PDF(Pubmed)
Abstract：
Hippotherapy has been used for decades and its benefits to human patients have largely been proven, whether being applied to those with physical or mental disabilities. There have been a plethora of animal welfare studies recently, pertaining especially to ridden horses. This study aimed to investigate stress markers in horses during hippotherapy sessions to address the ethical considerations raised by using horses for therapy. A ridden stress ethogram was established and validated specifically for this study via subjective observation and video recording of a ridden session involving intermediate-level riders. The experiment entailed eight healthy horses undergoing two ridden sessions on separate days, one with disabled riders and one with beginners. Several parameters associated with physiological responses to stress were evaluated at rest, such as heart rate, plasma adrenocorticotropic hormone [ACTH], serum and salivary cortisol. These parameters as well as the behavioural stress score from the ethogram scale were measured during both sessions. No significant differences were found between heart rate, plasma ACTH, and stress scores. Serum and salivary cortisol were significantly lower during the hippotherapy session than during the session with beginners. The current study found no evidence of compromised welfare when horses were used as a therapeutic aid during hippotherapy sessions compared to their usual ridden activity. Although these results indicate that hippotherapy may be ethically justified as it benefits humans without causing harm to the horses, the present study was small, and the results should be interpreted with caution.
摘要：
海马疗法已经使用了几十年，它对人类患者的益处已经得到了很大程度的证明，是否适用于身体或精神残疾的人。最近有大量的动物福利研究，特别是关于骑着马的。这项研究旨在研究海马治疗过程中马的压力标记，以解决使用马进行治疗所引起的伦理考虑。通过对涉及中级骑手的骑乘会议的主观观察和视频记录，建立并专门为此研究验证了骑乘应力图。该实验需要八匹健康的马在不同的日子里进行两次骑马训练，一个有残疾骑手，一个有初学者。在休息时评估了与对压力的生理反应相关的几个参数，比如心率，血浆促肾上腺皮质激素[ACTH]，血清和唾液皮质醇。在两个疗程中都测量了这些参数以及来自心电图量表的行为压力评分。心率之间没有发现显著差异，等离子体ACTH,和压力分数。海马疗法期间的血清和唾液皮质醇显着低于初学者。当前的研究发现，与通常的骑行活动相比，当马在海马疗法期间被用作治疗辅助工具时，没有证据表明福利受损。尽管这些结果表明海马疗法在道德上是合理的，因为它有益于人类而不会对马匹造成伤害，目前的研究规模很小，结果应谨慎解释。
