My Backup
Equine Therapy Support Gait Belt
My Backup is an equine therapy support gait belt, upgraded using modern design features and technical fabrics to increase the comfort and usability for both the rider and the therapist.
The design incorporates anatomical padding and ventilation to reduce pinching and increase breathability. The A-symmetrical belt accommodates a wide range of waist sizes with a "0 pinch" closure construction.
What is a gait belt?
Gait belts are used in equine hippotherapy to provide additional support to the rider to help develop balance, strength, coordination, comfort level, and courage. They are most commonly used in medical contexts for lifting patients off chairs and often do not meet the needs for equine therapy.
How Might We...
Improve the design of the Healing Reins gait belt to meet the safety and comfort needs of equine hippotherapy, encourage physical/mental/emotional growth, and lower boundaries for those participating in equine hippotherapy?
The scope of this project was to conduct user-based/ ethnographic design research in collaboration with Healing Reins Equine Assisted Services to design products that support the needs of the staff as well as the diverse community of adaptive athletes. I provided design insight, ideation, sketching, and physical prototyping to develop the latest design for a user-based equine therapy support gait belt.
Design Research / Ethnographic Research
