Prof. Marta Siemieniuch was elected to the Main Board of the Polish Equine Facilitated Therapy Association (PEFTA)! This is a great honor for Prof. Siemieniuch, who also heads the breeding of Polish Konik horses at the Research Station of our Institute in Popielno.

During the reporting and election assembly of the Polish Equine Facilitated Therapy Association (PEFTA), which took place on October 1, 2022, in Warsaw, in a secret ballot, the Main Board and the Audit Committee were elected for the term 2022-2026. Prof. Marta Siemieniuch from the Department of Immunology and Reproductive Pathology of our Institute, who also manages the breeding of Polish Konik horses at the Research Station in Popielno, became a member of the Board.

The mission of PEFTA and the honorable function of Prof. Siemieniuch

Polish Equine Facilitated Therapy Association (PEFTA), which brings together Polish specialists interested in hippotherapy: doctors, rehabilitators, psychologists, educators, riding instructors, and horse breeders, was founded in 1992 as Polish Hippotherapeutical Association (PHA). The society aims to promote hippotherapy as a rehabilitation method for selected disorders of children, adolescents, and adults, to improve the skills of hippotherapists, and to provide its members with access to professional literature and information on the progress of hippotherapy abroad.

PEFTA cooperates with doctors of various specialties, rehabilitation therapists, and experienced riders to develop a methodology and training program for hippotherapy specialists. The Society also strives to recognize hippotherapy as an official method of specialized rehabilitation and reacts to any deviation from the principles of the art of hippotherapy.

Prof. Marta Siemieniuch is an experienced expert who has devoted most of her professional career to research and work with horses. At the Research Station in Popielno, which has been part of our Institute since 2016, she manages the breeding of the Polish horse, a native breed of primitive horses covered by the biodiversity protection program. Joining  PEFTA Main Board is another distinction for prof. Siemieniuch in recent months – in August, she was awarded the silver union badge of the Polish Horse Breeders Association.

For more information about the Polish Equine Facilitated Therapy Association (PEFTA), we refer you to its official website.