HOPE FOR HEROES HORSEMANSHIP CENTER

Hope for Heroes Horsemanship Center teaches basic natural horsemanship to veterans and active duty military suffering PTSD. We have no licensed therapists on staff, as the horses are the therapists. Horses have a natural survival instinct ability to detect anxiety within humans working with them as a way to sense if danger is nearby. This makes them anxious and harder to work with. As soon as the participant calms themself down, the horse immediately calms down also. The veterans who have lost their ability to sense and control their own anxiety use this immediate bio-feedback from the horse to redevelop with themselves their ability to detect and self-manage their internal anxiety. This PTSD that has destroyed their lives and made them isolated has now been solved, and they gain their whole live back! We do not charge any veterans or active duty for our services, but rely upon fundraising from the local community. Our participants can stay with our program for as long as they like.

We organize our program into structured group classes that come once a week for 1.5 hours for an 8 week semester. In the first semester, the veteran stays on the ground and learns groundwork exercises that teaches them how to "read" their horse and to be the alpha leader of their horse. Grooming, leading and backing, desensitizing to "threats", and round penning are taught. In the second semester they learn basic riding skills, and in the third semester they learn advanced riding skills. Some go on to become instructors themselves.