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With Horses' Help, Army Veteran Finds Healing in Yellowstone | National Geographic

Green Beret and Army veteran Ray Knell was a broken man with PTSD and severe anxiety when he returned home from Afghanistan. His trust in humans was gone. A friend introduced him to backcountry horsemanship, and the wilderness and animal relationship gave him hope and peace of mind. To inspire others to use wilderness and horses to overcome their struggles, Knell embarked on a 1,000-mile ride along the Continental Divide with Mustang Sally and two mules, Top Gun and Magic. Filmmaker Ben Masters joined Knell through Yellowstone to see the grandeur of our country’s first national park and to witness the importance of conserving wilderness to heal ourselves.


Horses Help Heal Veterans' Invisible Wounds
National Geographic

Serving in combat can affect soldiers long after they return home from war. For some, the wounds are physical and visible. For others, they go deeper, affecting their mental health. Staff at Boulder Crest Retreat in Bluemont, VA, use horses—equine therapy—to help veterans heal these invisible wounds. 

THE ORIGINAL AND ULTIMATE TRAINING IN THE PRACTICE OF
Faith Based Equine Assisted Philosophy

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Effects of therapeutic horseback riding on post-traumatic stress disorder in military veterans


Johnson RA, Albright DL, Marzolf JR, Bibbo JL, Yaglom HD, Crowder SM, Carlisle GK, Willard A, Russell CL, Grindler K, Osterlind S, Wassman M, Harms N. Effects of therapeutic horseback riding on post-traumatic stress disorder in military veterans. Mil Med Res. 2018 Jan 19;5(1):3. doi: 10.1186/s40779-018-0149-6. PMID: 29502529; PMCID: PMC5774121.

Equine-Assisted Therapy for Veterans with PTSD: Manual Development and Preliminary Findings

Arnon, Shay & Fisher, Prudence & Pickover, Alison & Lowell, Ari & Turner, J. & Hilburn, Anne & Jacob-McVey, Jody & Malajian, Bonnie & Farber, Debra & Hamilton, Jane & Hamilton, Allan & Markowitz, John & Neria, Yuval. (2020). Equine-Assisted Therapy for Veterans with PTSD: Manual Development and Preliminary Findings. Military Medicine. 185. 10.1093/milmed/usz444.