Therapy program saddles up

Horses Healing Heroes caters to military clients

Craig L. Moran/ViewLaurie Willmott, executive director of Spirit Therapies, walks one of the therapy horses during its daily training, Aug. 17. craig L. Moran/ViewU.S. Air Force veteran Tony Jones, left, brushes a horse while taking part in the Horses Healing Heroes program at Spirit Therapies, 9140 W. La Madre Way, Aug. 17. Laurie Willmott, right front, is the executive director of the program and Valerie Galante, right back, is the program?s mental health consultant. Advertisement

To Laurie Willmott, owner and founder of Spirit Therapies, a new equestrian therapy program geared toward military veterans and current armed forces personnel is a project very close to her heart.

Her father, Harold Carpenter, a staff sergeant in the U.S. Air Force, served in World War II and died in 1999, and her brother Steven Carpenter, who served in the U.S. Air Force, was in Vietnam and died in 2000. Both were the inspiration behind the new Horses Healing Heroes program.

"Its partly to give back to my brother and dad, in their memory," said Willmont, who also is the executive director of Spirit Therapies. "If we get one soldier that's going to be happy and like what we're doing, then that's the cause that we're going for. They come here and it's going to be a safe place, and maybe a place that they can come and communicate to each other, talk about war stories, talk about how they feel."

The program is aimed toward veterans and active duty military personnel who have been diagnosed with physical and/or mental challenges. Similar to a program sponsored by Therapeutic Riding of Tucson in Arizona, the program will teach participants horsemanship and eventually riding skills in order to promote mental development and physical therapy. The program will consist of three to six participants coming together on Friday mornings to bond with one another and their horses.

"On the surface, it's like teaching horsemanship," said Valerie Galante, the program's mental health consultant. "But, for example, for people diagnosed with mild traumatic brain injury, they're learning sequential tasks. We want to create a therapeutic environment. It's back to basics. What's more basic than being outdoors and bonding with one another?"

Spirit Therapies, a nonprofit venture, currently serves children and adults who come to the center to take part in equestrian activities to relieve a wide range of physical and mental problems, from Down syndrome to delayed mobility.

Although the new Horses Healing Heroes program doesn't officially launch until next week, U.S. Air Force veteran Tony Jones is already a participant -- the first, in fact. He suffers from mild traumatic brain injury and said that working with his chosen horse Buddy helps to take him away from the problems his injury causes.

"I looked at it when I first started and thought, worst-case scenario, I'll learn how to ride a horse. Best case, I can get something out of it," Jones said. "It helps me not to focus on my issues. I have a headache all the time. I'm thinking about other things and relating to the animal."

Galante agreed that the bonding is beneficial.

"One of the most intimate relationships you can have is with an animal," Galante said. "Tony is here, and even though he is receiving services, he's giving back to Buddy. It's a nice bond."

The therapy can have benefits for participants with physical challenges, as well. Volunteer physical therapists will be on site, but the horses themselves will be providing the real therapy, Willmont said.

"There are tons of physical therapy things out there, but none can mimic the motion of a horse," she said. "You're on the horse and you can feel yourself moving, right to left, side to side. Their hips move just like ours do. So it does attach to the spinal cord, goes all the way to the brainstem and stimulates something."

Willmont said that after learning to care for and ride their horses, she will hold competitions for them to pit their skills against one another. There will be physical therapists and psychologists on site, as well as Willmott and her volunteers, who will train the participants in horsemanship. But Willmott points out that it is really her horses that participants will come to visit.

"There's always a bond with animals, dogs, horses," she said. "The horses will wind up being the therapists. I will just be helping them."

For now, the Horses Healing Heroes program is like a colt trying to find its legs. Aside from participants, it also needs funding.

Willmott has applied for grants, but she also encourages the community to donate. Philanthropists can sponsor a soldier, donate in memory of one or just give what they can to support the program.

Willmott said that if she has her way, none of the soldiers will have to pay a dime toward his or her recovery. For now, the program costs between $90 and $125 per session. It takes place from 9 a.m. to noon every Friday. Sessions last for 90 minutes.

The program will have its formal kickoff during an open house at 6 p.m. on Sept. 11 at Spirit Therapies, 9140 W. La Madre Way. The event will include demonstrations and a speech from Therapeutic Riding of Tuscon on the successes of the program in Arizona. Attendees can learn more about both donating to and participating in the program.

For more information, visit www.spirittherapies.org or contact Willmott at 219-1728.