Riding to End Veteran Suicides

I hope that most people don't have anyone close to them commit suicide. The thought of that person having no hope, no possibility of light at the end of the tunnel is hard to deal with for the survivors. You wish they called you or talked to anyone. It is difficult thinking of someone close to you sitting there believing that they have no place to turn and the only alternative to rid the pain is to kill themselves. Any suicide is difficult.  Veteran suicides most troubling because their problems, that have descended them to a dark place, occurred in the service of their country. I have two close friends who decided they were better off dead. They simply saw no hope and ended their pain with self inflicted gunshots. See you on the other side Albert and Mitch.

The good news is that veteran suicides is a recognized national problem. There are several organizations trying to stem the tide of Veteran suicides, each in their own way. Perhaps one of the most unique ways is an organization call Trail to Zero, using the healing power of horses to bring awareness to veteran suicides.

The BraveHearts Story

In 2017, BraveHearts pilot program for Trail to Zero began in NYC. Since then, BraveHearts has taken the ride to the next level by being able to bring more veterans into two cites (NYC & DC in 2018) to bring awareness to veteran suicide while also helping the veterans on the ride to heal and advance their horsemanship. In April 2019, BraveHearts presented at the N.A.M.U.C.A conference where hundreds of mounted police officers heard veterans stories from Trail to Zero. The response from the units were overwhelming and brought forth the opportunity to add a third city, Chicago, in 2019.

BraveHearts will be in Chicago on 28 September 2019 and Houston on 2 November 2019.

BraveHearts rides will bring the overwhelming statistic of 20 veterans committing suicide per day to the forefront of Americans’ minds while also helping to educate veterans and Americans about equine assisted services and the benefits that it has as an alternative approach to healing. It is our greatest hope that we may reach at least one veteran who is currently battling suicidal ideologies, letting them know that they are not alone, that their community cares, and that equine assisted services may help. We are forever grateful for the NYPD Mounted Unit, US Park Police Mounted Horse Unit and the Chicago Mounted Unit for standing behind us as we continue to ride until 20 becomes ZERO.

BraveHearts is the largest and most innovative PATH International 501c3 organization in the country serving veterans through equine assisted services, serving 834 veterans through 19,609 sessions in 2018, at no cost to any veteran.

Learn more about BraveHearts and Trail to Zero, and/or to donate to their cause, you can go to the websites, Trail to Zero and BraveHearts Riding, and please watch the video below on how horses have helped many veterans. God Bless this Republic and the Veterans who paid terrible prices for their service.  

Equine Extravaganza Supports Perfect Harmony Horse Rescue and Therapeutic Horsemanship

Horse people from all over the country conduct local or regional type events each and every weekend simply for the love of horses. These event coordinators put in long hours, make phone call after phone call, coordinate set up and often do much of the labor themselves, mostly without any recognition at all.  Again they simply do it for the love of horses and these events benefit all through the education it provides.   

These events can be shows, competitions, clinics, trail rides or what I attended a couple weeks ago, which was the second annual Equine Extravaganza, hosted on 14 February by the Lower Valley Horsemen's Association (LVHA) of the greater El Paso, Texas area. This event was coordinated and ran by Vicki Maly of the LVHA featured a training demonstration, stallion showcase and bidding for breedings, a Therapeutic Horsemanship demonstration, an auction and raffle, and several vendors offering tack, related gear and western theme goods.  Event proceeds went to support a local horse rescue and Therapeutic Horsemanship organization.  

This year Vicki was able to bring in Rudy Lara of No Strings Attached Horsemanship of La Mesa, New Mexico to give a Cowboy Dressage demonstration.   That's Rudy in both pictures above, with his exceptionally trained Bay Horse.  While most of the people in the area probably have heard of Rudy, it would be an even bet to say that they came away with a higher regard for Rudy's horsemanship skills as he demonstrated tenants of Cowboy Dressage and talked to the crowd about understanding horses to enable a relationship that training can be built upon.  La Mesa, New Mexico is within the greater El Paso, Texas - Las Cruces, New Mexico area. Those people with training issues shouldn't hesitate in contacting Rudy Lara to help out.  You can visit Rudy's website here to get more information.  

Therapeutic Horsemanship of El Paso (THEP) demonstrated the how's and why of matching disabled people with horses to further rehabilitation or to just provide a quality of life to that person's that horses are uniquely suited to provide.  The THEP team in action in the picture at right. Their website is here.


The Stallion showcase featured three stud horses, including this Leopard Appaloosa in the picture above, whose owners auctioned off breedings which all went to support the THEP and Perfect Harmony Horse Rescue, a Chaparral, New Mexico based rescue organization, a 501(c)(3) non profit horse rescue and sanctuary, concentrating on older and/or disabled equine. 

And speaking of Therapeutic Horsemanship, the American Competitive Trail Horse Association (ACTHA) is hosting 1,000 competitive trail rides and arena obstacle competitions in March, to benefit the 850 Therapeutic Horsemanship centers in North America under the Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship International (PATH).  These rides are scheduled on March 15th and 16th all across the country and hope to raise $1 Million dollars for PATH.   If you are interested in supporting this in any way, so to the ACTHA site and find a ride near you and call the event coordinator.