Therapeutic horseback riding (THR) programs provide physical and psychological benefits to riders with disabilities. The welfare of program horses — managing their complex roles as therapeutic partners — requires dedicated attention.
Therapeutic riding horse welfare parallels other therapy animal welfare: the animal providing benefit to humans can experience welfare compromise if programs do not actively manage their wellbeing. Therapeutic riders may have involuntary movements, use communication devices, or require physical management that horses find unpredictable or stressful. High-quality therapeutic riding centers invest in horse welfare alongside therapeutic outcomes: monitoring behavioral stress indicators, limiting session numbers and duration, ensuring adequate rest and recovery, and maintaining clear signals that horses can use to communicate discomfort. The best programs treat horse welfare as integral to therapeutic quality — recognizing that a horse working from positive engagement and good welfare provides better therapeutic outcomes than one tolerating the work.