Creating the Emotional Bond
Children with Autism have difficulty bonding emotionally to others. It is hard for a child to make eye contact, communicate what they're feeling, and express themselves to those they care about. Rather than verbal communication, autistic children experience physical communication with the horses. They brush them, hug them, and pat them. By learning to care for the horse, they associate the care they provide with feelings and an emotional bridge is constructed. This bond can lead to social and communication skill production with other people in his life as well.

Cognitive and Language Skills Development
children with autism often have difficulty comprehending normal directions. By engaging in equine therapy, your child follows directions through a fun activity that makes taking direction easier to grasp and remember. they will also give the horse direction, which provides them with more opportunities to communicate. Your child is naturally motivated to move; thus, they're excited and motivated to communicate. During his therapy their cognitive concepts will naturally improve. For example, equine therapists have children throw colored balls into baskets while riding, touch their eyes, mouth, and ears during a song, and identify scenes—all incorporated during riding.

Sensory Benefits
Balance and spatial orientation are experienced through the vestibular sense organs. These are located inside the inner ear and are stimulated through direction change, incline, and speed. Riding a horse helps liven these sensory preceptors, which helps make therapy exciting and motivates your child to continue to be engaged. 

In this quadruped position, Eoin is facing posteriorly so that his hands are directly over the horse’s pelvis. The three-dimensional motion of the horse’s pelvis is being transmitted to Eoin’s shoulder girdle, causing him to isometrically contract the muscles controlling his shoulder girdle and arms. This produces both strengthening and stabilizing effects in his back, core, shoulder girdle, arms, and wrists as he maintains his balance on the horse.