Contact: Lana Kaiser, College of Nursing, (517) 432-3419, kaiser@msu.edu; or Tom Oswald, University Relations, (517) 355-2281, oswald@msu.edu

9/14/2004

EAST LANSING, Mich. – The benefits of horseback riding for special populations – benefits that can range from increasing muscle tone to simply building self-confidence – will be explored in depth at a Michigan State University conference later this month.

The fourth annual MSU Human-Animal Bond conference – titled “The Science Behind our Relationship with Animals: Cuddle a Critter and Call Me in the Morning” – is Sept. 24-25 at the Kellogg Center on the MSU campus.

The event is sponsored by the MSU College of Nursing, the MSU Human-Animal Bond Initiative and the MSU School of Social Work.

One of the featured speakers is Lana Kaiser, an MSU professor of nursing and medicine and organizer of the conference. She will be presenting preliminary results of research that indicate horseback riding can be beneficial to children with various health problems, while not being harmful to the horse.

“There is a physical benefit to riding,” Kaiser said. “Also, we find that kids tend to be happier after they start to ride. I think when an 80-pound kid can make a 1,000-pound horse do what he or she wants it to do, it’s a feeling of empowerment and satisfaction, and good for their self-esteem.”

Kaiser’s work also considers the well-being of the horse.

“This is the first time this has ever been done,” she said. “And what we’re finding is that horses show no more stress with these special populations then they do with other groups of riders. This suggests that being a therapeutic-riding horse is not stressful, if the animal is properly cared for and managed.”

Kaiser will speak at 1 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 25, in the Kellogg Center Auditorium.

Other featured speakers include:

• Rebecca Johnson, a University of Missouri professor who does ground-breaking research in human-animal bond and animal wellness.
• Eva Fuchswans, a physician with the Geriatric Center,Geriatriezentrum am Wienerwald, in Vienna, who focuses on animal-assisted therapy.
• Bonnie DuPue, a therapeutic riding instructor and president of CHUM Therapeutic Riding of Williamston.

Founded in 2001, the Human-Animal Bond Initiative brings together researchers from the MSU colleges of Nursing, Human Medicine, Veterinary Medicine, Social Science, and Agriculture and Natural Resources, as well as community members from throughout the state.

The goal of the initiative is to better understand the interactions between humans and animals and to better assess how animals enrich human lives.

For information on the initiative and the conference, visit the Web at http://nursing.msu.edu/habi/