LOGAN – For more than 55 years the Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship (PATH International) has represented growing numbers of equine-assisted services, including horseback riding, psychotherapy incorporating equines plus physical, occupational and speech therapies incorporating horses in treatment.
Sarah Andersen, a USU lecturer and recent graduate of USU’s agricultural extension and education master’s program, was honored with the Outstanding Manuscript Award by the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers.
Her winning manuscript focuses on creating an objective way to assess horses in equine-assisted services, to insure they are safe. Through her research she discovered there is no standard that highlights the need to prove horses are safe for PATH patrons.
In response, Andersen used heart rate monitors to evaluate horses and create a method to objectively rate each horse for safety on a zero to three scale: zero indicating unsafe; one meaning not suitable for beginner lessons; two meaning most likely suitable for beginner lessons; and, three showing absolutely suitable for beginner lessons.