What if horses helped people with Alzheimer’s disease ?

Equitherapy, that is to say therapy assisted by hair, would be beneficial for people with Alzheimer's disease. Halfpoint/Getty Images

Alzheimer's disease causes most of the 55 million cases of dementia worldwide, according to the World Health Organization. To date, there is no treatment to treat it. But equine therapy seems to be a promising avenue.

Researchers from the University of Tours say that spending time with horses could greatly improve the daily lives of people suffering from Alzheimer's disease. They arrived at this encouraging conclusion after carrying out an experiment involving 34 patients aged 80 to 98 years old and residing in retirement homes. The participants were divided into two groups: they had to either follow equine therapy or music therapy sessions.

Music therapy, that is to say the use of sound, rhythm and music for therapeutic purposes, is an approach to care increasingly used for people suffering from dementia. rsquo;Alzheimer’s. For good reason, it has been proven that the fourth art has beneficial effects on memory, reactivating cognitive abilities that were thought to be lost forever in certain patients. It also has a positive impact on mood.

To compare the virtues of equine therapy and music therapy, 18 of the 34 volunteers followed weekly therapy sessions in the presence of horses for three months. During these sessions, participants interacted with these animals by brushing them or walking alongside them, as explained in New Scientist magazine. They also observed their movements from afar.

Standardized psychometric tests

The scientists then administered several standardized psychometric tests to volunteers in both groups to determine which therapeutic approach was best suited to people suffering from Alzheimer's disease. It turns out that both equine therapy and music therapy helped improve participants' moods, but this change was more marked in those who had received equine therapy sessions.

Indeed, the members of the equine therapy group interacted more with other participants and caregivers than those in the music therapy group. They also had fewer symptoms of depression than them. Benefits which would be closely linked to the presence of horses, according to Léa Badin, doctoral student at the University of Tours.

Nevertheless, the horses do not seem to have had any effect on the behavioral problems presented by the volunteers (agitation, aggressiveness, etc.). The conclusions of this research work, which were presented during the last edition of the Science Days & Equine innovations, however, are promising. They offer a glimpse of a future where people suffering from Alzheimer's disease could live better with this pathology.