I love theraputic riding which is very similar to hippotherapy for my daughter. She goes once a week and rides for 1/2 hour. She started last spring and is 10 years old. It is fabulous for her trunk strength. It is far better than any traditional PT we have ever done. In fact, I dropped the PT!!
Safety wise---she wears a helmet and there is one person who leads the horse and 2 volunteers on each side of her and they walk the horse along at a slow pace. At first she tired after 15 minutes but now has doubled her time on the horse. They have certain horses that are "bomb-proof" and are suited to ride the kiddos. Of course animals are animals but it has all gone very well. The riding ring is just round with a fence surrounding it, some barrels for the horses to walk around as the kids improve, poles for the horse to walk over which changes their gait and the child has to accomodate...nothing too fancy really..its all about working the childs muscles as the horse walks and stops/starts.
I tried it with her when she was 4 but sensory-wise it was just too much and she just cried with her forehead on the hores's mane. She just wasnt ready but now she loves it-she has matured sensory-wise enough.
I am going to move her up to twice a week shortly. She will ride the rest of her life.