Avaliação da frequência cardíaca e respiratória de cavalos inseridos em programas de equoterapia

Abstract

The equine-assisted therapy is a therapeutic and educational method, which uses the horse in a multi and interdisciplinary approach to evolve biopsychosocial features of people with deficiencies and/or special needs. Understanding the physiology of the exercise as well as detecting stress patterns are of utmost importance in order to easily and promptly detect abnormal situations. The present study aimed to evaluate the heartbeat and respiratory rate of horses destined to equine-assisted therapy with a view to assessing their responses to efforts and distress. It was selected 4 Quarter-Mile horses aging between 8 and 12 years old. The heartbeat and respiratory rates were checked in 5 different moments, namely T0 (at rest) before initiating the activities and T1 to T4 after each equine-assisted therapy. Therapy sessions lasted 30 minutes. Heart rate was measured in pulse per minute at the mandibular artery and Respiratory rate measured in intercostal movements per minute. There was a 25% increase in the heart rate when moments were compared to T0, but no variations when compared to other moments. Such increase was similarly observed in the respiratory rate. Based on these results we might conclude that equine-assisted therapy alters both the respiratory and heartbeat rate of the horse. Nevertheless, when the equine-assisted therapy is performed in the same conditions of this experiment (at “walk” gait and well-handled), there is no distress to the horses, and thus a highquality equine-assisted therapy session.