Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of therapeutic horseback riding on motor proficiency of moderate mentally retarded children. Forty mentally retarded children between the age group of 13 and 18 years were randomly assigned to an experimental and control group of 20 each. Both the groups were tested before and after 12 weeks of training period in the short form of Bruininks Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency, which has eight factors: running speed and agility, balance, bilateral coordination, strength, upper limb coordination, response speed, visual motor control, upper limb speed and dexterity. Significant differences were seen in most of the selected variables of motor proficiency in MR children following 12 weeks of horseback riding programme (p<0.05). Therapeutic horseback riding is an effective means for improving motor proficiency in mentally retarded children.