The Effect of Contact with a Horse on Positive and Negative Emotions of Polish Physiotherapy Students Within 6 Years from the First Time Hippotherapy Session

Anna Maria Choińska,1,2 Weronika Bajer,1 Alina Żurek,3 Ewa Gieysztor1,2 1Department of Physiotherapy, Wroclaw Medical University, Wroclaw, Poland; 2SKN15 Child and Adolescent Developmental Disorders, Wroclaw Medical University, Wroclaw, Poland; 3Institute of Psychology, University of Wroclaw, Wroclaw, PolandCorrespondence: Ewa Gieysztor, Department of Physiotherapy, Wroclaw Medical University, Ul. Grunwaldzka 2, Wrocław, 50-355, Poland, Email ewa.gieysztor@umed.wroc.plIntroduction: Activities with horses cause many emotional reactions in their recipients, the measurement and analysis of which can provide information about positive or negative attitudes toward hippotherapy activities.Purpose: To explore how horse contact affects the emotions of students experiencing horseback riding for the first time during hippotherapy classes.Methods: The 6-year study included 252 physiotherapy students from the Medical University of Wrocław who participated in hippotherapy classes during a three-day didactic and scientific course implemented in the years (2014– 2019). The duration of a single session on horseback was 60 minutes. The Scale of Positive and Negative Experience (SPANE) and the Sanoquell automatic 766 pulse measuring device were used for the study. Pulse was measured daily before and after hippotherapy (6 times). The SPANE survey took place twice: at the beginning (Survey I) and at the end (Survey II) of the camp. Results were statistically analyzed using Statistica 13.3 software. The study was analyzed by Wilcoxon test, Whitney U-Mann test, ANOVA test.Results: Analysis of variance proved the existence of statistically significant difference between the intensity of pleasant feelings SPANE-P (positive), (p=0.000) and unpleasant feelings SPANE-N (negative) (p=0.000) in I and II examination in the group of women. In women, a statistically significant difference was noted in the outcome of overall satisfaction with the contact with the horse during the hippotherapy course (aka. happiness balance) SPANE-B (balance) in Study I and II; they moved from the moderately happy group to the happy group (p=0.000). No such difference was noted for the men; the happiness balance was at a constant level (happy group) on both the first and third days of the study. The difference in happiness balance (SPANE-B) between men and women on the third day of hippotherapy was statistically significant at p=0.0446. The pulse in women measured on the third day of hippotherapy was statistically significantly higher than in men (p=0.0345). The mean pulse over the three days in women was also at a statistically higher level than in men before and after hippotherapy and was p=0.0154. The increase in SPANE-B and SPANE-P was accompanied by an increase in heart rate, especially in women.Conclusion: Hippotherapy exercises bring physiotherapy students an increase in positive feelings and a decrease in negative feelings, which promotes a good attitude towards the therapy itself as well as life. Personal experience is the best way to understand and consciously use hippotherapy, as a therapeutic method.Keywords: hippotherapy, SPANE, the positive and negative experience, pulse, emotions