Trial · NCT07897123
Effects of Mounted vs Unmounted Human-Equine Interaction on Autistic Youth
NCT07897123, Not applicable, Completed, Colorado State University
3 sourcestrials-2026-11-12-0.5.0
Cite this record
ConductScience Library. Effects of Mounted vs Unmounted Human-Equine Interaction on Autistic Youth. Trials, record NCT07897123. Release trials-2026-11-12-0.5.0, 12 Nov 2026. https://conductscience.org/library/trials/NCT07897123
On this page
Trial
As registered on ClinicalTrials.gov, in the graph's capture of the registry.
- Title
- Effects of Mounted vs Unmounted Human-Equine Interaction on Autistic Youth
- NCT number
- NCT07897123
- Status
- Completed
- Phases
- Not applicable
- Enrollment
- 23 participants, actual
- Lead sponsor
- Colorado State University
- Conditions
- Autism Spectrum Disorder
- Interventions
- Mounted Human-equine Interaction, Unmounted Human-equine Interaction, No-Horse Control
- First posted
- 2026-10-27
- Last updated
- 2026-10-27
Source ClinicalTrials.gov
Registered outcomes5
Each outcome the trial registered, primary first, in ClinicalTrials.gov's words.
| List | Outcome | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Primary | Electrodermal Activity (EDA) | We examined electrodermal activity during a 10-minute pre-session baseline, during the 45-horsemanship lesson (mounted, unmounted, or control), and during a 20-minute post-session recovery. | EDA is a well-established indicator of sympathetic nervous system arousal, measured through the skin. We used Shimmer3 EDA monitors donned to participants' wrists to record EDA during the 10-min pre-session baseline, 45-minute horsemanship lesson, and 20-min post-session. Blinded to condition, CS calculated mean response in microsiemens for all five 5-min epochs described above (pre-session; beginning, middle and end of horsemanship lesson; post-session). |
| Primary | Heartrate Variability (HRV) | We examined HRV during a 10-minute pre-session baseline, during the 45-horsemanship lesson (mounted, unmounted, or control), and during a 20-minute post-session recovery. | HRV is a well-established indicator of the autonomic nervous system, particularly parasympathetic activity. We used the Shimmer3 electrocardiogram monitor to gather electrocardiogram recordings during the 10-minute pre-session baseline, 45-minute horsemanship lesson (mounted, unmounted, or no-horse control), and 20-minutes post-session recovery. Blinded to condition, CS calculated root mean square of successive differences (RMSDD; a time domain metric of heartrate variability). |
| Secondary | Salivary Cortisol Content | Immediately before and 20-minutes after each horsemanship lesson | Cortisol is a hormone that reflects stress-related changes in the hypothalamic-pituitary adrenal axis. Saliva collection times occurred at a consistent afternoon time (1:00PM-6:00PM) to avoid unstable AM cortisol concentrations associated with diurnal cortisol rhythms. Participants placed a Salimetrics SalivaBio Children's Swab under their tongue for 1 minute to provide a saliva sample. Samples were stored in a medical grade freezer and shipped to Salimetrics for analysis. Samples were assayed for cortisol using a high sensitivity enzyme immunoassay (Cat. No. 1-3002), with intra-assay and inter-assay coefficients of variation ≤6.00\[CP6%. |
| Secondary | Irritability and Hyperactivity | 24-48 hours after the horsemanship lesson. | We used the Irritability and Hyperactivity subscales of the Aberrant Behavior Checklist Second Edition (ABC-2). The ABC-2 is a caregiver-report questionnaire that measures the presence and intensity of problem behaviors. ABC-2 has strong test-retest reliability (r=0.80 to 0.95), concurrent validity with other measures of behavior, and is frequently used in clinical trials in autism research to characterize participant behavioral regulation. |
| Secondary | Emotional Dysregulation | 24-48 hours after the horsemanship lesson | The Emotional Dysregulation Inventory is a 30-item measure of emotional dysregulation in autistic youth. The EDI measures emotional reactivity ("intense, rapidly escalating, sustained, and poorly regulated negative emotional reactions")15 and dysphoria ("characterized by anhedonia, sadness, and nervousness"). The EDI was developed using methods from item response theory, has good test-retest reliability in the absence of interventions (mean difference=0.05), and is sensitive to change with intervention (mean difference=1.21). The EDI has concurrent validity with other behavioral measures of emotional dysregulation. |
Source ClinicalTrials.gov
Outcomes0
Each outcome the trial posted results for, in ClinicalTrials.gov's words.
None in this release.
Results by group0
Each measurement the trial posted, group by group, in the words and numbers it posted.
None in this release.
Participant flow0
How many started, completed or left each group, period by period.
None in this release.
Adverse events0
Each adverse event the trial posted, group by group: the participants affected out of those at risk.
None in this release.
Adverse event totals0
The totals the trial posted for each group.
None in this release.
Papers0
The papers the trial lists on ClinicalTrials.gov.
None in this release.
Grants0
The grants NIH RePORTER links to the trial, newest funded first: NIH's, and some of AHRQ's, CDC's, FDA's and VA's. Each shows its title, principal investigators, organization and funder in its newest year.
None in this release.
Trial comparisons0
Comparisons of the trial's two groups, calculated by ConductScience from the counts it posted.
None in this release.
Tests0
The ConductCognition tests this trial's registered outcomes name, as ScienceGraph matched them in trial-tests-2026-11-12-0.2.1.
None in this release.
Data dates
The day each source was copied for this release.
Sources 3
- ClinicalTrials.gov's posted results, through CTTI's AACTFreely available. Acknowledgement requested
- ClinicalTrials.govNo license stated
- NIH RePORTER's clinical studies and project filesPublic domain
Each source's terms
- ClinicalTrials.gov's posted results, through CTTI's AACTClinicalTrials.gov data via Aggregate Analysis of ClinicalTrials.gov (AACT), CTTI. CTTI makes its materials freely available and requests acknowledgement. https://aact.ctti-clinicaltrials.org/documentation/299
- ClinicalTrials.govnone stated
- NIH RePORTER's clinical studies and project filesPublic domain (NIH RePORTER)
ClinicalTrials.gov's data carry an international copyright outside the United States: https://clinicaltrials.gov/about-site/terms-conditions.
For software
Read this trial from software.
The record and each of its lists are JSON, twenty rows a page. No key.
GET https://conductscience.org/api/trials/v1/NCT07897123
GET https://conductscience.org/api/trials/v1/NCT07897123/registered