HORSE SPIRIT INC

Within Sawyer and Washburn Counties alone, there are over three thousand veterans, not including currently serving National Guard soldiers. Based upon national averages, approximately 1/3 of them are estimated to suffer from PTSD. In northwest Wisconsin, there are many barriers to treatment, ranging from availability of programs and cost, to privacy and stigma. Equine – assisted therapeutic centers across the United States have witnessed the fact that horses are uniquely qualified to counsel soldiers in a way that traditional therapies cannot.

Building upon the success of a five-year program that was offered at no cost to Native American “at risk” youth funded by a grant from the Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians, Horse Spirit, Inc. for the last eight years has offered multiple six-week equine therapy sessions for returning combat veterans and their families, also at no cost. To date we have had over 250 veterans or family members participate in our program. Several years ago, the program was expanded to include first responders and their families. Multiple County Veteran Service Officers, VA professionals, and virtually all local Veteran Service Organizations, continue to promote this effort, to include the LCO AMVETS Post 1998 serving the numerous Native American Veterans in the area.

The effectiveness of this program continues to be evaluated by an external evaluator. Her positive evaluations, coupled with the written comments by participants have shown that the program provides opportunities for fellowship and personal feelings of success, and assists in breaking the walls of isolation.
In order to offer our program to veterans who are unable to attend our six-week mid-week programs due to distance factors, Horse Spirit expanded its program by offering a series of Saturday equine workshops during the summer. These sessions consist of a three-hour equine learning workshop followed by lunch and a three-to-four-hour session canoeing or kayaking down the Namekagon River.

As a result of COVID restrictions, Horse Spirit further expanded its focus to become a gateway to alternative therapies and activities that could safely be done during the pandemic. Two such activities were the financial support to a disabled veteran who wanted to go hunting and a day of ice fishing for 19 socially distanced veterans and their families. This gateway focus will continue into the future based upon the availability of funding.
Our ultimate goal for all of these programs is to significantly increase the quality of life for participants leading to reduced substance abuse, reduced domestic violence, reduced hospitalizations and medical expenses, and a reduction in the number of suicides by those combat veterans and members of their families who will have participated in our program.