When a horse is more than a horse
New equine therapy program begins in Ojai for veterans
By Shane Cohn 10/28/2010
When it came to understanding the ways of war, man and even horses, perhaps nobody had a better handle on it than Sir Winston Churchill.
"There is something about the outside of a horse that is good for the inside of a man," the former British Prime Minister once said.
A new program for veterans and their families — experiential equine sessions overseen by licensed mental health professionals in Ojai — may be one method for helping heal the inside of U.S. combat veterans still dealing with the ravages of war.
H.O.P.E for Warriors (Human Opportunity Partnering with Equines), an Ojai-based equine-assisted psychotherapy (EAP) program, has been designed for veterans and their families for developing coping skills for post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury, anger, depression, addiction and grief. The program is operated by the nonprofit group Reins of H.O.P.E., which for the past three years has provided equine therapy in Ojai for hundreds of at-risk youth, individuals, families and groups.
Unlike traditional therapy, there is very little talk, and the setting couldn’t be more different.
“Most veterans don’t want regular talk therapy,” said Julie Giove-Sardonia, the executive director of the organization. “Healing happens in nature, especially for military.”
Giove-Sardonia said one equine session is equivalent to four talk sessions. The experiences veterans bring to the “arena,” she said, are far too vast and complicated for one therapist to interpret and provide analysis. But a soldier’s relationship with a horse can provide emotional insights and self-understanding.
“Since horses are prey animals, they are finely tuned to their surroundings — much like those in the military need to be for survival,” said Giove-Sardonia. “Horses are honest creatures, which makes them especially powerful messengers. When a participant complains that the horse is stubborn, for example, many times the lesson to be learned is that if they change themselves, the horse responds differently.”
The horse’s relationship with mankind has been fostered for thousands of years. The horse has been a friend, a transport, a performer, a currency and simply a majestic symbol. Now having cast it in the role of co-psychotherapist, equine programs like H.O.P.E. for veterans are sprouting up over the nation as more soldiers return home from war.
PTSD affects more than 300,000 troops returning from war in the Middle East, according to the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.
The Equine Assisted Growth and Learning Association (EAGALA) doesn’t yet have statistics available on the number of veterans equine programs in the country, since the practice is still in pilot form, but representatives report the practice is steadily growing.
Giove-Sardonia estimated that in the past couple of years, about five EAP programs for veterans have been implemented in Southern California, including one in Moorpark and another in Santa Barbara.
Capt. Alex Mack, a Ventura County veterans claims officer, volunteered to participate in a session in order to validate the program for other veterans. Mack did not move cautiously around three 1,200 pound horses in the H.O.P.E. arena.
Nor did the Iraq War veteran and U.S. Army Ranger hesitate to will the horses into his symbolic re-creations of his past, present and future as a part of the program’s Course of Life activity. The horses mirrored Mack’s commanding demeanor and he fused a surprisingly introspective relationship with them, representing a bridge between the domestic world and the wild world of which both have been a part.
In a dusty corral surrounded by 50 acres of orange groves, contained by the Topa Topa mountain range, 7,440 miles from Mosul, Mack stood eye to eye with his 1,200-pound equine co-therapist, Chrome, explaining reserved details of his life such as war strategy, solitude and the rigors of the book publishing industry.
Mack, also a budding author, has spent the past year trying to garner a book deal. During the EAP session, Mack had to illustrate this ordeal using various tools and art supplies within the arena, then attempt to explain his “present” obstacle to Chrome. After doing so, however, Chrome wasn’t ready to leave that area. Chrome stayed put, resisting Macks’s verbal and physical insistence. Finally, after relentless persistence and struggle, and much to the pleasure of Mack, Chrome was ready to move forward, and so was Mack.
“There was some clairvoyance,” said Mack, who said he found plenty of life metaphors during the session. “You just can’t move on easily because it involves a lot of hard work. It’s like with writing. It’s emblematic once you’re able to crack the code; you get to go forward. You don’t have to take the hard route all the time and query 10,000 people.
Once the egg breaks, all the gook comes out and then you can just walk into your future.”
Since Giove-Sardonia operates H.O.P.E. as a nonprofit, veterans can receive therapy at no cost, though donations are accepted. For more information, visit www.reinsofhope-ojai.org or call 797-5539.
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