Rachel Gerhart, a speech and language pathologist, established PonyTalk Speech Therapy Services combining hippotherapy with speech therapy. She explains that she uses typical speech therapy approaches while a child with autism or other special needs is on horseback. She has found that the 12-week program allows children to address their therapy goals while experiencing the movement, and sometimes freedom, of being horseback. Hippotherapy provides increased muscle strength, self-esteem, mobility, and coordination. It seems to help the children to be more responsive to speech therapy. Gerhart states, “Children experience the benefits of therapy without feeling like they are doing any work. As a result, they may be more responsive to treatment in this setting versus a typical clinic or educational setting.”