05/12/2026
Last night I had a conversation with a dear friend regarding a local program that an organization is attempting to get started to provide support to first responders and their families.
I have experience working with veterans, first responders and their families through equine therapy, equine assisted learning, mindfulness and retreats.
Helping these heroes and their families is an honor and a privilege and is not like any other population. These folks endure much including traumatic events, separation from family, physical depletion, and betrayal from the very systems and people they are working to protect.
In order to provide intentional, effective and enduring support, there must be a plan other than entertainment. Occupying their time during a "healing" retreat with fun activities is another distraction from actual healing. I am not saying fun isn't a great part of any retreat, but what I am saying is that we must be intentional in providing the hard stuff too. Processing the grief, anger and fear is what frees these heroes from hypervigilance, nightmares, disassociation and an inability to connect with their families or even the present moment.
We, as practitioners/facilitators, must have the training, experience and tools to do this work responsibly. It is very challenging to stay present and provide space for titrating the stuck trauma responses within human beings. Mind, body and spirit are involved and it goes above and beyond nervous system regulation work. We must wake up the senses and create safe connection, as well as opportunities to practice what it feels like to experience safety and calm awareness, so that these moments can be transferred home. After the retreat, the healing can continue, and the resilience builds.
Talking about healing is one thing. Actually providing experiences of healing is quite another. If you are putting together a retreat you are labeling as healing, then do the work and provide the healing. These folks can have be entertained anywhere. Get qualified practitioners and facilitators on your team, and trust them to do their job.
We must stop calling entertainment with horses, healing with horses. True healing, asking horses to partner with us, in nature, is a delicate and sacred dance that can change lives. It is subtle, it is important, and trusting the horse to show the way is imperative. It is not performing, and does not include ego. It is spiritual and involves the heart, mind and spirit.
