Since the period of Classical Antiquity, Hippocrates, considered the father of Western medicine and who lived approximately between 458-370 BC, would have mentioned the benefits of horse riding in his writings in the areas of people's physical and mental health, highlighting improvements in muscle strengthening, posture and balance in those who practiced horse riding. (Freire, 1999).

           Equine therapy, also known as equine-assisted therapy or hippotherapy, as a therapeutic method has its roots in the 20th century in Western Europe. Although there is no specific date of origin, the first records and practices date back to the period after the Second World War, mainly in Switzerland and Germany.

One of the pioneers of hippotherapy was the German physician Elisabeth Werth, who in the 1950s used horses as part of the treatment of patients with cerebral palsy. She noticed significant improvements in patients who had contact with horses, especially in relation to balance, motor coordination and posture. Another important influence was the work of the Austrian physician Franz Josef Vogt, who developed hippotherapy, a therapeutic approach that uses the movement of horses as part of the treatment of patients with physical and neurological disabilities.

Over time, equine therapy developed and expanded to other countries, including the United States and Brazil, where it gained recognition and acceptance as an effective form of complementary therapy for medical, emotional, psychological and social conditions.

This method arrived in Brazil in 1971, brought by Dr. Gabriele Brigitte Walter, and has been studied and applied successfully over the years (Uzun, 2005). With the creation of ANDE-BRASIL in 1989, a great boost was given to the implementation of equine therapy centers in the country, currently with more than 320 entities nationwide.

Currently, the method is regulated in Brazil according to Federal Law No. 13,830, of 2019 , and is recognized by the Federal Council of Medicine - CFM (April 6, 1997), Federal Council of Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy - COFFITO (March 27, 2008) and the Secretariat of Education of the Federal District - SEDF.