Special Needs, Special Horses: A Guide to the Benefits of Therapeutic Riding

Glossary

207 GLOSSARY Adductor฀muscles:฀These฀muscles฀move฀a฀portion฀of฀the฀body฀toward฀ the฀midline,฀such฀as฀thigh฀muscles,฀which฀(when฀too฀tight)฀prevent฀ the฀knees฀from฀separating฀enough฀to฀straddle฀a฀horse. AHA:฀American฀Hippotherapy฀Association,฀Inc.,฀(an฀affiliate฀partner฀of฀ NARHA),฀ 5001฀ Woodside฀ Rd.,฀ Woodside,฀ California,฀ 888-851-4592,฀ http://www.americanhippotherapyassociation.org. ฀Anti-cast:฀A฀wide,฀heavy฀leather฀surcingle,฀with฀a฀half-moon฀handle฀for฀ the฀rider฀to฀hold,฀cinched฀over฀a฀saddle฀pad;฀originally฀developed฀to฀ prevent฀a฀horse฀from฀rolling฀in฀his฀stall฀and฀becoming฀“cast”฀against฀ a฀wall,฀unable฀to฀get฀up. Asberger’s฀Syndrome:฀A฀high฀functioning฀form฀of฀autism. Autism:฀Mental฀introversion฀in฀which฀attention฀or฀interest฀is฀fastened฀ upon฀one’s฀own฀ego,฀and฀reality฀tends฀to฀be฀excluded. Autistic:฀Pertaining฀to฀or฀characterized฀by฀autism. Backride:฀An฀instructor฀or฀therapist฀rides฀with฀and฀supports฀a฀small฀client ฀whose฀lack฀of฀trunk฀strength฀makes฀it฀difficult฀for฀sidewalkers฀to฀ hold฀him฀upright฀on฀the฀horse.฀A฀bareback฀pad฀or฀tandem฀saddle฀is฀ used. Baclofen฀Pump:฀A฀unique฀therapy฀for฀spasticity,฀surgically฀placed฀usually ฀just฀under฀the฀skin฀of฀the฀abdomen.฀The฀device,฀a฀round฀metal฀ disk฀about฀one฀inch฀thick฀and฀three฀inches฀across,฀weighing฀about฀six฀ ounces,฀delivers฀small,฀controlled฀doses฀of฀a฀potent฀muscle฀relaxant฀ directly฀to฀the฀fluid฀surrounding฀the฀spinal฀cord. Bareback฀pad:฀Soft฀pad฀fastened฀over฀a฀saddle฀pad,฀with฀a฀girth฀strap฀or฀ surcingle. Bilateral:฀Having฀two฀sides,฀or฀pertaining฀to฀both฀sides.฀ Brachial฀Plexus:฀A฀network฀of฀lower฀cervical฀and฀upper฀dorsal฀spinal฀ nerves฀supplying฀the฀arm,฀forearm,฀and฀hand. horse2.indd฀฀฀207 3/11/05฀฀฀2:11:11฀PM GLOSSARY 208 Bulldogging:฀A฀timed฀rodeo฀event฀in฀which฀the฀contestant฀dives฀from฀ his฀saddle฀to฀grab฀the฀horns฀of฀a฀speeding฀steer,฀and฀wrestles฀it฀to฀the฀ ground. CanTRA:฀ Canadian฀ Therapeutic฀ Riding฀ Association,฀ P.฀ O.฀ Box฀ 24009,฀ Guelph,฀Ontario,฀CA฀N1E฀6V8,฀(519)฀767-0700,฀Email:฀ctra@golden. net,฀http://www.cantra.ca. Clonus:฀A฀form฀of฀movement฀marked฀by฀contractions฀and฀relaxations฀of฀ a฀muscle,฀occurring฀in฀rapid฀succession. Contraindications:฀Physical฀or฀mental฀conditions฀which฀prevent฀an฀individual ’s฀participation฀in฀an฀equine฀assisted฀program;฀in฀general,฀any฀ condition฀which฀renders฀a฀particular฀line฀of฀treatment฀improper฀or฀ undesirable. CPR:฀Cardiopulmonary฀Resuscitation,฀a฀procedure฀including฀฀the฀timed฀ external฀compression฀of฀the฀anterior฀chest฀wall,฀to฀stimulate฀blood฀ flow฀by฀pumping฀the฀heart,฀and฀alternating฀with฀mouth฀to฀mouth฀ breathing,฀to฀provide฀oxygen. DPT:฀A฀series฀of฀shots฀containing฀a฀combination฀of฀vaccines฀to฀immunize ฀against฀diphtheria,฀pertussis฀(whooping฀cough),฀and฀tetanus. EAGALA:฀Equine฀Assisted฀Growth฀and฀Learning฀Association,฀P.฀O.฀Box฀ 993,฀Santaquin,฀Utah,฀84655,฀801-667-2191,฀http://www.Eagala.org.฀ EEG:฀Electroencphalogram,฀a฀diagnostic฀test฀which฀measures฀the฀electrical ฀activity฀of฀the฀brain฀(brain฀waves)฀using฀high฀sensitive฀recording฀ equipment฀attached฀to฀the฀scalp฀by฀fine฀electrodes. Endorphins฀(release฀of):฀A฀class฀of฀neurotransmitters฀produced฀by฀the฀ body฀and฀used฀internally฀as฀a฀pain฀killer.฀Similar฀in฀action฀to฀opiates฀ by฀attaching฀to฀some฀of฀the฀same฀brain฀receptors,฀they฀are฀a฀strong฀ analgesic฀and฀produce฀mild฀euphoria.฀Exercise฀is฀the฀most฀common฀ cause฀ of฀ endorphin฀ release,฀ but฀ there฀ are฀ many฀ others฀ including฀ laughter,฀and฀stress. Equine฀Assisted฀Activities:฀Interaction฀with฀horses,฀with฀the฀participants฀ mounted฀or฀on฀the฀ground,฀under฀the฀supervision฀of฀specially฀trained,฀ licensed฀therapists฀or฀instructors,฀for฀the฀purpose฀of฀improving฀physical ,฀mental,฀and฀emotional฀well-being. Equine฀ Experiential฀ Learning:฀ Participants฀ learn฀ about฀ themselves฀ through฀interaction฀and฀relationship฀with฀their฀environment,฀includhorse2 .indd฀฀฀208 3/11/05฀฀฀2:11:12฀PM GLOSSARY 209 ing฀the฀people,฀animals,฀nature,฀and฀situations฀therein,฀emphasizing฀ emotional,฀mental,฀social,฀physical,฀and฀spiritual฀well-being. Frog฀(horse฀anatomy):฀Wedge-shaped฀substance฀in฀the฀sole฀of฀the฀hoof฀ which฀acts฀as฀a฀cushion. Gerontology:฀The฀scientific฀study฀of฀the฀process฀and฀problems฀of฀aging. Hackamore:฀Circular฀device฀fitting฀around฀a฀horse’s฀muzzle,฀an฀alternative ฀to฀a฀metal฀bit฀in฀his฀mouth,฀by฀which฀the฀rider฀communicates฀ signals. Half-halt:฀With฀a฀rider฀mounted,฀the฀horse฀is฀slowed฀almost฀to฀a฀stop,฀ and฀then฀abruptly฀urged฀back฀to฀normal฀speed. Harrington฀Rod฀Insertion:฀A฀procedure฀to฀stabilize฀the฀spine฀by฀fusing฀ together฀two฀or฀more฀vertebrae,฀using฀either฀metal฀(Harrington)฀rods฀ or฀bone฀grafts. Hemispherectomy:฀Excision฀of฀one฀cerebral฀hemisphere,฀undertaken฀due฀ to฀intractable฀(not฀adequately฀controlled฀by฀medication)฀epilepsy,฀and฀ other฀cerebral฀conditions. Hippotherapy:฀From฀the...