​Bill* was an Army veteran who had served two tours of duty in Iraq. After being discharged in 2009, Bill had trouble readjusting to civilian life. He found it hard to sleep at night and had frequent nightmares. He felt disconnected and detached from his family. Bill angered easily both at home, where he noticed that his daughter avoided him, and at work where he struggled to get along with his boss and coworkers. He began to feel depressed and hopeless. He did not like to talk about his experiences in Iraq and tried to avoid any reminders of his deployments. Bill did not like going to stores or movie theaters. He spent much of his time at home playing video games. Bill’s family worried about him. They tried to talk to him, but he just pushed them away. 

 ​Bill tried various other therapies but these therapies did not help him feel like himself again. With encouragement from his wife, Bill began equine assisted counseling. Upon walking into the pasture during the first session, Bill felt more at ease outside among the horses. He found himself drawn to a horse named Jake. Jake’s relaxed demeanor and friendly nature calmed Bill. Throughout the course of Bill and Jake’s sessions, Bill began to become aware of his own feelings and experiences by watching Jake’s responses to him. Bill believed that he could be himself with Jake knowing the horse would never judge him for his feelings or deployment experiences. Bill would often say that he felt safe around Jake and could let his guard down knowing that Jake would always be aware of any potential threat. While in Jake’s presence, Bill began to feel safe enough to talk with his counselor about some of his experiences.

By watching Jake and the other horses interact and with the help of his counselor, Bill was able to identify strategies that he could utilize to feel at ease in the world again. He began to understand that although he would never be the same person as he was before enlisting, he could find his new normal. As Bill began to feel more and more connected to Jake, he noticed that his desire to connect with his wife and daughter was reignited. Bill began to reach out to friends and family members who he felt had abandoned him. Today Bill feels like himself. Bill now coaches his daughter’s softball team, goes to karaoke with his coworkers, and has become a mentor for other veterans.

Bill represents millions of veterans who are suffering from the emotional trauma of serving the country in more than a decade of war and as well as veterans from wars past. We have all heard stories of the trauma these veterans endure and know all too well that many of them are suffering. We would like to think we have the resources to serve these veterans and help ensure that they have a guided path back into civilian life. The sad truth, though, is that our mental health services fail to reach too many like Bill.

These veterans are in need of care that is affordable, accessible, and administered in low-stigma settings. It is estimated that at least 30% of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans alone suffer from PTSD, depression, or traumatic brain injury. In addition, approximately 22 veterans a day commit suicide. Many of these individuals go untreated or drop out of treatment prematurely. At ECC, we have found that our clients feel more at ease in our tranquil outdoor setting and are motivated to attend counseling making our dropout rate much lower than other forms of therapy.

Almost half of the clients served at ECC are military service members, veterans, and their family members. Our partnership with Wings of Hope and our collaboration through our military program called Operation Hoofbeat allows us to offer free equine assisted counseling to military personnel and families. There is a growing need to reach the men and women of the armed forces through community-based services, and we are proud to be one of the programs doing just that. Equine assisted activities and therapies are becoming increasingly popular when working with veterans for many reasons. Here we will be outlining just a few of the unique benefits veterans can experience through working with horses.

Many of us have likely heard of the challenges facing today’s veterans in receiving adequate mental health care. Of the 2.5 million troops deployed since 2001 in the Global War on Terror, about 30% will have a mental health condition requiring treatment. Texas alone is home to about 70,000 of these veterans. Additionally, there are many Vietnam-era veterans in need of mental health services that have had difficulty accessing them over decades. Veterans are most often struggling with PTSD, depression, and probable traumatic brain injury.

If you are not yet familiar with the general benefits of equine assisted counseling, we suggest you visit this page on our website. There are also many unique benefits experienced by service members and veterans in equine assisted counseling:

• Many veterans can relate to horses’ “fight-or-flight” mentality. Horses are great at modeling how one can be aware of the surroundings and respond to potential threats and then return to a calm state once the threat is over, something that many veterans with PTSD have difficulty with.
• Like horses in a herd, veterans can relate to the cohesiveness of being in military unit. The idea of needing to trust and work well with the group in order to survive is relatable for a lot of military personnel.
• The herd hierarchical organization is similarly experienced through military rankings.
• Relational difficulties experienced with people will be similarly experienced with horses. One of the most common challenges our veteran clients report is in their relationships with their families, friends, and even coworkers. Being able to work through those difficulties with the horse can be the first step to better relationships outside of counseling.

By building a relationship with the horse, veterans can experience decreases in anger, PTSD symptoms, and feelings of depression and anxiety. Our clients often report other positive changes such as an increased trust in relationships and the ability to self-regulate and relax. Equine assisted counseling can be a great supplemental treatment to traditional therapies such as talk therapy, Prolonged Exposure, or Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR). It is also effective as a standalone treatment for veterans who have not found success in traditional therapies or feel uncomfortable seeking those services.

To find out more about Operation Hoofbeat and our programs for military and their families, please contact us or visit the Operation Hoofbeat website.