title: Equine-Assisted Activities and Therapy for Treating Children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate clinical effects of equine-assisted activities and therapy (EAA/T) for treating attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children age 6-13 years.
  
  
  METHODS
  This 12-week, prospective, open-label trial included 24 sessions of EAA/T. Twenty participants (19 boys and 1 girl) completed 12 weeks of EAA/T. Various clinical tests were administered at baseline and after EAA/T. Assessments included the investigator-administered ADHD-Rating Scale (ARS-I), Clinical Global Impressions (CGI)-Severity Scale, Clinical Global Impressions-Improvement Scale (CGI-I), Gordon Diagnostic System, Korea-Child Behavior Checklist (K-CBCL), Self-Esteem Scale, second edition of the Bruininks-Oseretsky test of motor proficiency (BOT-2), and quantitative electroencephalography. The primary efficacy measure was the response rate.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The response rate was 90% based on a 30% or greater decline in the ARS-I score or 85% based on CGI-I scores of 1 or 2. The mean±standard deviation ARS-I score decreased from 33.65±6.42 at baseline to 16.80±6.86 after 12 weeks of EAA/T (p<0.001, paired t-test). EAA/T also resulted in significant improvement in the social problems subscale of the K-CBCL and in the manual dexterity, bilateral coordination, and total motor composite subscales of the BOT-2. The theta/beta ratio on electroencephalography was decreased significantly at the Pz electrode after 12 weeks of EAA/T.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This is the first study demonstrating that EAA/T is effective for improving core ADHD symptoms. On the basis of these results, EAA/T could be a viable treatment strategy as a part of a multimodal therapy for children with ADHD.
authors.affiliation: 1 Hae-sol Psychiatric Clinic , Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Byongsu
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Jang
authors.affiliation: 1 Hae-sol Psychiatric Clinic , Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Jihye
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Song
authors.affiliation: 2 Samsung Biomedical Research Institute , Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Jiwon
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: 2 Samsung Biomedical Research Institute , Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Seonwoo
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: 3 Samsung RD Center , Samsung Equestrian Team, Gunpo-si, Gyeonggi-do, Korea.
authors.forename: Jiyoung
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: 3 Samsung RD Center , Samsung Equestrian Team, Gunpo-si, Gyeonggi-do, Korea.
authors.forename: Hye-Yeon
authors.initials: HY
authors.lastname: Shin
authors.affiliation: 4 Department of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine , Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Jeong-Yi
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Kwon
authors.affiliation: 4 Department of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine , Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Yun-Hee
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: 5 Department of Psychiatry, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine , Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Yoo-Sook
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Joung
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000818:Animals; D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / Q000628:therapy*; D002648:Child; D056147:Equine-Assisted Therapy; D005260:Female; D006736:Horses; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009048:Motor Skills; D011446:Prospective Studies; D056910:Republic of Korea; D012919:Social Behavior