The Vision of Warrior Horse
It is our honor to serve those who have served.
Warrior Horse transforms the lives of military veterans, one horse at a time. The Warrior Horse program uses a personalized and interactive equine-assisted method, which we call the “Bonding Process” to assist military veterans who suffer from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) to begin their recovery from this debilitating disorder. Our program is open to current and former members of the armed forces of the United States who have been diagnosed with PTSD and have had some “let down” period after a tour of active duty. The program is provided at no financial cost to the veterans.
Program Description
Warrior Horse is a 501(c)3 organization, and offers a three-day program, at various dates throughout the year. We serve five military veterans per program and will expand the program as our funding permits. The Warrior Horse program is supervised and operated by the Executive Director and founder, Kevin Russell. All of Warrior Horse’s operations are conducted in Frierson, Louisiana, where the headquarters of Warrior Horse is located.
During the three-day program, the participating veterans first are instructed in communicating with the horses, and how the program works. The program is guided by a skilled instructor. The instructor teaches the veterans the basic skills required to maintain their own safety as well as for the horses, and some non-verbal communication techniques, or the “language” of the horse.
After a demonstration and practicing the technique without the horse, the veterans set up a round pen and have a horse picked specifically for them. The veterans then interact one-on-one with one of the retired thoroughbreds, which are chosen for them and are coached one-on-one, through the process of establishing a bond with the horse. Through a carefully orchestrated sequence, the veteran and the horse communicate non-verbally, until the point of a breakthrough on the part of both veteran and horse to mutual trust. This unique interaction between the veteran and the horse transforms the veteran’s psyche, relieves deep-seated stress, and produces a catalyst for change within the veteran. The change is profound and opens the way for the veteran to benefit from continued treatment of PTSD and other challenges.
Our vision is to uniquely touch the lives of veterans.
Warrior Horse offers healing and hope to traumatized military veterans by reducing the participating veterans’ symptoms of depression, post-traumatic stress, and suicidal thoughts. Working with horses has long been recognized as an effective tool for helping to treat persons with physical and mental challenges. Warrior Horse offers this program as an adjunct to more long-term forms of assistance that the military veteran may pursue for PTSD and other mental challenges. Warrior Horse’s program is funded by donations from the general public, donation of race horses by race horse owners, and grants.
Learn More
As Warrior Horse has been growing, we have had the great opportunity of gaining support from different media outlets. These interviews have helped us spread the word about Warrior Horse, feel free to read, watch, or listen.
Guys In Trucks – Podcast episode
12 KSLA News – News article and Video Interview