GUIDING REINS

Guiding Reins was founded in December 2018 in South Carolina as an incorporated 501(c)3 non-profit organization operating in Upstate South Carolina and western North Carolina. Guiding Reins offers equine-assisted wellness programs for active military, veterans, first responders and their family members affected by mental, physical, and emotional trauma and/or challenges. Our regular year-round curriculum is 16 weeks of weekly 90-minute sessions held at 4 different host farm locations in North Carolina and South Carolina. We offer all groundwork activities with the horses (no riding) and our facilitators are certified in EAGALA, CHA and/or PATH accredited organizations. All sessions are in groups of 4-6 participants learning horsemanship skills while working in tandem to improve their health and well-being. We allow the session to be participant and horse led, thereby making a safe space for the participants to look at and explore their challenges and focus on the problem as the problem and not themselves as the problem.

The success of equine assisted therapy programs has been proven time and again, not only with physical challenges but also to enhance emotional connections and relieve mental stress and anxiety. We see the impact on our own participants firsthand through our post session forms participants complete after each session. Most programs in our area offer services to a wide array of individuals, but do not specifically address trauma-induced illnesses among active-duty personnel, veterans and/or their immediate family members. Guiding Reins aims to fill that void and offer our services at no cost to these populations through grants, fund raising and private donations.

We also stay in touch with participants who complete our wellness program. Through our Volunteer Ambassador Program (VAP), many participants have become volunteers helping our organization as needed. The participant’s desire to continue working with Guiding Reins long after their experience with us reveals the benefits and gratification they receive through the program and the why behind our weekly questionnaires and constant data analysis. Guiding Reins’ participants turned volunteers help sustain our program, bring invaluable insight to participants undergoing the program, and build a stronger military member and first responder network and community.

Guiding Reins has also launched The Guiding Reins App that will assist with program graduate check-ins and follow-up questionnaires to collect data for up to one year after completion of our program. This app will facilitate the processes of sustaining effective communication with program graduates and retaining invaluable volunteers. It will also serve as an invaluable resource of articles, videos, blogs and support groups for its lifelong members. Taking these measures, are critical so Guiding Reins can continue adapting to the most relevant needs of these populations that we serve.