Effects of equine assisted activities on autism spectrum disorder.
Six weeks of horseback riding gave kids with autism a clear parent-reported lift in daily life skills compared with regular after-school care.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Laugeson et al. (2014) ran a six-week horse program for kids with autism.
Parents filled out a quality-of-life form before and after.
A second group of kids did a non-horse after-school club for comparison.
What they found
Parents saw medium gains in movement, mood, and social play after riding.
The horse group beat the no-horse club on every scale.
How this fits with other research
Day et al. (2021) pooled 14 horse-and-autism papers and found the same small-to-medium boost in daily living skills.
Dimolareva et al. (2021) looked at any animal, not just horses, and saw only tiny social gains.
The smaller effect in Mirena et al. makes sense: dogs and guinea pigs are nice, but riding a 1,000-pound partner gives bigger sensory input.
Van Gaasbeek et al. (2026) show large gains from early ABA clinics; horses are not a replacement, they are an extra option for families who want outdoor activity.
Why it matters
You now have two meta-analyses that say, "Yes, horses help a little."
Use this when parents ask for natural-setting extras.
Add a riding session to the treatment plan, keep your ABA goals, and track the same life-skills data you already collect.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Quality of life assessments were used in this study to determine the behavioral changes of children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) who participated in equine assisted activities. Behavioral changes of children with ASD participating in 9 weeks of equines assisted activities (EAA) (N = 10) were compared to behavioral changes of children who participated in a non-equine intervention (N = 8). Parents noted significant improvements in their child's physical, emotional and social functioning following the first 6 weeks of EAA. The children participating in the non-equine program also demonstrated improvement in behavior, but to a lesser degree. The favorable outcome of this study lends support for continuation of programs utilizing EAA in the treatment of children with ASD.
Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 2014 · doi:10.1007/s10803-014-2062-5