Valor Horses For Heroes

10/01/2025

🌈 Kids don’t just heal with words—they heal through play, art, and movement too! ✨

EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) can be adapted for children by incorporating creative activities like drawing, storytelling, sand tray, and playful exercises. These activities help children feel safe while processing big feelings or tough experiences. 💛

The best part? Children get to use their natural creativity as a pathway to healing—building resilience, confidence, and calm along the way. 🌟

👉 To learn more or schedule a session with Valor Horses for Heroes, call or text 252-631-8150 or visit 🌐 www.valorhorses.com

10/01/2025

Let’s all help to smash the stigma!

Sgt. Michael Sugrue - Ret.

10/01/2025

Meet "Doc", the founder of Valor Horses for Heroes! https://www.valorhorses.com/ken
Kenneth Palmer, MSW, LCSW, PGTC, EMDR Certified Therapist
Kenneth is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, and the founder of Valor Horses for Heroes which is a practice providing specialized trauma therapy. Kenneth is an Equine Assisted Growth and Learning Association (EAGALA) certified Mental Health Professional and Equine Specialist. Kenneth also carries an Individual Military Designation. Kenneth served on Active Duty in the United States Navy as an Independent Duty Corpsman for 15 year prior to leaving the military to begin graduate school. Kenneth spent most of his career caring for Marines in some of the most austere environments imaginable. While on active duty he deployed four times with Marine Corps units to Iraq, Afghanistan, and Sicily. Kenneth has also been a volunteer firefighter for over a decade and helped law enforcement officers in the past when they encountered individuals that were suffering from a potential mental health emergency to ensure they obtained the help they needed versus being incarcerated.

​

Kenneth understands firsthand the trauma that individuals can be subjected to and the importance of receiving quality mental health treatment. Kenneth believes that there is something unique and powerful in the unspoken bond between humans and horses. Kenneth has created a practice that is dedicated to helping people overcome the trauma that they have experienced in a client centered environment. Kenneth has worked extensively with active-duty personnel, veterans, firefighters, EMS personnel, law enforcement officers and victims of physical/sexual assault. Kenneth believes in the internal strength of individuals and their ability to overcome their past. Kenneth completed a Bachelor of Clinical Health Science degree from the George Washington University and then graduated from the University of New England with a Master of Social Work degree. Kenneth specializes in trauma treatment and has completed Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) training along with FLASH, and A-TIP techniques to reduce distress quickly and painlessly. Kenneth is EMDR Certified and has completed a Post Graduate Trauma Certificate from the University of Tennessee.

Kenneth is certified by EMDR International to provide consultation for EMDR providers in need of hours to become EMDR trained, EMDR certified, or EMDR consultants.

09/30/2025

Horses don’t just teach us about them—they teach us about ourselves.

09/30/2025

✨🧙‍♀️ The witches are back! 🧙‍♀️✨

Join us for the 8th Annual Witches Crawl hosted by the Witches of Silverbrooke on Friday, October 31 at 6 PM & 7 PM at the corner of King & First Streets in Oriental!

Come out and cheer on all the dancing witches – including our very own Pamlico Partnership staff members, Susan and Michelle! 💜

This spooky-fun tradition isn’t just enchanting entertainment, it’s also a fundraiser for Pamlico Partnership for Children, with proceeds supporting programs that help kids and families right here in our community. 🌟

Bring the family, enjoy the show, and help make a difference for children in Pamlico County. 🎃

09/30/2025

09/30/2025

Complex Trauma Isn’t “Too Much”—It’s Too Much, Too Fast, for Too Long.

At Valor Horses for Heroes, we work with veterans, first responders, and survivors whose nervous systems have carried layers of trauma over time. Complex trauma often stems from repeated experiences—combat, childhood adversity, betrayal, abuse, or chronic stress. It can affect memory, sleep, emotions, relationships, and the ability to feel safe in your own body.

Our equine-assisted and in-office psychotherapy provide a calm, nonjudgmental space where clients can rebuild trust, regain regulation, and reconnect with themselves.

You are not “broken.” Your system adapted to survive.

Ready to explore support in a different way? Reach out—healing is possible, and you don’t have to do it alone.
252-631-8150
valorhorses.com

🖤🐴

09/30/2025

🌿🐴 No Riding Required – Just Healing with Horses ✨

Did you know? Equine Assisted Psychotherapy (EAP) is ground-based—that means no horseback riding. All the work happens alongside the horses, using their natural sensitivity to human emotions.

💡 Why it works:
✔ Horses mirror our feelings in real time, giving powerful insight.
✔ The EAGALA model uses metaphor and experiential activities for lasting change.
✔ Equine-Assisted EMDR combines trauma processing with the calming presence of horses.
✔ Focus is on emotional safety and growth—not horsemanship.

At Valor Horses for Heroes, we’ve seen clients reduce anxiety, build resilience, and find healing in ways that traditional talk therapy alone can’t always reach.

✨ Healing doesn’t always happen in an office. Sometimes, it happens on the ground, with a horse.

📩Email, Call, or Text today to learn more or schedule a session. valorhorsesforheroes@gmail.com www.valorhorses.com

09/29/2025

🌿✨ Did you know? Equine Assisted Psychotherapy (EAP) is ground-based—there is no riding involved. We often hear people ask if sessions mean “horseback therapy,” and we want to clear up the confusion. In the models we use—EAGALA (Equine Assisted Growth and Learning Association) and Equine-Assisted EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing)—all work takes place on the ground, side-by-side with the horses.

Why is this so powerful for mental health? 🐴💚

Horses reflect human emotions: Horses are highly intuitive and respond to our body language, energy, and emotions in the present moment. This immediate feedback creates opportunities for insight and growth that talk therapy alone may not uncover.

EAGALA model: Sessions are experiential, client-led, and focused on metaphor, helping clients process struggles, explore relationships, and build healthier coping skills.

Equine-Assisted EMDR: By combining bilateral stimulation with the presence of horses, clients can safely process trauma and regulate their nervous system in a profoundly healing way.

No riding required: Because the work is done on the ground, the focus remains on emotional safety, authentic connection, and therapeutic growth—not horsemanship skills.

At Valor Horses for Heroes, we’ve seen how these approaches help clients reduce anxiety, build resilience, strengthen boundaries, and find healing in ways that feel safe, natural, and deeply human.

🐎✨ Healing doesn’t always happen in an office. Sometimes, it happens in the presence of a horse.

📩 Reach out today to learn more or schedule a session.

www.valorhorses.com 252-631-8150

09/27/2025

❤🐴