Pediatrics
October 9, 2026 · via Europe PMC
Therapeutic Horseback Riding for Youth With Autism and Psychiatric Comorbidities: A Randomized Trial.
Gabriels RL, Peters C, Pan Z, Merritt T, Widick M, Mazefsky C, Siegel M.
AI summary — for doctors, generated from the abstract only
A randomized trial found that both therapeutic horseback riding and barn activities reduced behavior problems in youth with autism and psychiatric comorbidity, with possible added benefit of riding for hyperactivity.
What was studied
Multisite randomized controlled trial of 236 youth with autism aged 6-16 comparing therapeutic horseback riding (THR), no-horse barn activity (BA), and a waitlist followed by a hybrid, with caregiver-reported outcomes and blinded speech ratings.
Key findings
- Intent-to-treat analysis included 169 participants who completed at least one lesson: waitlist 28, THR 74, BA 67
- Both THR and BA showed clinically significant reductions in the co-primary irritability outcome versus waitlist, though the p-value and effect size are cut off in the abstract
- Authors conclude THR may offer additive reductions in hyperactivity
Clinical relevance
Equine-assisted or barn-based activities may be a reasonable adjunct for behavior challenges in autistic youth, though not a substitute for established care.
Who should care
Limitations
Abstract is truncated in the results so the main statistics are missing; analysis excluded many of the 236 enrolled; outcomes were caregiver-reported and unblinded, and the waitlist control was small.
Structured animal-assisted activities appear helpful for behavior in autistic youth, but the size of benefit and the horse-specific effect need the full results.
This is an AI-generated summary of the published abstract, not a clinical recommendation. It may not reflect the full text or subsequent updates — verify against the original source before acting on it.
Abstract
Objective
Autism spectrum disorder care is often complicated by co-occurring psychiatric symptoms. Equine-assisted services show promise for improving behavioral outcomes in this population. We aimed to examine benefits of equine-assisted services for youth with autism at higher risk for mental health interventions.
Methods
A total of 236 youth with autism and psychiatric comorbidity (aged 6-16 years.) were enrolled in a randomized controlled multisite clinical trial, stratified by nonverbal IQ, and assigned to 1 of 3 intervention arms: therapeutic horseback riding (THR), no horse contact barn activity (BA), or waiting period followed by a BA/THR hybrid. Caregivers completed outcome measures. Speech outcomes were evaluated by blinded raters. Intervention methods expand those from a previous efficacy trial.
Results
Intent-to-treat analyses with 169 participants completing at least 1 intervention lesson revealed that compared with the waitlist control (n = 28), both THR (n = 74) and BA (n = 67) interventions showed clinically significant reductions in co-primary outcomes of irritability (P < .0001; THR effect size d = 1.15; BA effect size d = 1.04) and hyperactivity (THR P < .0001, effect size d = 1.06; BA P = .005, effect size d = 0.68). The THR group showed significantly greater reductions in hyperactivity compared with the BA group (P = .03; effect size d = 0.39) beginning at intervention week 4. Additional significant improvements in THR and BA groups vs the waitlist control were seen in emotional regulation and social behaviors.
Conclusions
Equine-assisted activities are an effective intervention to address behavior challenges in youth with autism and psychiatric comorbidity; THR may offer additive reductions in hyperactivity.
DOI
10.1542/peds.2026-077263
PMID
42849910
Research metadata (titles, abstracts, authors, publication dates) is sourced from Europe PMC, which aggregates content from PubMed/MEDLINE, PubMed Central, and other providers under the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM/NCBI). NLM does not claim copyright on abstracts; the original journal publishers or authors may hold rights to the full articles. AI-generated summaries are derived only from the abstract, never the full text, and are always labeled as AI-generated.
Want more like this?
Browse more from the feed. A free account unlocks the full feed, saving and communities.
Back to the research feed