Aiasport sport activity of Bologna was born in 1979; and ever since it managed an equestrian activity for disabled with rehabilitative, social, educative and sporting finalities.
AIASPORT centre is attended by more or less 140 people aged between 4 and 50.
A multi-professional team runs the club; it includes a specialist doctor, two psychologists, few rehabilitation therapists, few psychomotricists, two sporting instructors, three equestrian instructors, and few professional educators. This interdisciplinary work is done also in collaboration with social sanitary services operators (they all are public and private as well); it allows a global and analytical knowledge and an approach that allows to choose among many proposals related with horses and their environment, the ones more significatives for everyone.

AIASPORT wants to give to disabled people and to their families the opportunities offered by the horse and his environment. Our interest is for the person on their whole, considering the limits and handicaps due to their pathology and potentialities. The relation between person and horse represents a rich and important experience in which are involved at the same time many aspects such as emotional relation and and communication capacities, getting new motory schemes, developing co-ordination, equilibrium skill that confronts ourselves with affective exchanging and with horse riding rules, and learning how to take care of horses in a responsible way.
Activities offered by AIASPORT are located in various environments:

1) RIDING ACTIVITY FOR DISABLED PEOPLE:

• Riding Therapy, individual or collective lasting 30 or 45 minutes, concerning social, educative, and rehabilitative ambit.
• Equestrian tourism for disabled and not disabled riders, riding trips and trekking lasting one or more days.
• Competitive sporting activities for disabled riders: equestrian challenges for regional, national and international categories organised by F.I.S.D. (Italian Disabled Sports Federation).

2) HORSES FOR CHILDREN (FROM 3 TO 10 YEARS OLD KIDS)

This program is created for individual and for groups of elementary school and kindergarten's pupils who, with their teachers, would like to try to work and discover the magic of the horses' world.

3)THEORICAL AND PRATICAL STAGES FOR OPERATORS
This program is for operators working with disabled people and working in the equestrian world (doctors, psychologists, professional educators, rehabilitative therapists, students in psychology and educational sciences, horse riding teachers, etc.)

4)PROFESSIONAL TRAINING FOR DISABLED PEOPLE
The working team prepares projects addressed to people with relational handicaps in the ambit of grooming activities (cleaning up, horse setting, saddling work, etc.).

TO WHOM IT IS ADDRESSED

In these years we had realized that the equestrian activity can be very helpful for disabled people in the youth age, and also for adults, which have difficulties on the motory plan, or have intellectual and relational problems; but it is also helpful for children and teenagers who have social, affective and cognitive problems. It could be also a very stimulating occasion to mature for children of kindergartens and elementary schools who wish to get accustomed to the horses'world.

For every person there is a specific project, which starts considering handicaps and resources, but first of all we have to consider the predominating needs of the person in that specific moment of growth.

In every project horse is the instrument used in different ways depending by the purposes chosen time by time.

1) HORSE AS INSTRUMENT FOR AN EDUCATIONAL PROJECT

It can be suggested when the fellow is affected by a slight or medium cognitive handicap joined or not by behaviour's problems or by immaturity, or even more, by a a-tipical relational development; when the prevailing needs are represented by a development of more suitable behaviours in relation to other people and with the surrounding or by an evolution on the plan of personal independence.
The relation with this animal, (based on mutual knowledge, on the acquirement of capacities, but first of all on responsibility) offers several possibilities directed to that aim.

2) HORSE AS RELATIONSHIP'S MEDIATOR

It can be a resource for people with fairly big difficulties in the relational-affective development; horse in this case is used because of his own physical rhythmic features.

3)HORSE LIKE REHABILITATIVE INSTRUMENT FOR NEUROMOTORY DISEASES

Horse's movement (which is rhythmical, sinusoidal, but not always the same) is very helpful in creating solicitations. These allow, time by time, to increase the muscular tone, to improve equilibrium and a better head and chest control.

4) HORSE IN SPORTING ACTIVITY AND LEISURE TIME

For those who already finished an educational and rehabilitative project, or those who have sufficient personal and riding capacities, it is possible to create a specific amusing and sporting activity. It can be directed to a competitive sporting activity (in the area of Disabled fellows Italian Federation)or on the amusing and tripping plan.