Prescott LIVING Magazine
No Result
View All Result
Prescott LIVING Magazine - Click for Current Issue
  • Inside
    • Voices
    • Special Sections
      • 40 Under 40
      • Annual Photo Contest
        • People’s Choice Photo Winners
      • Best of Greater Prescott
      • Everyone Can Be a Hero
      • Holiday
      • Medical, Health & Wellness
      • Men of Vision
      • New Year, New You
      • Relocation
      • Wealth Management
      • Weddings & Events
      • Women in Leadership
    • Up Front
      • City Speak
    • BIZ
    • YOU
      • Out & About
      • Beauty & Style
      • Health, Happiness & Education
      • Education
      • Pets
      • Home
        • Home & Garden
    • FUN
      • Arts & Culture
      • Outdoor Adventure
      • Restaurants
        • Pizza
      • Travel & Tourism
    • The ROX Interview
    • Prescott Pioneer Local News
    • Q & A
  • Current Issue
  • Community Calendar
  • Past Issues
  • Subscribe
    • eNewsletter & Digital Edition Subscription
  • Inside
    • Voices
    • Special Sections
      • 40 Under 40
      • Annual Photo Contest
        • People’s Choice Photo Winners
      • Best of Greater Prescott
      • Everyone Can Be a Hero
      • Holiday
      • Medical, Health & Wellness
      • Men of Vision
      • New Year, New You
      • Relocation
      • Wealth Management
      • Weddings & Events
      • Women in Leadership
    • Up Front
      • City Speak
    • BIZ
    • YOU
      • Out & About
      • Beauty & Style
      • Health, Happiness & Education
      • Education
      • Pets
      • Home
        • Home & Garden
    • FUN
      • Arts & Culture
      • Outdoor Adventure
      • Restaurants
        • Pizza
      • Travel & Tourism
    • The ROX Interview
    • Prescott Pioneer Local News
    • Q & A
  • Current Issue
  • Community Calendar
  • Past Issues
  • Subscribe
    • eNewsletter & Digital Edition Subscription
No Result
View All Result
Prescott LIVING Magazine
Prescott LIVING Magazine - Click for Current Issue
Home BIZ

Horses for Heroes

April 2, 2019
328
SHARES
2.5k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

A Program Specifically Designed For Veterans

by Mary Dillinger, Public Affairs Officer, NAVAHCS

Northern Arizona VA Health Care System (NAVAHCS) joins with equine therapy programs to create a safe environment for individuals to work with horses, build relationships and bond.

Heroes and Horses is a nonprofit organization working with rescue horses and other equine animals. It challenges participants to explore how they are helping the horse as much as they are helped. The program assists Veterans with life skills, trust, communication, grief and loss, as well as moving through and moving on.

NAVAHCS has been working with Heroes and Horses since 2017, and nearly 100 Veterans have been enriched by this opportunity. The power of equine programs is particularly unique in enhancing mental health. The ranch brings the Veterans out of the typical therapy environment and into a more natural setting, which makes a big difference in how they respond. Some people work in individual sessions while others feel more comfortable in the group setting with other Veterans.

Horses as Healers

You may ask “why horses?” Believe it or not, horses are very helpful partners for learning, healing and connecting with others. Horses become silent therapists that model trust and safety. Veterans and first responders who have worked with horses in this program have gained assurance, self-awareness and self-acceptance. Horses assist with learning to communicate, reducing anxiety, decreasing isolation and gaining social skills.

Equine therapy programs are evidence-based treatment plans. Data collected from clients at Heroes and Horses shows a 49 percent decrease in depression and anxiety after the completion of the program.

One Veteran wrote: “I found your Heroes and Horses Equine Therapy, and it was a true blessing that lifted up my spirit in an indescribable way.”

This is just one avenue through which NAVAHCS connects with the community in support of the evidence-based therapy for healing. Currently, Veterans from the domiciliary participate in this course through recreation therapy. NAVAHCS hopes to develop and grow equine therapy for Veterans and staff at the facility.

The Veteran-Horse Connection

During the six-week program, NAVAHCS Veterans work with the horses, gain confidence and trust in each other and work toward goals. Each of the horses at the ranch has its own back story of neglect, abuse, abandonment and loss. The therapy is equally helpful for the Veteran and the horse. Both need to learn to depend on each other and find their purpose. It is a collaboration and healing process they experience together.

Usually at the beginning of the program, the Veteran and the horse choose each other. Sometimes it is because they have similar personalities and a connection. Other times it is just an instant bond. One Veteran said he felt as though they “got each other.”

Because the horses at the ranch have been through their own struggles, it usually means they have trouble adjusting to their new environment. They are antisocial and feel rejected by the herd. Many of the Veterans in the group said they felt exact the same way after returning home from combat.

Reaping the Benefits

Big, one of the horses, had a rough life. Brad, an Army Veteran hit it off right away with him. They both suffer from PTSD and trust issues. Brad said, “Horses don’t judge you, so you feel safe around them.”

Anne, an Air Force Veteran, said she was skeptical of the program but then she met Coors. This horse used to pull a tourist cart around the City of Prescott with his sister but became depressed and lost his will to live after losing her. Anne was instantly drawn to Coors. After just three weeks of working with him, Anne said she felt better about herself and her purpose in life. In turn, Coors got his drive back and was soon leading the herd.

Andrea Walker and Ann Balowski are the two amazing instructors at Heroes and Horses. They said they are so happy to be a part of a program working with Veterans and first responders. There is a covered area at the ranch where guests can share their experiences, eat lunch or just relax. The patio was built by Disabled American Veterans (DAV) with donated materials they provided, including picnic tables. Andrea and Ann said they are grateful for the support and donations from the community to help make this happen for Veterans.

“We learn something new each week,” Andrea said. “It is beneficial for us as well as for the guests.”

NAVAHCS is excited to have the chance to work with the community and develop partnerships while improving the lives of the Veterans we serve.

If you are interested in learning more about this wonderful program or other opportunities at Veterans Affairs, please call 928-717-7587 or visit prescott.va.gov or www.heroes.horse.

Previous Post

Does a Homeowner’s Policy Cover Your Home Business?

Next Post

At 40, Good Enough, Still Just Isn’t!

Next Post

At 40, Good Enough, Still Just Isn't!

Join our Newsletter

Prescott LIVING eNewsletter Subscription

No Result
View All Result
Cover for Prescott Living Magazine
11,553
Prescott Living Magazine

Prescott Living Magazine

Come & enjoy the local scene in Prescott Arizona!

Prescott Living Magazine

1 day ago

Prescott Living Magazine
OUT & ABOUT — Thank you to Janet Cameron, Karen Shaw, and Janet Ash for submitting these creative photos! Reader photos are published in every issue of Prescott LIVING - send in your best shots taken in the Greater Prescott area to photos@roxco.com. Selected photos will appear in print and will be posted to our social media channels. #prescott #prescottvalley #chinovalleyaz #deweyhumboldt ... See MoreSee Less

Photo

View on Facebook
· Share

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email

Prescott Living Magazine

1 day ago

Prescott Living Magazine
Tickets are available at www.ycpac.com for the Kathy Mattea & Suzy Bogguss concert, which is coming up on March 2 at the Yavapai College Performing Arts Center. If you're not familiar with their musical careers, here's some background from YCPAC. . . .COUNTRY STARS COMBINE HIT SONGS AND CHEMISTRYPrescott, Arizona (2/2/2023) – Two stars, no waiting. When longtime friends and Country music artists combine their impressive set lists and their love of live performance, everybody in the audience wins. Yavapai College Performing Arts Center invites you to join Country music hitmakers Kathy Mattea & Suzy Bogguss for a rousing and memorable ‘Together at Last’ performance, Thursday night, March 2 at 7 p.m. Two country music legends, with three Grammy awards between them, bring their prodigious talents, their solo hits, and their on-stage chemistry to the stage in ‘Together at Last.’ Friends since their early days in Nashville, Kathy Mattea and Suzy Bogguss have each carved out careers in popular music with country chart hits spanning two decades. Kathy has had more than 30 singles in Billboard Magazine’s Hot Country Songs Charts, including “Goin’ Gone,” “Eighteen Wheels and a Dozen Roses,” and “Come From the Heart.” She won Grammy Awards for her 1990 single “Where’ve You Been?” and her 1993 Christmas Album Good News. Bogguss found stardom with her platinum-selling album Aces, which featured four hit singles: the title track, “Someday Soon,” “Outbound Plane,” and “Letting Go.” She won the Academy of Country Music’s Top New Female Singer award in 1989 and the Country Music Association’s Horizon Award in 1992. Their busy solo careers allowed Kathy and Suzy few opportunities to collaborate musically, although they did perform a Grammy-nominated cover of “Teach Your Children” back in 1994. Their fans have clamored for a joint tour like this for years. And now, sporting new material developed for the tour, armed with two careers worth of stories and more hits than they can fit, Kathy Mattea and Suzy Bogguss are together at last.Tickets for Kathy Mattea and Suzy Bogguss start at $32. Yavapai College Performing Arts Center is located at 1100 E. Sheldon Street, in Prescott. The YCPAC Ticket Office is open Tuesdays and Wednesdays, from 9 a.m. – 6 p.m.; and Thursdays and Fridays, from 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. For reservations or more information, please call: (928) 776.2000 or visit us online at: www.ycpac.com.. . .Be sure to pick up a free copy of Prescott NOW to see what's happening this month, or visit prescott-now.com/events for the online events calendar. ... See MoreSee Less

Photo

View on Facebook
· Share

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email

It’s About LOCAL – ADVERTISE WITH US

© 2022 ROX Media •  Privacy Policy
info@roxco.com • 130 N. Granite St. • Prescott, AZ 86301 • 928.350.8006
CORPORATE OFFICE: 1919 N. Trekell Rd.,  Suite C •  Casa Grande, AZ 85122

No Result
View All Result
  • Inside
    • Voices
    • Special Sections
      • 40 Under 40
      • Annual Photo Contest
      • Best of Greater Prescott
      • Everyone Can Be a Hero
      • Holiday
      • Medical, Health & Wellness
      • Men of Vision
      • New Year, New You
      • Relocation
      • Wealth Management
      • Weddings & Events
      • Women in Leadership
    • Up Front
      • City Speak
    • BIZ
    • YOU
      • Out & About
      • Beauty & Style
      • Health, Happiness & Education
      • Education
      • Pets
      • Home
    • FUN
      • Arts & Culture
      • Outdoor Adventure
      • Restaurants
      • Travel & Tourism
    • The ROX Interview
    • Prescott Pioneer Local News
    • Q & A
  • Current Issue
  • Community Calendar
  • Past Issues
  • Subscribe
    • eNewsletter & Digital Edition Subscription

© 2022 ROX Media