The VALOR HERD Program

The VALOR HERD Program

The VALOR HERD Program provides trauma-informed and evidence-based equine assisted services for military personnel, first responders, and their families. VALOR HERD facilitates mental, emotional, and physical recovery and post-traumatic growth through experiential equine-assisted sessions that support nervous system regulation and authentic connections. 

V – Veterans

A – Active Duty

L – Law Enforcement

O – Other First Responders

R – Retired Personnel

 

H – Horse-Powered

E – Education

R – Resilience

D – Development

Through VALOR HERD, Bridle Paths offers:

• Equine-assisted psychotherapy sessions for veterans, service members, first responders, and their families that combine psychoeducation and experiential activities with the horses in support of improved nervous system regulation and wellness and cultivation of the horse-human bond.
• Equine-assisted learning sessions for veterans and first responders and their families in which participants learn about themselves and their relationships, in partnership with horses.
• Adaptive riding sessions for veterans, service members, and first responders that teach horsemanship and riding skills through emotionally-attuned and relationship-focused instruction.

Bridle Paths has served veterans, service members, and families referred by various nonprofit organizations, the Virginia Department of Veterans Services, and military medical facilities since 2014. We recognize that the population of military families in this area is large and growing, and that trauma-informed mental health and related services and family support are underserved needs at this time.

Through mounted and unmounted programs, we offer a safe and supportive environment in which participants can be honest and authentic, think clearly about their challenges, and achieve growth, learning, and healing. Horses are uniquely suited to helping individuals and families address challenges. Horses are prey animals, acutely attuned to their environments and to nonverbal communication, and they live and engage in a herd environment that offers safety and community. Although difficult emotions (such as anxiety, distrust, and perhaps even fear) can arise when working with horses, those emotions can be processed in a safe way, working with the horses and with trained professional staff. Participants can employ problem-solving skills to address issues relating to boundaries, relationships, leadership, and communication, and then can proceed to learning new skills, finding trust, and taking responsible risks with the horses. These skills translate directly to experiences outside the barn environment, and help participants to reconnect and relate in a different way. Through this process, equine-assisted services can contribute significantly to the cultivation of safer, healthier, happier communities characterized by authenticity, trust, and connection.

MAKING THE CONNECTION (MTC) PROGRAM

Bridle Paths has designed and implemented a comprehensive recovery program consisting of eight-week equine-assisted learning and equine-assisted psychotherapy sessions for veterans and disabled members of the Armed Forces recovering from the lasting effects of combat-related traumatic brain injury, substance use disorders, military sexual trauma, moral injury, and post-traumatic stress disorder, and for those working toward post-deployment transition and reintegration, under the program title Making the Connection (MTC). This series combines psychoeducation with experiential activities with the horses focused on equine behavior, communication, and the horse-human bond.

Our approach in the MTC program extends beyond a singular focus on a particular incident or specific trauma and is informed by an understanding of trauma as more than an event experienced in the past; it is also the imprint that is left by the experience on the mind, the body, and the nervous system. Our orientation in these MTC sessions centers on growth, recovery, and transformation. We support and encourage participants to address past traumas while also discovering their underlying strengths.

This is the core principle of Post-Traumatic Growth (PTG), which was formally recognized as a psychological theory in the mid-1990’s. Research psychologists Richard Tedeschi and Lawrence Calhoun proposed that PTG is an outcome of active coping in the face of struggle, and involves a stable and permanent shift in mindset (cognitive restructuring). PTG goes beyond acceptance by connecting personal strengths and self-dependence.

Consistent with our PTG orientation and trauma treatment framework, program objectives are both restorative and transformational, including a reduction in endorsed symptom severity, enhanced emotional regulation and stress management capacities, and improved overall functioning across multiple domains, such as approach to new opportunities (both personal and professional), improved personal relationships, and a heightened sense of emotional strength and resilience. Our approach follows an evidence-based curriculum informed by current research and practice in trauma science, interpersonal neurobiology, mindfulness-based cognitive therapy, and somatic experiencing.

Interested in learning more about VALOR HERD, Making the Connection, or other services for veterans, service members, first responders, and their families? Contact Bridle Paths for information about programs, participation, and referrals