The sessions for the HTG were conducted on horseback by a "leader", "side walker", and "physiotherapist" while the child was mounted on the horse. Before mounting, the child was dressed in the safety equipment of a helmet and rider vest by the physiotherapist and was directed to mount the horse from the mounting steps. In the first week of training, the cases received adaptation training. Within the training, 7 min of simple sitting on the horse were performed. In this position, the child was able to caress the horse's neck with one or both hands, rest while the horse walked, and 10 standing (or for those who could not do this, the horse was in a standing position)n the stirrups exercises were performed while holding the retaining strap.

Under the guidance of the physiotherapist, the children in the EAATG performed routine care of the horse, such as grooming, feeding, and hoof care. During equine-assisted activities, the physiotherapist ensured the correct positioning of the child's body when approaching the horse using equipment and during movement. The study participants groomed the horse, wiped the horse's feathers with a towel, combed the mane, checked the hooves, cleaned out any grit, and performed the procedures for the horse to go out. Finally, the child gave food and water to the horse, said farewell and left the therapy area.

The children in the control group were evaluated at the same time as the other groups but were not included in any therapy. All assessments were conducted at baseline and 6 weeks later. When the study was completed, the subjects in this group were permitted 10 sessions of hippotherapy if they so wished.

The participants in HT Group; received 12 sessions as 2 sessions a week for 6 weeks. Each therapy session lasted for an average of 20 min. The assessments were applied twice to all participants before and after the training. The treatments and assessments were performed by the same physiotherapist in the same environment.

Activities of daily living (ADL) were evaluated with the Waisman Activities of Daily Living Scale (W-ADLS), for which validity and reliability studies were conducted in Turkey in 2016. The scale consists of 17 items scored from 0 (cannot do this at all) to 2 (can do this independently). The scale has higher points showing independence.

The Paediatric Balance Scale (PBS) developed by Franjoine was used to evaluate balance. Validity and reliability studies of the scale in Turkish were conducted by Karali. The scale consists of 14 items evaluating daily activities of the child at home, school, and in the community. Each item is scored from 0 (the activity cannon be performed independently) to 4 (the activity is performed independently) giving a total score in the range of 0 - 56. Higher points indicate good balance.

The original German healthy quality of life questionnaire (KINDL) was tested for validity and reliability in Turkish by Eser et al. in 2008. There are family forms (Kiddy Kindl Parents and Kid and Kiddo Kindl Parents) for children in the age ranges of 4 - 7 years and 8 - 12 years, who will not be able to complete the form. The family form of this questionnaire was used in this study. Total points range from 0 to 100, with higher points showing a good quality of life.

The sleep habits of the participants were evaluated using the short Turkish version of the Children's Sleep Habits Questionnaire (CSHQ), which was developed to assess the sleep habits and problems of children. The questionnaire consists of 33 items. The total score of the items is seen as 41 lines, and as the score increases, sleep habits change at a better rate. Turkish validity and reliability studies were conducted by Fis et al. in 2010.