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114 ja n ua r y/ f e b r ua r y 2 015 U n tac k e d t here are countless equine therapy organizations across the country that focus on calm, peaceful interactions with horses as a way to foster serenity in the lives of struggling military veterans. But heroes and horses isn't one of them. instead of limiting its participants to structured equine therapy sessions in a controlled environment, this montana- based nonprofit organization harnesses the power of remote wilderness challenges to build the horse-human connection and inspire growth in veterans suffering from mental and physical scars. As a young man, heroes and horses founder mark white suffered from an electrical accident that resulted in a leg amputation, years of surgeries, and a dif- ficult healing process. e mental and emotional challenges of white's recovery inspired him to take that experience, com- bined with his military knowledge as the son of a u.s. marine veteran, and create a system to use the dramatic landscape of the montana rocky mountains and the heal- ing power of horses to help veterans con- tinue their lives after combat. white and navy seAl micah fink, who now serves as executive director of heroes and horses, developed a three-step system for veterans that closely mimics the style of training they've already received in >> WHAT IT IS: Heroes and Horses is a 501(c)3 organization based in Montana that uses a three-phase program of remote wilderness challenges on horseback to help restore military veter- ans into civilian life. a cLosEr LooK at: Heroes And Horses Using a structure that mimics veterans' prior military training, this remote wilderness equine therapy program puts them in control of their own healing. B y m e g A n B r i n C K s P h o to s c o u r te s y o f m i CA h f i n K cHaritY spotLigHt the military. phase 1, called the stress inoculation phase, includes three days of intensive horse- manship training followed by a full week on a guided back- country trip with additional training along the way. "it's like drinking through a fire hose. it sounds like a lot, but that's how we learn in the military," fink explained. "we brought that same learning environ- ment back to these guys, and they're really receptive to it." is first phase sets veterans up to be active participants in their healing pro- cesses, fink said. By putting them in stressful situations, they also start building immunity to that stress—just like inocu- lating against a virus requires an injection of that virus, the veterans build up resis- tance to the pressures and stress experi- enced in the past by going through new, stressful situations that also include a posi- tive release of pressure. "some of them don't even talk— they're completely reclusive. But guess who they're building a relationship with? e horse," said fink. "it's nothing that we're doing; we're just setting up the sce- nario. we've matched that same stress, but in a positive manner. it's the same story, different script." in the second phase, application, vet- erans return for another three days of horsemanship, navigation and survival techniques before heading into the wil- derness individually, camping alone for one night before connecting each day with more program participants. "ey spend the first night completely by themselves," fink said. "we find this really important because they need to apply everything they've learned." At the end of that backcountry trip, "It's really the horse and the mountains that do it. Ultimately we're just setting up the scenario," said Micah Fink, executive director of Heroes and Horses. "We're just helping them get to where it all happens."

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