[Ag-eq] Saratoga Warhorse - horses helping veterans

[Tracy Carcione]

I've pasted below part of an article about a program where retired
racehorses help veterans with PTSD.  

AC is the program director, and DP is the interviewer.  The program is
called Saratoga Warhorse, because it's based in Saratoga, NY, but has
classes all over the country.  Offtrack thoroughbreds are retired
racehorses.

I think it's interesting how horses can help people in ways I never thought
of.

Tracy

 

DP: How does working with off-track Thoroughbreds contribute to the process?

 

AC: Other breeds of horses may be calm, more willing to stand and be rubbed
on and nuzzle. They may be faster and easier at creating a bond. But just
bonding

is not what we are looking to accomplish at SWH. We are looking for the
chemical reaction that happens with the connection between the veteran and
the

horse in the round pen. The Thoroughbred acts as the catalyst. The
similarities between the veterans and racehorses are also important.
Thoroughbreds,

like veterans, are trained intensely for a single result. Thoroughbreds are
trained to go fast and win. Men and women in the military are trained to
complete

their mission. They both enter their training at a young age and retire
young and both have a full of life yet to live. They are both dealing with
the

after-effects of their careers and they can help each other through the
transition and the changes that they are feeling.

 

DP: Describe how the program unfolds for a veteran in attendance.

 

AC:  All expenses are covered by SWH. We take care of everything and that is
an important part of the experience to help the veterans feel secure. On day

one, we gather up the participants and transport them to the hotel. We
introduce everyone and have a group dinner. Everything is geared towards
creating

a safe, comfortable and confidential environment. On day two, there is a
farm tour and then a two-part interactive classroom session. The first part
is

about equine communication, horses in general, and about the herd
environment. They watch videos and learn to identify the leaders in the herd
and the

interactions between horses. Then, in the second part, the veterans are
taught about the round pen and learn about what they will be doing in the
round

pen with their horse. After lunch, they learn, without horses, how to use a
rope effectively and they practice their rope skills. We do a simulation of

the round pen experience with a person playing the part of the horse. We
teach them about all the different possible scenarios that they could face
in

the round pen. For instance, they learn how the horse will move away if they
stand perpendicular to the horse and how to use their body to get the
desired

result.

 

DP: Can you explain how the connection with the horse in the round pen
happens?

 

AC: The situation of being in the round pen with the horse is one that will
trigger the anxiety and stress responses associated with PTSD. Unless the
veteran

can take down their energy level and make it through the situation with the
tools we give them, they won't connect with the horse. The veteran wants to

make the horse willingly come over to him or her and connect. The horses are
not trained to make the connection automatically. They only react. So the

veteran needs to learn how to control their energy and the flood of
reactions coming from their brain and body and focus on not being a
predator. It can

take anywhere from three to 30 minutes.

 

DP: Does the connection in the round pen help veterans to manage their PTSD?

 

AC: What happens in the round pen is as much physiological as it is
emotional. You have to get in the mind set of a veteran who comes to us.
Imagine a

scenario when you are driving your car and the car in front of you suddenly
stops. In that one or two seconds before avoiding an accident, there are
slew

of physiological reactions such as having your heart rate spike, loss of
breath, a pit in your stomach, and an adrenaline rush of because of survival
mode.

For people without PTSD, if you wait a bit, the symptoms go away. Vets with
PTSD are in almost constant survival mode. It's devastating. They are
existing

in a constant series of those one second before you crash increments of
hyper-vigilance and hyper arousal so that they can't focus on normal life
and family

matters. While the connection can take three minutes or 30 minutes, the
result triggers a chemical relaxation response. That is why it is often so
emotional.

For the first time in a long time the veteran knows what it's like to not be
living in those one second increments. It doesn't mean that their life is

perfect all of sudden but they experience the tools to learn to help
themselves.