• Journal of rehabilitation welfare engineering & assistive technology
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.1-9
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• 2018

This study is intended to identify how horseback riding affect the bone density of the elderly. A total of 31 normal senior citizens participated in the research, who were randomly divided into two groups: 15 in horseback riding exercise group and 16 in horseback riding machine exercise group. A horseback riding exercise program was carried out for 25 minutes twice a week for 12 weeks. A pre-test was conducted before starting the program and two post-tests were conducted 6 weeks and 12 weeks after exercises in the same way as the pre-test. Measured items were bone density of lumbar vertebrae and femur. In order to identify the changes in measurement variables before exercises and 6 weeks and 12 weeks after exercises, two-way repeated analysis of variance were used. The comparison of changes in the bone density in both groups revealed that there were significant differences in lumbar vertebrae L3, L4, femur trochanter in both groups over time. This study suggests that three-dimensional movements of horses through horseback riding exercises induce normal movements of senior citizens, providing positive effects on their bone density. If appropriate horse riding exercise programs are used considering the health status, time and economic conditions, and preferences of senior citizens, it would improve their quality of life.

• Journal of rehabilitation welfare engineering & assistive technology
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.1-11
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• 2013

The purpose of this study was to investigate the analysis on exercise effect of basic physical fitness, flexibility and muscle function using electric horseback riding machine. Subjects were ten males and ten females who were 20th aged young adults. They exercised every 45-min a day. Horse riding exercise has progressed 3-days a week till 4-weeks. We measured contents of basic physical fitness, flexibility and joint torque in lumbar. The results showed that contents of human body effect were higher than before exercise. We thought that stimulated by 3-D movement in horseback riding exercise instrument could be activated joints and muscles with the unused generally This continuous movement could reduce tonus of muscle and relax stiff muscles. horseback riding have significant effect with whole body exercise, also it could provide efficient exercise for the elder and disabled person.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Oriental Medical Informatics
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.23-34
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• 2015

This study is aimed to verify what effects horseback riding has in treating hospitalized patients with low back pain in the Korean medicine hospital. The method of this study is choosing 31 people among hospitalized male and female patients whose chief complaints were low back pain in 2 Korean medicine hospital in Gyeonggi Province. 14 people who agreed to take horseback riding treatment were classified into experimental group and 17, the rest of the people, were classified into control group. Both experimental group and control group were treated with Korean medicine. In addition, only experimental group performed horseback riding program. Changes of temperature difference by digital infrared thermal imaging(DITI), sit and reach test and visual analogue scale(VAS) survey were used as measuring tools. IBM SPSS Statistics 21 was used in processing statistics. Mean ${\pm}$standard deviation was indicated down to two places of decimals and the level of significance was judged as p<0.05. The summary of this study's result is as in the following. First of all, the meaningful difference was shown in the experimental group but not in the control group in the difference of temperature between Yintang and Kwanwon(the difference between up and down). Secondly, there were significant difference in the experimental group which performed horseback riding treatments but not in the control group resulting from examining the change of temperature difference between left and right Yongchon. Thirdly, there were significant difference between experimental and control group in the change of sit and reach. Especially, the change was much more in experimental group. As known from the results above, patients who only were treated with Korean medicine relieved low back pain, reordered pelvis and improved the motor ability. However, the group which carried out horseback riding at the same time reordered pelvis and improved the motor ability more obviously.

• Journal of Korean Society of Rural Planning
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.131-140
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• 2016

This study examined effects of service quality, reliability, responsiveness, assurance, tangibles and empathy on customer satisfaction and customer loyalty by surveying users of Jangsu Horse Riding Experience Course at a time that an interest in horseback riding experience increases. Hypothesis was tested by conducting frequency analysis and regression analysis. It was found that for service quality and customer satisfaction of horse riding experience which is hypothesis 1, all dimensions except empathy were significant. It was revealed that hypothesis 2 which customer satisfaction will have a significant influence on customer loyalty is significant. It was found that hypothesis 3 which service quality will have an influence on customer loyalty is significant except assurance of service quality. Findings of this study suggest that empathy in customer satisfaction and assurance in customer satisfaction should be improved.

• The Journal of Korean Physical Therapy
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• v.24 no.6
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• pp.393-397
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• 2012

Purpose: We investigated to identify the effect of robo-horseback riding exercise (RHRE) on trunk muscle activity ratios for patients with low back pain. Methods: Twelve patients with low back pain and twelve healthy adults were recruited for this study. Subjects performed the RHRE with the neutral spine position. The amplitude of electromyography activity was recorded from the selected trunk muscles (internal oblique [IO], rectus abdominis [RA], multifidus [MF], the thoracic part of the iliocostalis lumborum [ICLT]). The ratios of the relative local muscle activity to the global muscle activity in abdominal and lumbar parts were calculated. Results: There were significant differences in the change values of the IO/RA and the MF/ICLT between low back pain (LBP) patients and healthy adults. The IO/RA ratio and the MF/ICLT ratio showed significant increase in LBP patients after training. Conclusion: The RHRE improved the trunk muscle activity ratio in patients with low back pain. The information presented here is important for investigators who use lumbar stabilization exercises as a rehabilitation exercise.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.55 no.6
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• pp.559-565
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• 2013

This study examined the effect of therapeutic horseback riding in children with spastic cerebral palsy. Participants were placed in a therapeutic riding (TR) group (n=7) or physical therapy (PT) group (n=7). This study was then conducted for 30 minutes, twice a week, for 8 weeks. The gross motor function measure (GMFM), range of motion (ROM), and spasticity test (ST) were analyzed pre-test (TR0 and PT0), mid-test (TR1 and PT1), and post-test (TR2 and PT2). We used the SPSS 12.0 statistical software for data analysis. We observed significant changes in GMFM Dimension C (crawling and kneeling), D (standing), and E (walking, running, and jumping) between TR2 and TR0 (P < 0.05). In the control group, GMFM Dimension B (sitting) and E showed significant changes between PT2 compared to PT0 (P < 0.05). In future studies we will consider using a therapeutic riding program for the treatment of children with disorders.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.1981-1988
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• 2015

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effect of horse-riding simulator exercise on the static balance of chronic stroke patients. The study's sample included 30 stroke patients who were randomly classified into an experiment group and a control group. Both the experiment and control groups received therapeutic exercise one time per day, but the experiment group also received twenty minutes of horse-riding simulator exercise three times per week for six weeks. To compare the groups, an independent t-test was performed, and to compare each period, a paired t-test was conducted and its result was analyzed. The result of this study, moving distance under standing position with eyes closed, showed significant difference in horse-riding simulator exercise group after exercise. But, there was no significant difference between horse-riding simulator exercise group and control group. Further, various clinical studies focusing on effects of horseback riding exercise on function of stroke patients are needed.

• The Journal of Korean Physical Therapy
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• v.27 no.5
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• pp.281-286
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• 2015

Purpose: The study was to determine whether mechanical horseback-riding training according to velocity may improve trunk muscles thickness in healthy adults. Methods: Twenty healthy adults participated in this study. The subjects were divided into 2 groups as follows: 10 subjects in high velocity mechanical horseback-riding training (MHRT) and 10 subjects in low velocity MHRT. Subjects in all groups performed a total of 18 sessions 3 times a day for 20 minutes and this experiment lasted for 6 weeks. Mann-Whitney and Wilcoxon Signed Rank test were used in analysis the results of trunk muscle thickness. Ultrasonography was performed to evaluate for thickness of rectus abdominis (RA), external oblique (EO), internal oblique (IO), transverse abdominis (TrA), erector spine (ES), and multifidus (MF) in trunk muscles. Results: Results on the changes of EO, IO, and ES of high velocity MHRT showed a significant increase after 6 weeks (p<0.05). Regarding the changes of EO, IO, ES, TrA, and MF of low velocity MHRT, a significant increase was observed after 6 weeks (p<0.05). The differences in change of trunk muscle thickness before training, after 6-week training between groups, TrA and MF of low velocity MHRT were significantly higher (p<0.05). Conclusion: Based on the results of the current study, the velocity of MHRT was shown to affect change of trunk muscle thickness in healthy adults. In particular, low velocity MHRT may serve as a useful method to provide for TrA, MF thickness improvement related to trunk stabilizers.

• The Journal of Korean Physical Therapy
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• v.26 no.5
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• pp.290-295
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• 2014

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of robo-horseback riding with changes of pelvic tilting and speeds on muscle activities of trunk and lower limb in healthy adults. Methods: Thirty healthy adults were recruited for this study. Subjects performed robo-horseback riding at three pelvic postures (anterior tilting pelvic posture: AP, neutral pelvic posture: NP, posterior pelvic posture: PP) and different speeds (moderate and fast speed). Muscle activities were recorded from the trunk muscles (rectus abdominis [RA], T2 paraspinalis [T2 PS], L2 paraspinalis [L2 PS]) and lower limb muscles (rectus femoris [RF], vastus medialis [VM], vastus lateralis [VL], biceps femoris [BF], gastrucnemius [GCM]). Results: Significantly higher RA activities were observed under the PP condition than under the AP and NP conditions at both speeds. Significantly higher L2 PS activities were observed under the AP condition than under the PP and NP conditions at both speeds. Significantly higher T2 PS activities were observed under the AP condition than under the PP and NP conditions at fast speed. However, the muscle activities of the VM and GCM did not show significant changes with changes in pelvic posture at both speeds. All muscle activities were significantly higher under the fast speed than under the moderate speed in three pelvic postures. Conclusion: There were significant differences in the changes of pelvic tilting on muscle activities of trunk and lower limb were observed in healthy adults. NP condition can be introduced the most efficienct posture for muscle activities of trunk and lower limb in robo-horseback riding.

• The Journal of Korean Physical Therapy
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• v.25 no.5
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• pp.288-296
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• 2013

Purpose: This study was conducted in order to determine whether mechanical horseback-riding training depending on velocity can improve vestibular function and static postural balance on standing in healthy adults. Methods: For evaluation of vestibular function, electrooculography (EOG) of vertical and horizontal was performed for identification of the motion of eyes. For evaluation of static postural balance, COP distance, time spent on the sharpened Romberg test with neck extension (SRNE) were measured. Measurements were performed three times before training, three weeks after training, and six weeks after training. Participants were randomly assigned to three groups: fast velocity-mechanical horse -riding training (FV-MHRT, n=12), moderate velocity-mechanical horse-riding training (MV-MHRT, n=12), and slow velocity-mechanical horse-riding training (SV-MHRT, n=12). Results: According to the result for vertical, horizontal EOG, there was significant interaction in each group in accordance with the experiment time (p<0.05). The FV-MHRT group showed a significant decrease compared with the MV- MHRT, SV-MHRT groups (p<0.05). According to the result for static postural balance, the time spent, COP distance in SRNE showed significant interaction in each group in accordance with the experiment time (p<0.05). The time spent on the SRNE showed a significant increas in FV-MHRT, SV-MHRT (p<0.05). The COP distance of SRNE showed a significant increase in MV-MHRT (p<0.05). Conclusion: The MHRT velocity activated mechanism of vestibular spinal reflex (VSR), vestibular ocular reflex (VOR), also helped to strengthen vestibular function and static postural balance. In addition, it should be applied to different velocity of MHRT according to the specific purpose.