Equine Assistance


A group of people standing around a brown horse


Equine Assistance

Equine assisted therapy or horse therapy,  professionals work with veterans to create meaningful bonds between the patients and horses. This is typically accomplished through non mounted programs.  Veterans spend time getting comfortable with the horse. This is acomplished through feeding, grooming, and leading (walking).  Together the veteran and the horse begin to trust, respect asense a natural sense of calm. This greatly aids in long term rehabilitation, and it’s only one of many ways that horse therapy helps.

Numerous studies have demonstrated significant improvements in PTSD symptoms among participants of equine therapy programs. These improvements include reduced anxiety, lower levels of depression, and a general increase in psychological well-being.


The logo for shepard meadows equestrian center inc.

VETERANS HORSEMANSHIP PROGRAM

  • Our Veterans Programs are provided at no cost to Veterans and their families, for up to 24 weeks (8 spring, 4 summer, 8 fall, 4 winter) based on available funding. We provide both mounted and unmounted horsemanship programs for physical, emotional, social, recreational and educational gains.

  • We also offer an optional blacksmithing combined program - double the fun and come work in the blacksmith shop with friends, then stay on for horsemanship and/or volunteering around the farm. We need your help!
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  • Using mindfulness principles, guided by a licensed mental health provider, equine activities are focused on breathing awareness, and developing a deeper connection with horse, nature and ourselves.   
  • Participants will learn the building blocks to practice reciprocity, vulnerability, and the rhythm with Hidden Acres therapy horses.  The goal to help practice healthy relationships built on trust. Leaning into congruent, authentic communication where what one thoughts, feelings, and actions are all in intentional alignment.
  • The Equine Healing Experience is a four session non-mounted program



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  • High Hopes’ programs for Veterans focus on interactions between the horse and the individual allowing for risk-taking activities that build upon improving personal decision-making. The welcoming, outdoor environment of our 120-acre facility provides a healing and stress-relieving venue.
  • For many individuals who have served in our military, the ability to remain relaxed in the present moment and make important connections with other people is more difficult than most of the general public. Often, this is a by-product of PTSD, or post-traumatic stress disorder.
  • Most Veterans programs are small group, unmounted, 6-8 weeks in length, and are offered on a rotating basis throughout the year. We serve a diverse population of Veterans and our goal is to provide services that meet their varying, individual needs.
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Operation Warrior House

A black and white logo for the healing hoofbeats of ct.

Operation Warrior Horse is designed to help Veterans begin to heal from the invisible wounds incurred in service through the healing effects of the horse and human connection.


This experiential therapy groups meets on the serene acres of Healing Hoofbeats of CT in Bethlehem. It is facilitated by a Licensed Therapist and an Equine Professional who is also a Combat Veteran. In partnership with our four-legged healers, this therapy team is the perfect storm of mental health expertise and a working knowledge of military service.   


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Patriot PAWS Service Dogs

A logo for vets veterans equine therapeutic services

V.E.T.S. provides a serene place for military veterans to go that provides therapeutic healing through equine-related activities by highly skilled instructors, staff and trained volunteers.


V.E.T.S. exists with the goal to provide our services at no charge to our clients.  Some of our volunteers and staff are veterans themselves, and understand the challenges veterans face reintegrating into domestic life after experiencing the psychological trauma and physical wounds of war or life after service.


V.E.T.S. is totally supported by your donations and our volunteers. Please use the link below to financially support our efforts that allow us to bring services to our veterans at no charge to them ever.


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Pegasus Therapeutic Riding

The pegasus logo is a blue horse with wings.

Pegasus has officially launched our Veterans Program in collaboration with The Equus Effect.


The Equus Effect is a horsemanship program designed specifically for Veterans which builds upon the horse-human bond and its effects on healing, building, trust and improving the relationship. Each session is five weeks long.


Our focus in this 5-session program is on helping veterans rebuild healthy relationships. Our horses and facilitators will support you and your journey with respect and skill. Activities are non-riding. No horse experience is necessary 

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Heroes and Horses

A logo for heroes and horses with a cross on it

Our mission at Heroes and Horses is to un-program the programmed. To offer combat veterans an alternative solution for defining and approaching their physical and mental scars—a solution that does not include prescription medications, or traditional psychotherapy, but rather the opportunity to use tools to redefine their purpose, rediscover their inner strength, and maximize their potential by taking ownership of their lives for the first time since leaving service.


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EHI - Equestrian & Therapeutic Center

The logo for the ehi equestrian and therapeutic center shows a person riding a horse under a tree.

About:  In 1984, Patricia E. Kelly, a U.S. Marine Corp Vietnam-era veteran and African-American cowgirl, founded Ebony Horsewomen, Inc.(EHI). 


Mission: We believe in the healing power of horses.


Ebony Horsewomen (EHI) is a one-of-a-kind, urban riding center in Hartford Connecticut. Since 1984, we’ve served our community’s youth, families, adults, and military veterans through equine-assisted psychotherapy, therapeutic riding, and a variety of youth programs.

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The Equus Effect

A red banner with the equus effect written on it

Our Mission

To provide veterans and first responders with essential tools to rebuild their capacity for healthy, authentic relationships through purposeful engagement with horses.


Our Work

Our approach to Experiential Learning and Coaching includes engagement with horses that focuses on the body’s natural response to stress and trauma.  We believe, as do experts in the field of neurobiology and trauma, that our reactions to traumatic events and chronic stress remain in the nervous system until they are metabolized and discharged.

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Alliance 180

An older man is being comforted by a woman.

It’s an equine experience with an active opportunity for change—when you feel like the system has repeatedly failed you. It's a chance for you to "do a 180," gain a new perspective and initiate positive change. You’ll learn the universal language of the horse, which is based on trust, and we combine it with science-based research that ties to the physiological response within the human body when it undergoes trauma.


Our methodology at Alliance180 utilizes the unspoken communication between you and the horse to reestablish the bond of trust, creating a union within the round pen that can only be described as “the Alliance moment,” where horse and human intersect. This creates a physiological response that participants have often described afterward as doing a 180 or “resetting the circuit breaker.”

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