Wild Mustangs for Veterans and First Responders
About Us
What We Do
Why We Do It
Why We Do It
We pair a wild mustang with a veteran or first responder. The Veteran/First Responder initiates and builds a trusting and bonding relationship with their Mustang through one on one gentling and training.
Veterans and First Responders (Police, Fire Fighter, EMTs, etc) are faced with traumatic events through the very nature of their chos
We pair a wild mustang with a veteran or first responder. The Veteran/First Responder initiates and builds a trusting and bonding relationship with their Mustang through one on one gentling and training.
Veterans and First Responders (Police, Fire Fighter, EMTs, etc) are faced with traumatic events through the very nature of their chosen career. These events can lead to PTSD and symptoms such tension, anxiety, emotional numbing, distancing or avoidance; Those symptoms interfere with interpersonal relationships as well as their ability to function at work and in their personal lives.
Mustangs have also faced their own traumatic events. Employees of the Wild Horse and Burro Program (Bureau of Land Management) has been assigned the thankless task of care and custody of Mustang and Burro herds on our nations public lands. Gatherings, health/wellness activities and placement into overcrowded holding pens are traumatic events to wild Mustangs and Burros that lead to heightened "Flight or Fight" responses,
The traumatized veteran and traumatized horse help each other. When veterans “gentle” the mustangs, these horses act as therapists to the veterans, and reciprocal healing occurs. By working with mustangs, Veterans can experience reduction in anxiety and emotional numbing, improved mastery of their fear responses, and reduction in hypervigilance in a natural learning environment. As the mustang begins to trust the veterans – the veteran begins to trust the horse and themselves.
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Why We Do It
Why We Do It
Why We Do It
Kelly Alexander served 20+ years in the Army and the Army National Guard. His time in the service included multiple deployments. After coming home from his final deployment in 2009, he felt that something was different. As time went on, these “differences” became worse and finally in 2014 he sought the assistance of the VA. Kelly’s diagno
Kelly Alexander served 20+ years in the Army and the Army National Guard. His time in the service included multiple deployments. After coming home from his final deployment in 2009, he felt that something was different. As time went on, these “differences” became worse and finally in 2014 he sought the assistance of the VA. Kelly’s diagnosis was PTSD w/ multiple moderate TBI’s. He sought out and participated in every PTSD/TBI program that was offered through the local Veteran’s Affairs location to include counselling, multiple medications, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Prolonged Exposure therapy, alpha stem, sleep therapy, yoga etc. among other methodologies. His frustration grew as none of the “canned” treatments did not bring about the expected outcome and he was starting to think he would never see or feel like his old self. The symptoms and lack of progress started to affect him personally and professionally. He felt defeated on a daily basis. Even the simplest of tasks caused extreme stress and pressure which grew to relying on “avoidance” of everything especially person to person contact. Kelly was not the quitting kind but there were days where his thoughts were centered on leaving and “falling off the radar”.
He was reading a VFW magazine one day while waiting for one of his many appointments and the cover story was about veterans “gentling” mustangs at Cheyenne Frontier Days. While the VA could not refer him to a local equine program, he began to search for one to attend on his own time and outside of the auspices of the VA. Meanwhile Kelly’s symptoms continued to worsen and impacted his Army career to the point that he was facing a Medical Evaluation Board and possible retirement. In January of 2018 he received a call from a mustang and veterans’ program with an invitation to attend that spring.
Kelly found healing and skill sets needed to minimize the symptoms and start his journey back.
Now Kelly wants to allow other veterans suffering from anxiety, PTSD and depression to find their way back,
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How We Do It
Why We Do It
How We Do It
We are a NONPROFIT and rely on fundraisers and donations to provide the wild mustang and veteran program.
- This program is FREE to participants.
- It is a 6 week program located on the Mirrored K Legacy Ranch in Jay Em, Wyoming
- At the end of the program the participant my adopt their horse free of charge as long as they have an appropriate plac
We are a NONPROFIT and rely on fundraisers and donations to provide the wild mustang and veteran program.
- This program is FREE to participants.
- It is a 6 week program located on the Mirrored K Legacy Ranch in Jay Em, Wyoming
- At the end of the program the participant my adopt their horse free of charge as long as they have an appropriate place to keep and care for their horse.
- We are currently working hard on fundraising activities to provide a larger training center and free housing for participants.
You can help with a kind donation:
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