August 8, 2008

Troops returning from deployments are finding solace on the back of a horse. (Pet Pulse Photo by Alicia Zaitsu, Design by Mike Lloyd)

MIAMI -- The science of the human-animal bond is proving very effective in a new arena: on the home front of a new war. Returning veterans are finding help, as well as healing in therapy that involves a saddle and a set of reins.

"It feels pretty good. I feel tall," said U.S. Marine Gene Calonge, who recently returned from his deployment.

Learning to ride again is strengthening the bodies and minds of young vets here at the South Florida Veterans Multi-Purpose Center in Davie, Fla.

The last time Calonge mounted a horse, was his service with the Marine Corps. This time around it's Sam, a 4-year-old Arabian, giving him a much-needed boost.

"It's different bonding with an animal, you feel like you're not going to be judged so much about anything so ... you and him just have a good time,” said Calonge.

A crowd of people recently gathered to celebrate the grand opening of a new facility. It's got all the features needed to accommodate a growing Equine Therapy Program that started one year ago. Professional horse trainers and mental health experts work with the Veterans, using a very powerful tool: the love and respect of a horse.

"A horse is a prey animal,' said Bob Bambury, the executive director of the South Florida Veterans Multi-Purpose Center. “So it's used to being attacked by predators. So it has a ‘stand-offish’ effect. You're going to have to bond with that horse before you're going to develop any kind of relationship.”

The year-old program has been successful in helping treat dozens of soldiers with afflictions ranging from Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome to combat-related mental illnesses and physical disabilities.

“As we know, our returning men and women have been exposed to an awful lot of trauma. And so when we begin to go back into that, often times there's a flood of emotion and just a great deal of discomfort emotionally that begins to happen,” said Lorisa Lewis, a certified equine therapist and licensed mental health counselor.

“By working with the horses, we are working in an alternative way,” Lewis said. “It's a way that's a bit gentler, it's kind of like going in a back door if you will, rather than barging in through the front door.”

Organizers say Veterans really benefit from environment. They welcome therapy sessions in the arena, versus the sterile environment of a doctor's office.

“I don't think you can get the same experience in a doctor's office, talking to a doctor, because you still have the feelings of anxiety,” said Calonge. “There are certain things you don't really talk to another person about. But the horses don't seem to mind.”

“It really works quicker, we accomplish an awful lot in the arena,” said Lewis. “We set up structured exercises and cognitively we do what's called gestalt therapy, where we can learn a concept without having to go directly to a trauma and go through that channel. Our research is showing that it's a very effective way of working with returning vets.”

Some veterans, who have been through this before, see equine therapy as a new way to help Soldiers make a smooth transition.

“With the new war, we're dealing with a whole new set of Veterans coming home,” said Bambury. “We're Vietnam veterans here and we've been through this before. We would just like to catch these young guys when they're coming home and to get them adjusted back into society the right way.”

By getting them back in the saddle, on American soil.

For more information on the Center and its therapeutic horseback riding program, visit SouthFloridaVets.org.

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