The American Hippotherapy Association (AHA), Inc. is a United States nonprofit that educates licensed occupational therapists, physical therapists, and speech-language pathologists who incorporate equine movement into their clinical work. Founded in 1992 and based in Colorado, AHA develops coursework, publishes professional resources, and maintains the educational standards that shape how clinicians study the use of horses in therapy.¹

This guide explains what AHA does, how it grew from a small group of therapists into the field’s primary educational body, and how it fits alongside certification and the wider world of equine-assisted services.

What the American Hippotherapy Association Is

AHA is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that provides educational materials, continuing education courses, and professional resources for clinicians who choose to study equine movement within their licensed scope of practice. It describes itself as the only organization in the United States focused specifically on educating licensed healthcare professionals about therapy services that incorporate horses.¹

That focus is narrow on purpose. AHA does not run riding lessons, certify riding instructors, or accredit centers. Its work begins and ends with the education of clinicians, which sets it apart from the broader equine-assisted organizations it often works beside.

AHA’s Mission and Focus

AHA states its mission as improving lives by advancing education, best practices, and resources for licensed healthcare professionals who incorporate horses in therapy.¹ In practice, that means building structured learning, supporting professional dialogue, and offering clarity around the terminology and concepts clinicians encounter when equine movement intersects with treatment.

The association rests on a clear premise: people who need habilitation or rehabilitation are best served by skilled, licensed professionals. Everything AHA publishes is built around supporting those professionals rather than the general public, which is why its resources read as continuing education rather than consumer guidance.

How AHA Defines Hippotherapy

AHA maintains the formal definition of the term “hippotherapy” used across professional education in the United States. In AHA’s framing, hippotherapy describes how licensed occupational, physical, and speech-language clinicians purposefully use equine movement as one tool within an established plan of care, guided by clinical reasoning rather than by riding instruction.

This article references the term only to explain AHA’s organizational role. It is not clinical advice, and whether hippotherapy is appropriate in any individual case is a decision for a qualified, licensed professional.

What AHA Offers

AHA’s resources are educational in nature and aimed at licensed practitioners who want to deepen their understanding of equine movement in their fields. They fall into a few broad categories.

Education and Coursework

AHA develops a multi-part curriculum that introduces terminology, concepts, and practical considerations around equine movement. Courses blend classroom-style instruction with supervised, hands-on exposure to horses, and the sequence is designed to build a foundation before progressing to more advanced material.

Professional Resources and Research Frameworks

The association maintains reference materials and frameworks that trace how ideas about equine movement have developed over time. These help students and clinicians understand how thinking in the field has shifted across decades and where current questions sit.

Ethics and Membership

AHA publishes a Code of Ethics for members, alongside member-only content and a public listing of professionals who meet its requirements. Membership ties practitioners into a shared set of standards and a network of peers working in the same specialized area.

Conferences and Continuing Education

AHA periodically hosts conferences and educational events that bring together clinicians, researchers, and instructors to share developments and maintain connection across the field. Its first national conference was held in Atlanta in 2007, and the association is now an approved continuing education provider recognized by major professional bodies.

Education Versus Certification: AHA and the AHCB

One distinction matters more than any other when understanding AHA: it provides education, but it does not certify anyone. Certification is handled by a separate body, the American Hippotherapy Certification Board (AHCB), which was formed in 1998 by members of the AHA board and administered its first Hippotherapy Clinical Specialist examination in 1999.²

AHA coursework can prepare a clinician to pursue AHCB credentials, but completing the coursework does not, by itself, amount to certification. Keeping education, assessment, and credentialing as distinct functions is a deliberate structural choice that helps preserve the integrity of each.

A Short History of AHA

The association’s roots reach back to 1987, when a group of 18 American and Canadian therapists traveled to Germany to study hippotherapy and began developing a standardized curriculum.³ That effort led to the formation of AHA in 1992, followed in 1994 by therapist registration and the first written standards of practice for integrating equine movement into treatment.

In 1993, AHA became the first Section of the North American Riding for the Handicapped Association, now known as PATH International, anchoring it within the broader equine-assisted community before it eventually stood on its own. AHA became an independent 501(c)(3) in 2003, and over the following years it earned letters of support from the American Occupational Therapy Association, the American Physical Therapy Association, and the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association.³ Today it continues to serve as a hub for clinician education, research support, and professional gatherings.

How AHA Fits Among Other Equine-Assisted Organizations

AHA occupies its own niche in a crowded landscape. Where PATH International certifies instructors, accredits centers, and supports therapeutic riding, AHA concentrates solely on clinician education. A program that uses horses may employ AHA-trained clinicians while operating under PATH International standards for its facility and its instructors, with each organization covering a different part of the picture.

Seen this way, AHA’s resources complement rather than replace the broader standards set by other equine-assisted service organizations. Its contribution is depth in one specific area: the education of licensed clinicians.

Why AHA Matters

AHA’s lasting role is in establishing shared language, supporting professional learning, and giving clinicians a common educational foundation for studying equine movement. By offering structured training, ethical guidelines, and opportunities for peer connection, it promotes consistency and careful practice across a field that can otherwise look fragmented.

For families and care teams trying to make sense of how horses are used in therapy, understanding AHA’s role adds useful clarity. It explains who trains the clinicians, where the terminology comes from, and how education is kept separate from certification, which together make the wider field easier to navigate.

SOURCES

1. American Hippotherapy Association, Inc. — About and Mission. americanhippotherapyassociation.org
2. American Hippotherapy Certification Board — About the AHCB. hippotherapycertification.org
3. American Hippotherapy Association, Inc. — History. americanhippotherapyassociation.org/history