The state of coursework on horses in human services at universities and colleges in the United States: a scoping review

An increasing number of universities and colleges in the United States are offering coursework on adaptive/therapeutic riding and the incorporation of horses in human service areas such as psychotherapy, education, occupational therapy, physical therapy, and speech-language pathology. The first study to identify coursework in these areas was published in 2018. In order to track development over time, we conducted a replication study to determine the prevalence of coursework on horses in human services at higher education institutions. Information gathered for the 2021–2022 academic year included the institution name, geographic location, number of courses and their focus, academic department offering the course, and level of study. We identified 122 courses provided by 48 higher education institutions in 29 states in the following areas: adaptive/therapeutic riding (N = 82, 67.2%), mental health (N = 19, 15.6%), education/learning (N = 2, 1.6%), and equine movement in physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech-language pathology (hippotherapy) (N = 1, 0.8%). Survey or overview courses (N = 18, 14.8%) were also identified. These courses were offered both at the undergraduate (N = 114, 93.4%) and the graduate level (N = 8, 6.6%) by a total of 48 departments that either focused on animals, such as equine science, animal science, and agriculture (N = 27, 54%) or focused on humans, such as health science or liberal arts (N = 23, 46%). The results inform a discussion on changes over time as well as current challenges and opportunities for academic programs offering coursework about horses in human services

Defining Terms Used for Animals Working in Support Roles for People with Support Needs

The nomenclature used to describe animals working in roles supporting people can be confusing. The same term may be used to describe different roles, or two terms may mean the same thing. This confusion is evident among researchers, practitioners, and end users. Because certain animal roles are provided with legal protections and/or government-funding support in some jurisdictions, it is necessary to clearly define the existing terms to avoid confusion. The aim of this paper is to provide operationalized definitions for nine terms, which would be useful in many world regions: “assistance animal”, “companion animal”, “educational/school support animal”, “emotional support animal”, “facility animal”, “service animal”, “skilled companion animal”, “therapy animal”, and “visiting/visitation animal”. At the International Society for Anthrozoology (ISAZ) conferences in 2018 and 2020, over 100 delegates participated in workshops to define these terms, many of whom co-authored this paper. Through an iterative process, we have defined the nine terms and explained how they differ from each other. We recommend phasing out two terms (i.e., “skilled companion animal” and “service animal”) due to overlap with other terms that could potentially exacerbate confusion. The implications for several regions of the world are discussed

Defining Terms Used for Animals Working in Support Roles for People with Support Needs.

The nomenclature used to describe animals working in roles supporting people can be confusing. The same term may be used to describe different roles, or two terms may mean the same thing. This confusion is evident among researchers, practitioners, and end users. Because certain animal roles are provided with legal protections and/or government-funding support in some jurisdictions, it is necessary to clearly define the existing terms to avoid confusion. The aim of this paper is to provide operationalized definitions for nine terms, which would be useful in many world regions: "assistance animal", "companion animal", "educational/school support animal", "emotional support animal", "facility animal", "service animal", "skilled companion animal", "therapy animal", and "visiting/visitation animal". At the International Society for Anthrozoology (ISAZ) conferences in 2018 and 2020, over 100 delegates participated in workshops to define these terms, many of whom co-authored this paper. Through an iterative process, we have defined the nine terms and explained how they differ from each other. We recommend phasing out two terms (i.e., "skilled companion animal" and "service animal") due to overlap with other terms that could potentially exacerbate confusion. The implications for several regions of the world are discussed

Defining Terms Used for Animals Working in Support Roles for People with Support Needs

The nomenclature used to describe animals working in roles supporting people can be confusing. The same term may be used to describe different roles, or two terms may mean the same thing. This confusion is evident among researchers, practitioners, and end users. Because certain animal roles are provided with legal protections and/or government-funding support in some jurisdictions, it is necessary to clearly define the existing terms to avoid confusion. The aim of this paper is to provide operationalized definitions for nine terms, which would be useful in many world regions: “assistance animal”, “companion animal”, “educational/school support animal”, “emotional support animal”, “facility animal”, “service animal”, “skilled companion animal”, “therapy animal”, and “visiting/visitation animal”. At the International Society for Anthrozoology (ISAZ) conferences in 2018 and 2020, over 100 delegates participated in workshops to define these terms, many of whom co-authored this paper. Through an iterative process, we have defined the nine terms and explained how they differ from each other. We recommend phasing out two terms (i.e., “skilled companion animal” and “service animal”) due to overlap with other terms that could potentially exacerbate confusion. The implications for several regions of the world are discussed