Team Infidel

Miami Herald
May 20, 2007
Offering Solace In The Stables, South Florida Therapists Turn To Horses To Help War Veterans
By Jerry Berrios
Growing up around horses, Vietnam veteran Bob Bambury always knew they could heal emotional scars.
Brushing their coats, walking them around a ring or just petting their manes can help alleviate anxiety and build confidence for dealing with life's problems, he said.
In the past year, Bambury has been using his three horses to help veterans and active-duty soldiers from South Florida deal with post-traumatic stress disorder.
He moved the South Florida Veterans Multi-Purpose Center, where he serves as executive director, to Davie from Plantation earlier this month and plans to bring dozens of veterans to his Davie stable for some open-air therapy.
Equine therapy is not a new concept, especially for children with mental or physical disabilities.
New application
Using horses to treat PTSD is new.
Calming a horse's natural fear can help patients conquer their own, Bambury said. Fear and anxiety are prevalent symptoms of PTSD, a common affliction among veterans and others exposed to life-threatening or extremely stressful situations.
Last month, Bambury, psychologist Terri Jennings and ranch owner Sam Hurley held a horse-therapy demonstration at Oakhill Equestrian Park in Davie.
More than a half-dozen veterans -- some sporting leather vests and riding motorcycles -- showed up to interact with three horses.
Inside a fixed ring with the animals, Jennings and Hurley gave the participants their first task: Get the horse through an obstacle course without touching the horse or injuring it.
The obstacles -- three barrels, two Hula Hoops, and a low wooden jump -- symbolize real obstacles the participants may face in their lives.
Rick ''Rambo'' Whitford, 59, a Vietnam veteran, skillfully navigated the quarter-horse through one of the obstacles.
''The whole thing is a mental experience,'' he said. ``The horse is just a catalyst.''
Gulf War veteran John ''Storm'' Garcia, with a Hula Hoop in hand, approached the cream-colored pony, which quickly trotted the other way.
''He doesn't like me,'' said Garcia, 49, in frustration.
Jennings later asked him, ``Did he not like you -- or did he not like the Hula Hoop?''
People project their emotions onto the horses, she said.
''What happens in the ring is what happens in real life,'' said Jennings, founder of Healing Hooves, a Davie psychotherapy practice run out of the Bar-B Ranch that uses horses to treat mental health issues.
Horses work in therapy because they are social animals, just like human beings.
''They cannot live alone. They are herd animals,'' Jennings said. ``They depend on their herd to stay safe and healthy.''
Trepidation
Some patients initially refuse to get in the ring with the horse.
The next time, they get closer to the ring. Eventually they are petting the animals.
''If they can overcome the fear of being close to a 1,000-plus pound animal, then they start making progress in overcoming other fears,'' Jennings said.
Bambury hopes to hold regular therapy sessions at the veteran center's new location, using his own horses -- Blue and Lynx, both quarter horses, and Sam, an Arabian.

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