Filed under Veterans

UC Davis Hooves for Heroes program

I’ll admit, I rarely read my alma mater’s alumni magazine, but for some reason today I flipped through it and saw an article on a recent program they started called “Hooves for Heroes.” There are lots of veterans programs now, but what caught my eye, and what I want to share with you, were two … Continue reading

A Few Links – Honoring Veterans

On Veterans Day I came across some fun articles about different ways horse people honor their Veterans. Maybe you can do some of these at your center next year! ~ Teach your horse to bow in honor of a veteran ~ The backward boot is often seen in parades to honor fallen soldiers, could you … Continue reading

Veterans Program Business Plan

This is an example business plan outline for a veterans program. At the 2013 PATH Intl Veterans Conference, once of the seminars really highlighted the importance of having a business plan. Because the more thoroughly you think through the plan, the more likely you are to succeed. There’s so many different versions of business plans … Continue reading

Instructing Veterans in Therapeutic Riding

Today’s post is about working with and instructing Veterans in the setting of Therapeutic Riding / Equine Assisted Activities and Therapies (EAAT). This is a compilation of notes I have taken the past few years. This is NOT comprehensive, just helpful, hopefully! Veterans’ Experiences To work with veterans, you need to know where they are … Continue reading

Veterans Program Resources

(Source) Belated Veterans Day! To honor our veterans, this week I am going to do a series of posts focused just on resources for Veterans therapeutic riding programs. (AKA I had too much to share in just one post). First up is all the links I think are helpful for veterans programming. Enjoy! Veterans Program Resources … Continue reading

Veterans Stories

I know a lot of you work with veterans, so I wanted to share a series of stories on veterans recently featured by People of NY. While the stories don’t include therapeutic riding, they give insight into the similarities and uniqueness of each veteran’s story, as well as some family members. I hope they might … Continue reading

Radio Interview: A Struggle with PTSD

Today I heard a wonderful interview on NPR’s Fresh Air giving insight to PTSD and current treatments. They interview David Morris about his book “The Evil Hours” and experiences it is based on. He was a journalist embedded with troops in Iraq, and almost died when his Humvee ran over a roadside bomb. His book … Continue reading

Veterans Insight

At the veteran’s conference I attended last month someone mentioned that the Wounded Warriors Project has a lot of demographic data on their website. I finally looked it up, and this is a WONDERFUL report from their 2012 survey that I wanted to share. Those of you involved in veterans programs, it gives you fantastic … Continue reading

Skills Curriculum for Veterans Program

As instructors we are to think in the short term with lesson plans and objectives, and long term with goals and curriculum. Both are forms of skill progression – but one is focused on today, and one is focused on the whole session or year. A friend sent me this curriculum that she has used … Continue reading

Veterans: “Recon: Unbridled” Documentary and Article

“A Pentagon Channel documentary sheds light on how military veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder are finding help through the power of horse therapy. “Recon: Unbridled” highlights “Horses for Veterans,” at Flag is Up Farms in California, an intensive three-day program designed to help veterans of all ages who have PTSD, free of charge. “I think … Continue reading