Horseback therapy: a new hope for children with cerebral palsy?
NCT ID NCT07739680
First seen Jul 31, 2026 · Last updated Aug 05, 2026 · Updated 2 times
Summary
This trial tests whether hippotherapy—therapy involving horseback riding—can improve physical function, bladder and bowel symptoms, and family quality of life in children with cerebral palsy. Thirty children aged 7-15 will receive weekly 30-minute hippotherapy sessions for 8 weeks, in addition to their usual special education. Researchers will measure balance, trunk control, posture, handgrip strength, and symptom severity before and after the program.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- hippotherapy (horse-assisted therapy)
- What this could lead to
- If effective, hippotherapy could become a complementary therapy to improve balance, posture, and quality of life in children with cerebral palsy.
- What could go wrong
- This is a small, early-stage trial with 30 participants, so results may not apply broadly. Hippotherapy also carries risks like falls or allergic reactions, and benefits may be modest.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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About 30 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Expected to start
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Aug 2026
An estimate. Start dates often move.
- Expected to finish
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May 2027
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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7 to 15 years
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * Aged between 7 and 15 years * Diagnosis of cerebral palsy confirmed by a specialist physician * Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS) level I-III * Ability to understand and follow basic verbal commands * Ability to stand independently for at least 30 seconds * No medical contraindications to participation in hippotherapy * Voluntary participation in the study and written informed consent provided by a parent or legal representative Exclusion Criteria: * Presence of an active infection * Bladder or bowel symptoms caused by an organic condition, such as -Hirschsprung disease or anorectal malformation * Receipt of hippotherapy within the previous 12 months * Uncontrolled epilepsy or a seizure within the previous 6 months * Inability to comply with the assessment or treatment program because of severe behavioral problems * Inability to attend the treatment program regularly * Surgery affecting the spine, pelvis, or lower extremities within the previous 12 months * Severe hip dislocation, atlantoaxial instability, uncontrolled scoliosis, or another orthopedic condition constituting a contraindication to hippotherapy
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The places running it
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Ankara Yildirim Beyazit University
Ankara, Turkey (Türkiye)