The purpose of the master's thesis was to find out whether participation in hippotherapy stresses out therapeutic horses. The research was performed in CIRIUS Kamnik, where 4 therapeutic horses were observed during hippotherapy. We monitored the frequency of behaviours indicating stress (ear and head position and movement). Before therapy, right after the therapy and 45 minutes after the therapy we measured the eye temperature and took saliva samples to determine cortisol concentration. The horses were monitored four times in the summer and four times in the autumn season. We also prepared a survey to assess the personality of the horses. We recorded significantly more changes in the horse movement in the summer season than in the autumn season and a higher frequency of changes in head position when the horse was ridden by a mobile user. Higher cortisol concentrations in saliva were measured in the autumn season. The interaction between the season and the measurement showed a significant difference between the first and the fourth measurement in the autumn season. Significantly higher cortisol concentration was recorded right after therapy compared to the measurement 45 minutes after the therapy. No significant differences were recorded between pre-therapy and post-therapy measurements. A significantly higher eye temperature was measured in the summer season compared to the autumn season; differences between individual measurements were also significant. The interaction between the seasons and the measurements showed significant fluctuations in eye temperature only in the autumn season. The interaction between the season and the time of the measurement showed a significant difference in the eye temperature before the therapy and 45 minutes after the therapy, but only in the autumn season. It was not possible to provide optimal measuring conditions for measuring eye temperature and therefore the eye temperature data may not be accurate. Based on the horse personality survey, we did not find a degree of agreement between the three evaluators for each horse, but the evaluators agreed on all 69 personality characteristics for all 4 horses. Based on the all collected data, we can conclude that the horses experienced some stress while participating in the hippotherapy.
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