Military Veterans and Families
Eye of a Horse at The Equine Education Center on the grounds of Forever Florida currently offers learning and psychotherapy experiences for military veterans suffering with post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental health problems or with the aftermath of physical disabilities incurred while on active duty. All equine activities take place on the ground, as there is no riding involved. Wheel chair access is available.
A very special part of our veteran program is a Florida Cracker horse named La Nina. This remarkable equine happens to be an amputee, having lost her right hind leg in a traumatic accident. She is an important part of our programs for persons with disabilities.
Both professional staff members at Eye of a Horse have a military background which uniquely qualifies them for this special work with veterans. Dr. Wise was a military wife for 26 years and “kept the home fires burning” during three one-year remote assignments. Dean spent four years in the Air Force.
Military veterans experience equine-assisted psychotherapy with amputee horse La Nina.
A military veteran participates in a session of Nature Exposure Animal-Assisted Therapy with Eye of a Horse. The veteran seeks to form an emotional bond as he attempts to interact with herds of untrained horses. Interactions with the horses provide the veteran an opportunity to experiment with different social behaviors, different ways of approaching others, different methods of communicating his desire to make friends and relate to those around him. Through direct feedback from the horses, such experiential learning sessions can help individuals explore, and modify or change, their own ingrained behaviors that may be keeping them from realizing their goals.
An Army veteran, who lost his comrade in addition to his own leg when the two stepped on an improvised explosive device, meets a Marine veteran with a spinal cord injury. Their meeting takes place during an experience of Equine-Assisted Psychotherapy. Both veterans have volunteered to share their time and experiences with other veterans and individuals with disabilities at Eye Of A Horse in The Equine Education Center at Forever Florida.
A veteran participates in Equine-Assisted Psychotherapy at Eye Of A Horse in The Equine Education Center at Forever Florida. This veteran lost a fellow comrade and his own leg after stepping on an improvised explosive device while serving in the U.S. Army.
A Marine veteran with 16 years of service, is introduced to the equine-assisted psychotherapy model. In this video clip he interacts with one of his new friends, telling us, "He found his way back." This Marine veteran is now attending Florida Institute of Technology, with the goal of becoming a psychologist.
