Using Equine Therapy in Dementia Cognitive Stimulation (ETMW_DEM)

March 16, 2026 updated by: Madeline Alford, Cooperativa de Ensino Superior, Politécnico e Universitário

Exploring Neurocognitive Stimulation in Dementia Through Equine-Assisted Therapy: A RCT Pilot Study

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn if integrating equine therapy in memory workshops in mild to moderate Dementias can improve cognitive function, quality of life and mood. The main question[s] it aims to answer is:

Does the mediation of a horse in memory workshops increase its effects ?

Researchers will compare traditional memory workshops, memory workshops using equine therapy and a control group to see if the equine therapy mediation will increase cognitive functions, mood and quality of life in individuals with mild to moderate Dementias.

Participants will participate in 8 weekly sessions of equine therapy memory workshops / traditional memory workshops / a control group will not have any interventions during that period. All subjects will be evaluated pre and post intervention period.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

36

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • France
      • Le Boulou, France, 66160
        • CAJOU

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Have been medically diagnosed with Major Neurocognitive Disorders
  • Scores between 0.5 and 2 on the Cognitive Dementia Rating scale (CDR) (Berg, 1982)
  • Adults of all genders, aged 65 and over; and
  • Willingness to participate in a memory workshop; e) willingness to interact with a horse.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Expressed fear, aversion, or has had a negative experience with horses
  • Allergy or other medical condition which did not allow contact with horses.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Other
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
No Intervention: Control group
Active Comparator: Traditional memory workshop
Neurocognitive stimulation as usual
Other: Traditional memory workshop
The participants received 8 weekly sessions of 60 minutes of neurocognitive stimulation, based on French memory workshops.
Other Names:
  • cognitive stimulation
  • neurocognitive stimulation
  • memory workshops
Experimental: Equine assisted therapy memory workshop
Neurocognitive stimulation mediated with a horse based on a defined protocol.
Other: Equine assisted therapy memory workshops
The participants received 8 weekly sessions of 60 minutes, based on traditional memory workshops (French type of neurocognitive stimulation) with the mediation of a horse (example : working on associative memory by selecting which object is used for the horse between 2 presented objects).
Other Names:
  • neurocognitive stimulation
  • Animal assisted therapy
  • Equine therapy
  • Equine mediation

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change in Cognitive Function as Assessed by the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA)
Time Frame: Baseline and ten weeks after

Pre and post-intervention period, the Montreal Cognitive Assessment was used to assess cognitive function.

Score range: 0 to 30; higher scores indicate better cognitive function
Baseline and ten weeks after

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change in Depression Symptoms as Assessed by the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS-15)
Time Frame: Baseline and ten weeks after
Assessment of depression levels pre and post-intervention using the Geriatric Depression Scale - 15 items Score range: 0 to 15; higher scores indicate more depressive symptoms (worse outcome).
Baseline and ten weeks after
Change in Quality of Life as Assessed by the Quality of Life in Alzheimer's Disease (QoL-AD NH)
Time Frame: Baseline and ten weeks after

Assessment of the quality of life pre and post intervention using the Quality of life in Alzheimer's Disease - Nursing homes .

The scale includes 15 items, each rated 1 to 4, for a total score ranging from 15 to 60; higher scores indicate better quality of life.
Baseline and ten weeks after

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Cooperativa de Ensino Superior, Politécnico e Universitário

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

June 3, 2024

Primary Completion (Actual)

August 30, 2024

Study Completion (Actual)

August 30, 2024

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

October 26, 2024

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

October 26, 2024

First Posted (Actual)

October 29, 2024

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

March 18, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

March 16, 2026

Last Verified

March 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 05/CE-UICS/2024

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

Subscribe