Horses help war vets ‘really come home’

SHARON — There’s a unique connection between horses and humans. Dogs might have earned the title of  “man’s best friend,” but horses have a special place on the anthropocentric radar, too.

Jane Strong, a Sharon resident, has created a program that emphasizes that connection, called The Equus Effect. Horses help military veterans who have returned from active duty.

Strong noted that horses have been used for thousands of years for military and nomadic purposes. Millions upon millions served, and died, in World War I and II.

“They’ve changed the face of the world,” Strong said.

Elements of that militaristic relationship remain today. Strong explained that people still regularly mount and lead horses from the left, a practice that began because a soldier would normally keep his sword on his left hip.  

Stirrups, Strong added, were first invented to allow soldiers to stand while riding in battle.

But in some parts of the world, that human-animal relationship is changing.

Nestled into the northwest corner of Sharon, on 10 acres of sloping fields bounded by Salisbury to the north and the Indian Mountain ridge marking off New York to the west, Strong and a team of equestrians and horses are helping warriors recover after combat.

The Equus Effect (“equus” means horse in Latin) is dedicated to providing emotional and mental therapy through one-on-one horse interactions. The program is offered to mental health clinicians and others for a fee; but for veterans, it’s free.

The five-week program begins in the barn, where vets learn about and establish an affinity with the horses.

“Horses are prey animals,” Strong said. With 340-degree vision, the largest eyes of any land mammals and constant diligence, horses are naturally equipped with many of the tools that are used by soldiers.

Strong emphasized the similarity between the horses and the veterans. They “see the world like returning warriors”: Minor events in regular life can trigger strong reactions. “When they come home, they don’t really know any other way to be.

“What we teach them is how to use their middle range to communicate with horses.

“When they learn to be honest with themselves, they start to be authentic with other people as well.”

Program participants establish a connection with one of three horses: Madrid, a 6-year-old pure-bred Arabian; Dutch Boy Paint (known as “Dutch”), a middle-aged Arabian Pinto; or Tango, a 13-year-old American quarter horse.

Dutch, who likes sure-handed people, tends to work with officers. Madrid likes high energy individuals. Tango is a “very kind soul” who collaborates and cooperates with a variety of personalities, Strong said.

The whole program, Strong explained, is based on the neuroscientific understanding that a horse is able to sense one’s heart rate, breathing and adrenaline level.

Veterans receive guidance and coaching from Strong, licensed clinical social worker David Sonatore and a team of mentors, therapists and nurses.

Currently, the program has partnerships with Veterans Affairs (VA) centers in Newington, Hartford and New Haven and they are communicating with a center in Danbury.

Transportation to and from Sharon is provided by the VA centers. 

Strong’s hope is that The Equus Effect Program model can be spread throughout the Mid-Atlantic region. She reported that training for similar programs is already being offered in Old Lyme, Conn., and in Massachusetts.

The goal is to eventually work with the Department of Defense.

“They give you 10 minutes,” she said, meaning that 10 minutes is the extent of the training soldiers get about what they might experience when they return home.

“I believe that we as a community owe them a lot,” said Strong. “We need to help them really come home.”