Horses for Heroes

I told you I have been working with an organization that pairs prisoners with shelter dogs (New Leash on Life, USA) to create a win-win situation. The dogs are trained; the prisoners learn skills to train dogs and the dogs gets adopted by a family that stays in touch with the "trainer" for a year.

I have also been working with an organization that fosters dogs for service men and women while they are deployed (P.A.C.T.).

Now there is a new program that pairs horses with returning combat vets, many of whom suffer from post traumatic stress disorder. Horses For Heroes, launched by the North American Riding for the Handicapped Association in April of 2007, works through many therapeutic riding centers in the country and has been phenomenally successful in helping veterans.

The June 2001 issue of the Chronicle of the Horse has the story and it is well worth the read. Despite the inclination to think that horses, animals ingrained with the fight or flight instinct, might not be the best match for people with PTSD, it turns out that because horses are in a constant state of vigilance (just like people suffering from PTSD), they are the PERFECT match. "To some of us that seems irrational. . . ," explains Nancy Beers, Director of Pikes Peak Therapeutic Riding Center in Elbert Colorado, where they have been offering Horses for Heroes sessions since 2008. "But horses like safety and routine and predictability--surprise is the last thing they want--and so do the veterans. So they mesh very nicely."

The NARHA's website offers a database of accredited centers with the Horses for Heroes program.