Project Healing Horse

Injured veterans looking to get back in the saddle can find what they need through the help of Project Healing Horse. The veterans therapeutic riding program uses horses as a medium to provide physical, psychological and social benefits to recovering veterans. The group raises money and promotes therapeutic riding at facilities across the country to heal troops who are injured or suffering from illness. Horses offer a dynamic base of support, which is excellent for improving strength, balance, circulation, respiration, posture endurance, coordination, agility and motor development as well as self-confidence and emotional well-being. The dream of Project Healing Horse is to have the therapeutic riding programs available to all injured veterans who would like to participate. The program is offered at no cost to the government and is supported completely by donations. Project Healing Horse encourages people to make donations to the facility closest to them. Currently, veterans therapeutic riding centers are available at The National Center for Equine Facilitated Therapy, Woodside, California; Forward Stride, Beaverton, Oregon; Pikes Peak Therapeutic Riding Center, Elbert, Colorado; Equest, Kennebunk, Maine; and Life's Journey Equine Therapy, Bardonia, New York. More information about the project is available on the Web site. Features include an image gallery and a video with comments from wounded heroes about how the program has helped their recovery efforts. The programs listed on these pages are not affiliated with our publication or association. We highlight these independent efforts as a service to our military and our readers. For more information about these programs, please contact the organizations directly.