappointing- but, like I said, a parent won’t pay.

On the other end, however, sometimes it takes 15 minutes for the child to adapt to the session- and then the LAST 15 minutes – you get exactly what you needed.  This is just one of the challenges in this field.

So far though, I am really enjoying it. 

I also am loving my full-time job in orthopedics too. The nice thing with ortho- is that you get LASTING RESULTS.  The patient can eventually be discharged because 9/10 times they do very well in rehab.

Comments?

Hello all!

I completed my first day as an occupational therapist using hippotherapy! It was definitely interesting!  A little nerve racking at first- but thanks to the course I took- I felt much more comfortable than I was expecting!

For the very first time- a horse stepped on my foot! They warned us in the course that it is something that is bound to happen to everyone.  A VERY important tip to remember if you work in this setting is…If a horse steps on you- DO NOT PULL YOUR FOOT OUT!  A person told us that one of their employees lost her toe nail because of the horse’s shoes.  You have to WAIT UNTIL THE HORSE MOVES OFF THE FOOT. 

This is much easier said than done.  I was practically in tears- but I was able to give the horse a good push in the rump – which moved him off my toe.  I have some slight bruising- but it feels better today.

Anyway- as far as treating the kids- I will say that watching hippo is much different than YOU being the one who is in charge of the whole treatment session.

I am looking into taking a sensory course for pediatrics so I can better my knowledge on these topics. 

Anyway- I will update with any other exciting things.

Please ask any questions – and I will answer to the best of my knowledge!

Cheers!