Healing Through Horsemenship
Strides Magazine Spring 2013 | Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship International
Rick Paxton is one of more than 50 wounded active duty and veteran service members who benefits from the activities at Hope For Heroes. Every week he and his program horse Abby work on his personal challenges at the center, which was founded in 2010 as a way for Debbi Fisher and Bob Woelk to give back to the brave men and women who have given so much for America. Fisher has a deep personal understanding of the sacrifices made by service members and their families; two of her children have served- a son in the U.S. Marine Corp and a daughter who was recently medically retired from the U.S. Air Force. In addition, Fisher spent 28 years as a military spouse to her late husband, Colonel Randall Fisher, who was killed in a 2006 vehicle collision.
Randall Fisher also left behind his beloved horse, Rootbeer, who needed a job. Fisher knew from experience how important horses are to the healing process, near Process aid, so she began exploring therapeutic horsemanship programs.
Fisher envisioned a program that served not only veterans but also wounded active-duty service members who often spend years in limbo waiting to heal and then retire or return to duty. In 2012, Hope For Heroes began offering programs for the spouses and children of service members to help the whole family engage in the healing process.
One of the program's critical components, developing a relationship with referring agencies, took some time. However, once the agencies' medical teams began to see the changes the center's horses were able to make in veterans in such a short period, they were believers. Currently, the center's classes are filled with 75 percent active-duty U.S. Army personnel from the Joint Base Lewis McChord (JBLM) Wounded Warrior Battalion, 15 percent active-duty U.S.Air Force members from the Air Force Medical Flight Unit and 10 percent veterans from private referrals or from the VA Puget Sound Health Care Systems at American Lake. To maintain open communication, Hope For Heroes hosts multiple trainings for the agencies' medical departments. Inviting these teams to the farm to visit and see rider progress has been instrumental in ensuring consistent referrals.
Healing Wounds
Rick Paxton came to Hope For Heroes in October 2011 and began his work with Abby, a six-year-old Appaloosa/Belgian Draft cross mare with an in-charge attitude to match her Rubenesque size. Paxton was referred to Hope For Heroes by the Air Force Medical Flight team to help him learn strategies for coping with severe post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), complicated by agoraphobia, among other medical challenges.
It is estimated that more than 30 percent of service members who have come home from overseas are struggling with PTSD and that even more are suffering from the effects of traumatic brain injuries and combat-related wounds. This does not include the scores of service members returning home who find it difficult to relate to their civilian family members, to find meaning in their experiences or to re-sensitize themselves to living in a non-combat environment. In addition to these physical and emotional wounds, many underlying health challenges emerge during the stress of military service. It is common to work with participants diagnosed with bi-polar disorder, schizophrenia, multiple sclerosis, cancer and depression.
At Hope For Heroes, many service members share deep feelings of guilt, loss and anger as they learn to live with a changed reality. Many program participants have a reluctance to trust medical care providers, are angry with therapists for asking about their most personal experiences and are not ready to share their thoughts with anyone. This is where horses like Aspen, a 23-year-old retired race horse,does his best work. Highly in tune with just how close to the edge their riders may be, these 1,000-pound counselors provide the critical comfort, safety and feedback to help them heal.
In his first lesson with the program, Paxton appeared anxious and avoided groups, keeping to himself during breaks or talking off to the side with his wife, Renee. He refused to allow a photograph to be taken of him with Abby, even just to take home. Later, he shared that he contemplated suicide during this time, and he described how painfully close he came to taking his own life. The instructor team noted how calm he became after just a few minutes of working with Abby and how he began to smile. The anger that often appeared just below the surface dissolved completely as he groomed and worked with his horse. With most participants, instructor teams begin to see significant changes in anxiety levels and mood within just one or two weekly sessions.
Transforming Lives
Hope For Heroes's therapeutic horsemanship curriculum is a unique hybrid between recreational therapy and more traditional clinical therapies. It uses natural horsemanship techniques to teach participants to become independent horsemen and women. At the same time, the program addresses the issues with which participants often struggle, such as high anxiety levels, anger and a reluctance to trust and connect, as well as accommodating a variety of physical abilities.
Classes are set in eight-week sessions, and participants are able to move to the next level of classes as they are physically and emotionally ready and meet the required level of horsemanship skills. Beginning class-es, for instance, teach steering and control with ring figures and an outdoor obstacle course in preparation for a trail ride. More intermediate classes pair riders by skill level and their desired challenge as they work on skills checklists in trail rid-ing, mountain trail challenges, English riding and/or Western pleasure. Advanced classes can range from a walk-only trail riding class to a three-hour class that covers 10-15 miles in the woods.
Although all of the horses at Hope For Heroes are trained in each activity, each participant brings out a different reaction in the horses based on the participant's emotional state. A participant who is anxious or angry, even if he or she is hiding that feeling from the instructors, will get a similar "mirrored" reaction from the horse. This “mirroring” helps instructors address the emotions being shown without having to directly confront the participant about feelings they may not want to discuss or share. An instructor may ask the participant to shake off some stress, change his or her body positioning to be more relaxed or do some deep breathing next to the horse. This often results in the horse taking a deep breath, sighing, yawning or showing other visible signs of relaxation.
Participants are partnered with a horse and a volunteer with whom they will work once a week for the entire eight-week session. Instructors work with the referring agency's medical teams, which include occupational therapists, social workers, nurse case managers and physicians.
This teamwork ensures that proper modifications are made so each participant has maximum independence while ensuring his or her safety and comfort.
One of Hope For Heroes's secrets to success is treating participants as if they were in a traditional riding program. Beyond safety concerns, they are not required to discuss their feelings, time in combat or even asked how they were injured or where they served. Instead, instructors use the horse's behavior to address the participant's anxiety, lack of emotional engagement or willingness to communicate with the horse in an authentic way.
Program participants appreciate this approach, as one explained: "If you would have come in and asked me how I was feeling, I would have punched you or left. Instead, you left me alone with my horse, let me do the activities and waited for me to be ready to talk."
When they are ready, the participants can feel free to talk. Often, they start by opening up and sharing their thoughts with the horse, which leads to sharing with volunteers, other participants, instructors and even their therapists back on base.
In a recent meeting with social workers from JBLM, one therapist reported that her sessions with one participant always start by discussing his program horse and how the lesson went that week, thus opening up a line of communication not previously accessible.
“I can't even begin to explain what she [Abby] does, but she began licking the palm of my hand. I rubbed her head, and she nuzzled her head into my arms.” -Paxton wrote in his journal.
While working with Abby, he reports his feelings in a way that he is unable to do with his wife or other living creatures, including his beloved service dog Heinni. As he and Abby learned to connect with each other, Paxton began to understand the way in which the center's horses brought about changes in himself and his fellow soldiers and wrote:
"What I realized, at that very moment, was that it wasn't the soldiers working the horse, the horse,was working the soldier. I could see the transformation of the soldier's actions and face. The soldiers were unsure of what they were doing, but the horses knew exactly what they were doing."
Horses also have another ability that humans can't match. While they can sense human feelings and emotions, they do not judge people. They simply live in the moment and strive for safety, comfort and peace for themselves and those who surround them.
Growing Through Horsemanship
To fund its programming, Hope For Heroes relies entirely on the support of the community.
Debbi Fisher firmly believes that each veteran has paid the ultimate price for America's freedoms and way of life; it is our responsibility-and honor— to support them in their recovery. The organization does not receive payment for these programs from the military or the participants. Through individual donations, fundraising events, grants and corporate sponsor-ship. Hope For Heroes works toward its goal of offering equine-assisted activities and therapies (EAAT) to all service members, veterans and their families.
Without this support and a team of more than 75 volunteers, this program and the impact and changes it has caused in these men's and women's lives would not be possible.
To continue this work, Hope For Heroes relies on its staff of five instructors and a herd of 12 horses. The herd ranges from retired racing Thoroughbreds to cattle-working Quarter Horses and more rare breeds, such as a Frederiksborg Danish Warmblood named Fred. Hope For Heroes also has three Missouri Fox Trotters on staff, gaited horses whose smooth gliding strides allow people with back injuries or higher pain levels to ride without bouncing.
Participants begin with four weeks of horsemanship skills on the ground to build a foundation for riding. The ground lessons include tasks such as grooming, in which participants challenge their memories with the names, order and correct use of five grooming tools; leading the horses; desensitizing the horses to their lead ropes; and working with a horse loose in a round-pen to establish respect. In the last four weeks, participants learn how to ride if they choose. If a participant chooses not to ride, a specific lesson is created to meet his or her needs.
Participants are able to work on their balance without fear of falling by being supported by volunteer sidewalkers from the Washington Air Defense at JBLM and Air National Guard at Camp Murray. These side-walkers often provide some comfort for the participants who trust that their fellow brothers and sisters in uniform will keep them steady on the horse. Also, their trusted volunteer, who has been working with them on the ground since the first lesson, leads the horse until the rider is ready to take more control. Participants progress through various activities designed to challenge their balance, improve flexibility and gain horsemanship skills. As they move through the levels, they are able to participate in outside activities such as trail rides, horse shows and even an overnight horse-camping trip.
Because EAAT is a newer healing modality for this demographic, very little traditional research has been completed on its efficacy. To ensure that the program meets expectations, Hope For Heroes tracks each participant as he or she moves through the sessions.
Before class, each participant meets individually with a trained volunteer and self-reports his or her general anxiety level, pain level and mood as well as any comments. The instructor uses these forms during class to track the participant's completion of measurable objectives such as naming and using four to five grooming tools correctly or describing two signs of relaxation shown by his or her horse. After class, the participant is asked to again self-report.
Current results show a nearly 50-percent reduction in general anxiety and a 50-percent improvement in overall mood by the end of class.
Hope For Heroes is researching options to find a more complete medical study to determine the time frame in which anxiety is reduced and mood is improved.
Today, Paxton reports he is doing well but still struggles with his demons and sometimes rushes out to the barn after a difficult day just to stand near Abby. However, with her help, he is conquering personal challenges that he says would have been unthinkable even a year ago. The pair just completed their first season of Mountain Trail horse shows in venues across Washington and Oregon.
This discipline requires both horse and rider to stay calm and quiet as 7 they navigate a pattern of obstacles such as suspension bridges, deep-narrow trenches and balance beams.
With a bright future ahead of him, Paxton has begun to set new goals in his life.
Written by Elisia Mutter | Published by Strides Magazine | Spring 2013
Revised by Kammie Lisenby | Winter 2024
Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship International