The Veteran And The Horse

He was 18. Drafted for a war he knew nothing of. He was patriotic and wanted to be of service to his country.

He was nervous and a bit excited when he saw the helicopter and his fellow Unit members boarding. He pulled himself up and squeezed into the tight space. The helicopter's loud whirring did not allow for afterthoughts. Up they rose and the journey into the deep Vietnam forests began. The further they flew, the smaller he felt. Thick forest for miles proved no escape. His terror and isolation began. It was him and his crew from here on in, and, as he saw it, they were all unlikely to come out.

He fought alongside his tightly knit crew, just as tight as they were in that helicopter. In the trenches, he watched in horror as bits of his best friend who was next to him, landed all over him. This was just one of the experiences that would never leave him, one of the experiences that he locked away on his flight “home”. Supposedly, his “home” country would be safe, though he knew now that nothing was really “safe” anymore, nowhere was really “home”. 

He was already addicted to any type of substance that would dull reality. He soon became homeless and experienced more pain. Finally offered shelter at a Veterans Home, he was also offered treatment. Within the Treatment Program he experienced Equine-Assisted Therapy. 

When he walked into the stable arena, one horse by the name of Molly walked right up to him. She gently offered her nose. He immediately reached out to touch her, something he hadn’t done with anyone at all since returning from the war. He hadn’t spoken about his trials, hadn’t shared his pain. As the weeks progressed, he spoke privately to Molly, telling her his story. Each time, her Empathy and Concern were evident in her eyes. She fully understood each thought and each word and offered nothing but Loving Support. This began his journey into speaking his story to the psychologist and the psychiatrist. It led to him receiving proper nutrition and medication. His world became open to transformation, his Healing Journey had begun…

~Janice M. Burke

Image by Janice M. Burke