Take The Reins - Occupational Therapy

15/08/2026

11/08/2026

🐴 A child with autism sits on a horse, and something shifts — not just in their posture, but in the way they're paying attention to the world.

Hippotherapy isn't a riding lesson. It is a clinical practice that uses the horse's movement as a therapeutic tool. The horse walks, and the rider's body responds — pelvis, spine, and core muscles all engaging to stay in balance. That rhythmic, three-dimensional motion closely mimics the movement of a human walking. For children with neurological differences, that movement does something measurable.

Research published in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine found that hippotherapy significantly reduced irritability and improved social responsiveness in children with autism spectrum disorder. The vestibular system — which governs balance and spatial awareness — is stimulated in ways that are genuinely difficult to replicate in a traditional clinical setting. Add the sensory richness of the horse, the warmth of the animal, the need for focus, and the absence of screens or social demands, and you have a therapeutic environment unlike anything else available.

Parents who've watched their nonverbal child make eye contact with a horse for the first time — and then say something — understand this at a level no study can fully capture.

The horse doesn't ask anything of the child. That, somehow, is exactly what the child needs.

Have you or someone you know experienced hippotherapy firsthand?

20/07/2026

If a practitioner is already competent to treat the presenting client condition, is adding an animal as one of several therapeutic modalities conceptually any different from incorporating art materials, music, nature-based activities, play, mindfulness exercises or sensory tools?

From a clinical practice perspective:

A psychologist, occupational therapist, counsellor, social worker, speech pathologist or other appropriately qualified practitioner is already trained to:

* assess the client
* formulate treatment goals
* select appropriate interventions
* monitor outcomes
* discontinue interventions that are ineffective

The animal is simply one modality that may help achieve those goals.

For example:

* A psychologist uses CBT as the primary intervention and incorporates a therapy dog to facilitate emotional regulation or graded exposure.
* An occupational therapist incorporates a horse to improve balance, executive functioning and sensory processing.
* A speech pathologist works alongside a dog to increase communication opportunities and motivation.
* A social worker incorporates an animal to facilitate trust and relationship-building.

In each case, the practitioner is not treating a condition because of the animal—they are treating it using their existing professional expertise, with the animal acting as a therapeutic modality.

This is analogous to a physiotherapist choosing resistance bands instead of free weights, or an occupational therapist using virtual reality alongside conventional rehabilitation.

24/03/2026

Collaborating with Jacqui Self from Hills occupational therapy on this fabulous project! Please contact for further information 🦄

Build Real Work Skills... Differently! 🐎✨

An equine-inspired work skills programme for ages 14–25, helping young people build confidence, teamwork, and real-world employability skills through hands-on experience with horses.

👉 Scan the QR Code on the flyer to view more details and book

Or, visit:

🌐 perthhillsoccupationaltherapy.com.au

17/02/2026

We’re on the lookout for enthusiastic Horse Handlers to join our team!

If you have horse experience and want to make a real impact, this is your moment. Share your passion while empowering people with disabilities and diverse abilities through meaningful, confidence‑building connections with our incredible equine team.

🐴 Do you have one or more of the following?
• Pony Club K Certificate
• TAFE equine management course
• Racing‑industry experience
• OR many years of hands‑on horse know‑how backed by a solid resume

If so, we’d love to hear from you! Express your interest [email protected]

✨ Why become a Horse Handler with us?
You’ll enjoy exciting yearly training opportunities designed to grow your skills and deepen your horsemanship. This includes:
• Training days with expert equine guest speakers
• Pony enrichment days
• Learning alongside our experienced horse handlers

You’ll feel great knowing your skills help facilitate positive, empowering relationships between our horses and people with disabilities and diverse abilities.

07/02/2026

Occupational therapists (OTs) focus on supporting people to participate in everyday activities that are meaningful to them — and, in some practices, animals may be thoughtfully incorporated to support this goal.

When used ethically and within scope, animals can help OTs support outcomes such as emotional regulation, sensory processing, motivation, social participation, routines, and skill development. Interactions with animals may be embedded into functional activities like grooming, feeding, walking, observation, or structured tasks aligned with a client’s therapy goals.

In occupational therapy, animals may support:
• Sensory regulation and calming
• Engagement and motivation in therapy activities
• Development of routines, responsibility, and independence
• Social interaction and communication
• Participation in meaningful occupations

Occupational therapists who include animals do so with clear therapeutic intent, informed consent, appropriate training, robust risk management, and a strong focus on both client safety and animal welfare.

Animals are never a replacement for professional skill — they are a carefully integrated support within evidence-based OT practice.

AnimalTherapiesLtd

04/02/2026

Fully insured practitioners who incorporate animals into their work do so within clear professional, ethical, and safety frameworks.

Animals are intentionally integrated to support learning, therapy, or wellbeing goals — never as a substitute for professional expertise, but as a complementary support.

Practitioners carefully consider the needs of the client, the suitability and welfare of the animal, and the environment in which services are delivered.

This approach typically includes:
• Working within the practitioner’s existing scope of practice
• Including animals purposefully to support defined outcomes
• Ensuring appropriate training, handling, and welfare standards for animals
• Holding relevant professional indemnity and public liability insurance
• Applying robust risk management, consent, and safeguarding processes

When delivered by qualified, insured professionals, animal-assisted services can enhance engagement, emotional regulation, learning and connection — while maintaining the highest standards of care for both people and animals.

29/12/2025

🐇✨ "13 Rabbits" — but for Humans ✨🐇
Inspired by Warwick Schiller

What if every "big reaction" you’ve had…
Every outburst, every freeze, every time you shut down or couldn't explain your emotions —
Wasn’t you being “too sensitive” or “overreacting”...
But instead… the 13th Rabbit?

Let me explain.
When Warwick Schiller spoke about horses, he used the idea of 13 invisible rabbits.
The horse doesn’t react on Rabbit #1, or even Rabbit #5…
But Rabbit #13? That’s when it bolts.
The thing you see isn't the cause. It’s the final straw.

🐴✨ Now let's talk humans.
You snap at your partner.
You cry over spilled coffee.
You freeze when asked a question in a meeting.
You feel “too much” and shame yourself for it.

But what if…
That wasn’t “overreacting”?
What if it was your nervous system finally saying,
“I can’t carry all these rabbits anymore.”

🧠 We don’t see the 12 rabbits.
The childhood wounds.
The hypervigilance.
The grief you haven’t had time to feel.
The trauma responses that kept you safe, not “broken”.
The everyday micro-stressors.
The years of “being strong”.
The masking.
The pretending.
The silence.

The 13th rabbit isn’t the problem.
It’s the signal.
The symptom.
The moment your system finally tells the truth you’ve had to bury.

💬 At Equimotional, we don’t punish the 13th rabbit.
We listen.
We slow down.
We ask what happened to you? not what’s wrong with you?
We make space for the hidden herd of rabbits — and help you let them go one by one.

Because humans, like horses, are doing their best with the load they carry.

📣 So next time you react, pause.
It might not be just about now.
It might be Rabbit #13.

🖤 Be kind to yourself.
You weren’t made to carry it all.

24/12/2025

Wishing everyone a happy and joyful holiday, and all the best for a wonderful year ahead!

10/12/2025

Clients continue to report that NDIS planners insist animal assisted therapy is not funded.
Check out the current info sheet from the “would we fund it” page for the criteria that includes animal assisted therapy.

Some key points for your planning meeting;
- You are seeking occupational therapy support to address your functional goals
- the clinical decision to include the horse in therapy is not a consideration
- you can not ask for additional therapy hours, it is your choice to use your therapy budget for equine assisted OT, if this will be the most effective treatment option for you

For further information, please do not hesitate to reach out 🦄