racehorses and veterans

Hope After Service, a new organization pairing retired racehorses with veterans with PTSD, as well as with autistic children, has been formed in Shawnee, Ok. Founded by disabled veterans Ashton Strader, Robert Whitlow, and Craig Whitlow, the 501(c)(3) nonprofit's mission is "bringing hope, healing, and renewal to veterans, retired racehorses, and communities nationwide." The founders have backgrounds in racing and plan to select retired racehorses to undergo retraining as trusted companions and therapists, offering solace and healing to those in need. Horses in the program not suitable for this work...

by T.D. Thornton and Sue Finley Although using equine-assisted therapies (EAT) to help people overcome post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has been long believed to be effective via anecdotal results, a recent exploratory scientific study declares that it "is the first to demonstrate that EAT can affect functional and structural changes in the brains of patients with PTSD." The findings are groundbreaking not only from a scientific standpoint, but also from the perspective that the peer-reviewed work by Columbia University Irving Medical Center and New York State Psychiatric Institute researchers published...